How Do Different Concepts of Time Further Our Understanding of Managing and Organizing Innovations?

Abstract

The symposium establishes a discussion that unfolds the role of temporality in managing and organizing for innovations. Innovations cannot be defined by a clear beginning or an end but are rather processual, nor are they linearly developing due to their temporal complexity shaped by the multiple temporal rhythms, paces, and experiences, building on both past, present, and future. By adopting an inter-temporal lens on innovations, exploring and interweaving a variety of temporal perspectives, recent studies of innovations analyze the iterative processes by which actors interpret, negotiate, and enact different combinations of past knowledge and future projections in the present in order to manage future trajectories. Each panelist will elaborate on various aspects of the emerging inter-temporal approach to innovations. Whereas, the discussion aims to bring together these perspectives reflecting on the implications that an inter-temporal view adds to the managing and organizing for innovations in different empirical fields.