Paul M. Lane

Time congruity in the organization: A proposed quality-of-life framework

The present paper examines the importance of matching thetime styles of individuals with thetime styles established by organizations. The authors introduce the notion oftime congruity to represent such a matching process. While time use has been studied in both organizational and individual contexts, lesser attention has been given to such multi-level analysis. When the individuals self time preferences are matched to the time use methods of the organization, a fit is thought to exist, potentially leading to satisfactory performance and enhancement of quality of work and general life. A framework is proposed for identifying and exploring such congruity, leading to several research propositions. Managerial implications are developed for human resource issues and business combinations, such as joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions.

Understanding consumer information needs: the impact of polychronic time use

Abstract Consumers in the Telecommunications Age want information now: they want it fast; they want it simple; they want it cheaply; and, more importantly, they often want it while doing something else. How they will obtain that information, however, is a matter of intense debate. Design questions must take into account how people use their time, how they process and combine information gathering methods, and how they arrange their living space. A simple fact remains: people want information available through the appliances they use every day in the mainstream of their daily lives. In the present paper, we examine the results of three studies on polychrnic, or simultaneous, time use to offer suggestions to the consumer electronics industry.

In Pursuit of the Nomadic Viewer

Points out that numerous studies have attempted to understand the behavior of television viewers. Gone are the days when the entire family gathered around the television, paying rapt attention to the programming. Suggests that the television as “family hearth” has been replaced, as viewers are more aptly characterized as “nomadic”, wandering from channel to channel, from room to room, and from activity to activity. Reports on an in‐depth study of the activities, patterns of behavior, locations of viewing, and attitudes of everyday consumers toward television in the 1990s. Multiple observational methods were used, ranging from unobtrusive observation of viewing, sketches made by viewers of their television viewing location, and focus group interviews. Findings suggest that advertising not only competes with other television shows for the consumer′s attention, but also competes with a multitude of activities, interruptions, and even other televisions within the same or adjacent rooms. Such findings pose a m...

Picking Winners: Solving an Industrial Policy Problem with a Sustainable Growth Model

Sustainable growth indicates how rapidly sales can increase when new assets required to support higher sales levels are financed solely through additions to retained earnings and new debt. The sustainable growth model provides a way for public policy makers to assess the need of any particular sector of an economy for government‐sponsored export development assistance. These assessments are the macro equivalent of product portfolio analysis. The sustainable growth approach, however, is less subjective and requires far less data input than the directional policy matrix approach recommended by others. The two approaches should be viewed as complementing one another. Selection of export development programmes can be improved by assessing the impact of any given programme on the components of an industry′s sustainable growth level. This should help to avoid initiatives that would impair the global or regional competitiveness of industries with long‐term comparative advantages.

What is Time: An Empirical Exploratory Investigation

This paper is concerned with definitions of tine found in the literature, then classified into tine orientation, processing, commitment, and use. A verification was then carried out in the form of an exploratory study of written definitions of tine and focus group discussions of tine by 89 participants (10 groups). The groups studied were: male students, female students, homemakers (female), career oriented men, career oriented women with children, career oriented women without children, employed women, formerly employed women, formerly employed men, formerly employed managerial/professional men. Results and implications are presented.

What is Time: An Exploratory Extension Toward the Far East

This paper is concerned with the way students from Thailand, Japan and Malaysia “define time” and is an extension of Lane and Lindquist (1989), the latter included data on U.S. students. The time definitions are compared and contrasted on the basis of time approach and processing. Potential differences were found on approach and processing. Implications for research and international commerce are offered.

The Art of Time

This paper argues that verbal descriptions of time limit our ability to measure and understand individuals’ perceptions of it. Using ideas from the emerging area of semiotics, an alternative methodology is proposed operationalizing the time construct through a non-linguistic method: drawings of time. This approach was tested using student samples at two universities. The results indicate preliminary support for this method, and are used to develop implications for managerial strategy and for further research.

Exploring a Proposed Time Use/Commitment Classification Model: a Taxonomy and Methodology Extension to the Far East

This article deals with a replication and extension of the time study methodology proposed by Lindquist and Lane (1990). It is replicated in that the time log, focus group approach is used to study time use/commitment, and extended to students who had recently arrived from Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. The objectives were to further verify the potential applicability of the proposed time use/commitment taxonomy, and the research methodology associated with it, into international marketing arena. It was found to be understandable, practical and usable by the participants and the results parallel closely those of the previous study, in these new and culturally different populations. The preliminary conclusion from the research is that the taxonomy and the methodology proposed by Lane and Lindquist (1988) appear to have direct application into the Far East.

Touring the Fourth Dimension: Leisure Time for Services Marketers

The recreation and leisure markets are important service marketing opportunities. The literature on leisure from several disciplines including anthropology, economics, finance, leisure, management, marketing, and sociology has been reviewed as it applies to leisure time allocation decisions. The literature has been examined on the basis of a person’s time orientation, and put into the Lane and Lindquist (1988) time classification system. The classification system includes income producing time, and four other subcategories of particular interest to those in the leisure and/or recreation markets: committed, (obligated and non-obligated) and uncommitted (planned and unplanned).

Psychological Time Perspective Differences: A Look at Young Malaysians and Americans using the Fast Scale

Research was conducted on the psychological time perspectives of Malaysian and U.S. students to better understand the differences between the two groups and to provide the bases for a discussion of consumer behavior and future research implications. The “FAST” test, suggested by Settle and Alreck (1991), was the four dimensional measurement tool used. It was found that differences in psychological perspective exist in such areas as future/past orientation, sense of boredom, activity levels, need to plan/schedule and staying with a task until done. Consumer behavior and future research implications are offered.