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This paper highlights temporality as a critical dimension to understand the linkages between institutions and actors that do not search for legitimacy in a given organizational field. The architectural contest for QuikSilverRossignol's new headquarters in France is the case study under scrutiny in this exploration of the role of non-permanent organizations within a specific organizational field. We introduce the notion of 'surfing on institutions', as a way for organizations to adapt and benefit from the norms of a field to which they belong only temporarily.