The widespread use of information and communication technology (ICT) at work impinges upon time in organizations. This dissertation examines the temporal impacts of ICT on groups. I first construct a conceptualization of time, which characterizes time to have both structural and interpretive dimensions. Structural dimension describes the objective and external aspects of time, and interpretive dimension characterizes the subjective and internal aspects of time.
Next, guided by such conceptualization, I assess how time has been studied in the IS literature on ICT-mediated groups. My analysis reveals that the knowledge on the temporal impacts of ICT on groups is very fragmented. They are only studied from the structural dimension. The impacts of ICT on structural time are only recognized in how ICT modifies the temporal conditions under which groups operate. The impacts of ICT on interpretive time are largely un-researched.
I then conduct a case study of three groups of IT professionals to advance the empirical understanding of the temporal impacts of ICT on groups. The empirical investigation finds that ICT impacts both structural and interpretive time. ICT shifts the temporal location, frequency, duration, and sequence of tasks and events, and furthers constant prioritizing, flexible scheduling, and concurrent executing of tasks. Temporal values and temporal norms are shaped by changes, occasioned by ICT, in structural time. ICT directly impinges upon senses of time and blurs temporal boundary between work and non-work. Structural and interpretive time, as shaped by ICT, in turn contribute to procrastination of work on new development, improved efficiency, and better understanding and communication in groups.