The role of temporality in strategic decision-making

Abstract

The notion of temporality has been researched by various scholars in the disciplines of philosophy and sociology. However, there is a paucity of research on temporality in management studies and strategic change, it has instead been relegated to an objective view of time rather than sense-making of the past, present and future (temporality). This research explored the role of temporality in strategic decision-makin. To fulfil the objectives of this research, eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with the senior managers involved in strategic decision-making in South African banks. The research found that senior managers are constantly and iteratively reinterpreting the past and renegotiating the future to make strategic decisions in the present. Albeit, prior studies have acknowledged the importance of consideration of all three dimensions of temporality for strategic decision-making, there are various factors that act as constraints such as temporal orientations and motives of strategic decisionmakers and the context of the South African banking sector’s competitive landscape among others. It was also found that temporality influences the perception of risk in the banking sector of South Africa. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing an understanding of the role of temporality in strategic decision-making in the South African banking sector by providing practical implications for consideration by senior managers on how to approach temporality when making strategic decisions.