Abseiling from the Shard : The Cognitive Foundations of Capability Development in Temporary Organizations

This paper focuses on capability development in temporary organizations. Prior research in such organizations problematizes but does not explicitly address the cognitive foundations of capability development, particularly with regard to actors’ interpretation of organizational purpose, resources and capabilities. Drawing on the recent advances in research on the micro-foundations of capability development we present an in-depth, longitudinal study of the run up to a large scale fundraising event. We propose a process model of capability development in temporary organizations that delineates how managerial cognition affects the accumulation of resources as well as the eventual assembly of organization level capabilities. This process model complements existing research on capability development in temporary organizations and provides new insights into the evolution of temporary organizations over time.