Improvisation, routine dynamics, and temporal regularity

• Main Authors: GOH, Kenneth T., RERUP, Claus.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7371
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Improvisation is sensitive to time, and in this chapter, we explore how temporal regularity influences the process of improvisation within the context of organizational routines. Specifically, we develop a time-based perspective to highlight that the temporal regularity of a routine plays a fundamental role in maintaining a balance between stability and flexibility (improvisation). We illustrate the idea that temporal regularity allows for improvisation with an example of the Scrum routine within the context of videogame development. Our contribution is twofold. First, we advance new insights on how the temporal pattern of a routine is a minimal structure that complements action patterns to shape routine stability and flexibility. Second, our time-based perspective of routines illustrates how participants improvise to accomplish novel outcomes in organizational routines.