Sensemaking and SubjectiveTime: The role of mental time travel’s functions in prospective sensemaking

Prospective sensemaking invokes multiple temporalities (past, present, and future) and thus the concept of time becomes pivotal in its realm. Extant studies have galvanized around the retrospective sensemaking and objective time, while prospective sensemaking and the actions of subjective time have remained undertheorized with a distinct lack of empirical evidence. One important action of subjective time is mental time travel in which the past, present, and future are experienced within the current moment. This paper examines the ways in which the individuals at the top-level management make sense of uncertainty by utilizing the three functions of the mental time travel (Attending, Preparing and Comprehending). Deeper understanding between sensemaking and these three functions of mental time travel has been made using 23 semi-structured interviews with the managers working in top positions within their respective organizations. Our study contributes to the theory of the sensemaking and the concept of subjective time by providing a comprehensive framework in which these three functions of the mental time travel are used across the past, present, and future in making the prospective sense of uncertainties and crafting and implementing strategies against them.