"Rhetorical history, temporal narratives and links in time: the case of pension fund investment short-termism"

This study utilises theorization about time through ‘rhetorical history’ narratives to explore the social conceptualization of time, in order to capture how managers collectively construct the past when they make strategic decisions. This is linked with the debate relating to the short vs long term temporal focus, an issue that has been rarely examined in the literature. We identify and elaborate on three distinctive temporal narratives of systemic, organizational and trusteeship role legacies that appear to contribute to organizational inertia and myopic investment, factors that would appear to exacerbate investment short-termism. Theoretically, our study links together different conceptualisations of time and offers an alternative perspective to the established view of ‘rhetorical history’ as a positive force on strategic decision-making. We argue that there is a need to understand better how uses of the past affect strategic management within organizations, focusing on the negative as well as the positive. In the context of the ongoing policy attempts to change and improve the culture and conduct within financial services in the UK and globally, policy makers need to instil in trustees and in the wider investment community the desire to change dominant narratives as a means of fashioning a more sustainable future.