12. Doing process research on temporal sensemaking in changing organisations

This chapter reflects on the theory and practice of sensemaking research in changing organisations. I critique the dominance of clock time, showing the need to consider the interplay of multiple temporalities. I introduce data drawn from longitudinal qualitative research in mining to highlight how longitudinal research can consider both clock time when charting significant events and subjective asynchronous time to explore how memories of the past and expectations of the future influence sensemaking in the ongoing present. Political processes associated with sensemaking also come to the fore, especially in the way people try to influence the sensemaking of others and make their voice dominant. I argue that dominant accounts, presenting a linear causality on change processes, fail to acknowledge the complexity of change and undermine the development of robust change theories. I offer practical advice to enable researchers to contribute to challenging debates on time, temporality, and sensemaking in organisations.