Temporal Adaptive Capacity: A Competency for Leading Organizations in Temporary Interorganizational Collaborations.

The article focuses on the leadership challenges and competencies required to manage temporal tensions in temporary interorganizational collaborations (IOCs), which involve members from multiple organizations working together for a limited time. It introduces Temporal Adaptive Capacity (TAC) as a critical leadership competency that enables leaders to develop situational awareness of multi-level temporal tensions and intentionally enact temporal tensions—such as framing, synchronizing, hyping, and surfing—to achieve key temporal outcomes: temporal synchronization (alignment of timing norms) and ambitemporality (embracing divergent temporal orientations). The authors propose that TAC helps leaders balance the competing temporal demands of their permanent home organizations and temporary IOC contexts, thereby enhancing collaboration effectiveness. The article also outlines a research agenda to further explore TAC's measurement, development, and impact on organizational and interorganizational performance.