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Defines polychronic time as the consumer’s ability to do a number of things at once and explains that it has been studied by researchers in an attempt to understand how individuals regard new products and services and their potential to save time or enhance polychronicity. Examines the literature on this subject with particular reference to Internet marketing. Generates a number of hypotheses for future research.

The goals of this investigation are to identify behaviors and attitudes that are predictive of an individual’s polychronic or monochronic time use, relating these findings to individuals’ time management approaches. A modified polychronic attitude indicator (PAI3) scale is used as the overall measure of monochronic/polychronic tendencies. A series of potential predictor variables from the “structure” portion of the FAST scale, items related to the time structure questionnaire, and other items based on literature synthesis and researcher judgment were used. A stepwise multiple regression analysis resulted in an eight‐predictor variable solution. It was concluded that polychronicity is related to different aspects of time management; recommendations are given for future study and for application in the workplace.

Presents a conceptual framework for understanding the meanings of polychronic behavior for individuals. A “created” meaning perspective, arguing that cultural, social, and personality differences influence how the meaning of polychronic behavior is interpreted at the individual level is presented. These meanings through a phenomenological study of polychronic behavior in the workplace for both traditional, “mainstream” Americans and recent Latin American immigrants are explored. Implications for managers and workgroups are also explored.

Consumer researchers have long known that some shoppers prefer to combine errands on their shopping trips, while others tend to focus on one errand at a time. However, there was no published evidence that similar behaviors occur within a specific shopping situation. Proposes that polychronic tendency analysis (PTA) can provide insights that explain such behaviors. Self‐reports were used to examine adult women's general polychronic tendency and to contrast this with reported polychronic tendencies when shopping for groceries and shopping for clothing to be worn at work. Three strong‐fitting, theoretically sound constructs consisting of multiple simultaneous activity and activity‐changing items were constructed using a structural equation modeling approach. The general, grocery shopping, and clothing shopping models differed from one another. This showed that women have different time use tendencies in different shopping situations. Also demonstrates how situation‐specific survey instruments and the resultant models and measurement scales can be developed using the PTA approach. Offers retail implications.

This paper provided construct validity evidence for polychronicity in two related studies. Study 1 assessed the relationship between individuals’ stated polychronicity preferences and peer ratings of polychronicity in a multitrait‐multimethod design, which indicated that different raters were able to agree about an individual’s polychronicity. Additional construct validity evidence was provided by linking polychronicity to several potentially related constructs such as achievement striving, impatience/irritability, stress, and performance. In study 2, hypothesized relationships between polychronicity and both time urgency and time management behavior dimensions were supported. In addition, similar relationships between polychronicity and time urgency dimensions were identified across French and US samples. Together, these two studies provide a clearer understanding of the correlates and potential outcomes of polychronicity. Directions for future research are also discussed.

To examine the relationship between monochronic work behavior (behavior that minimizes interruptions on the job) and Type A behavior, 147 faculty members of a midsized private university responded to a set of questionnaires which measured monochronic work behaviors, Type A behavior, job‐induced stress, research productivity, and number of working projects. Type A behavior was significantly and positively correlated with monochronic behaviors – in other words, Type As were more likely to use behavioral strategies that reduced polychronic thought. Type A and monochronic behaviors were also significantly correlated with job‐induced stress and number of publications. Contrary to the hypothesis, Type A and monochronic behaviors were also positively and significantly correlated with number of working projects.

The purpose of this paper is to measure polychronicity in Spain, traditionally typified as having a polychronic culture, characterized by a multifocused working environment.

A sample of 134 executives from 19 organizations in Madrid completed a questionnaire on polychronicity (working on more than one task at a time), time tangibility (precision in time use and performance), context (direct or indirect communication) and attention to people (whether people are dealt with spontaneously or in a more scheduled manner).

Contrary to what was expected in light of the traditional image of Spain, results indicate a tendency towards monochronicity. Gender and age did not show a relation with polychronicity. Time tangibility and context were also unrelated to polychronicity. A previously unmeasured variable, implied in Hall's original work, the spontaneous attention to people in establishing and maintaining good work relations, was positively related to polychronicity. Having worked for a multinational was also positively related to polychronicity.

The study was undertaken in Madrid only and focused on differences within a Spanish sample and no cross‐cultural comparison was made.

As far as the authors are aware, this is the first study of polychronicity in Spain. Social interaction, coined previously as an explanation for polychronic behavior, was added in this paper.

States that today, the corporate environment is characterized by complexity, uncertainty, contingency and evolution. In these conditions, the design of a learning organization should be based upon Einstein’s conception of time, which represents a dramatic shift from our traditional organizations built upon Newton’s time. In this research, the author defined nine temporal dimensions of organizational culture (for instance schedules and deadlines) which could be managed in order to facilitate change and learning and examined them in relation to individuals’ polychronic behavior, a temporal orientation. Polychronic people do many things at once and experience time as a relatively intangible phenomenon that emerges from specific events. This empirical investigation shows that polychronic time use is related to several dimensions of temporal culture. These results can be used to make the development of learning organizations more effective, particularly when applied to human resource activities and programs.

As globalization becomes ever more prominent, the role of media and advertising is increasing. Ideally for large multinationals that have the resources to take advantage of globalization there exists a larger “market” to which products can be sold. To create and sustain their market, these multinationals companies use aggressive advertising strategies. Television is a aggressive advertising media for these companies. In India television advertising has been expanding throughout the 1990s. Close on the heels of multinationals, domestic companies are also using television as a media to reach the Indian masses. As a result, the number of television commercials is increasing. With this the frequency and time of advertising pods, in a program, are also increasing. This competition between the program content and advertising pods is known as “clutter”. This advertising clutter and has led to companies questioning the efficiency of the medium of communication, in terms of reducing the competitive rivalry and creating a brand impression. This paper aims at understanding this relationship between advertising clutter and multiple activities a viewer might be involved in i.e. polychronic use of time: as proposed by Kaufman and Lane (1994). The study concludes that Indian youth exhibit mental nomadship rather than channel or physical nomadship, at current levels of advertising. Furthermore, channel nomadship has a significant relationship with the person who has control over the remote and the time for which the television is being watched. Physical nomadship has a significant relationship with age, gender and education level. Finally, mental nomadship was related to gender and education level. The study also has important implications for managers.

Research on polychronicity generally treats time use preference, context, and time tangibility as isomorphic variables that can be represented on a single continuum. An alternative model of temporality that treats these variables as independent dimensions is presented. This model is tested in a sample of 258 middle and senior level executives representing more than 200 organizations and 25 countries. Correlations among the variables and confirmatory factor analyses provide support for the multidimensional view of polychronicity. Further classification provided evidence that all eight possible configurations of the three variables can and do exist. The most frequent “type” reflected a polyphasic time use preference, low context, and high time tangible profile. This profile fits the description of Type A behavior pattern adding support for the multidimensional view.