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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the agile project management (APM) approach through the contextual ambidextrous lens by overcoming the traditional perspective that separates projects within the opposite planned-exploitation- and emergent-exploration-oriented forms.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a grounded approach to five different agile-oriented companies for discovering how agile adoption shows both emergent (exploration-oriented) and planned (exploitation-oriented) tensions in a perspective that connects, rather than separates, them.FindingsThis study discovers five main categories, namely, approach, objectives, boundaries, leadership and feedback, that capture the tensions between planned and emergent issues of agile projects. The identified variables interact with different intervening conditions of the APM attributes (i.e. road map, product backlog, team backlog and solution delivery), activating different response actions (“exploitation embedded in exploration” and vice-versa), requiring, as a consequence, the need for contextual ambidexterity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study identifies different implications based on real project contexts, as the importance of a more complete picture of the APM approach, which also considers the combination of planned and emergent aspects of projects and, as consequence, the needs for dual capacities (T-shaped skills) both at project management and team levels.Practical implicationsThis study identifies, in real project contexts, the relevance of integration between the corporate level and the agile project team. This implies the search for constant dialogue, with feedback exchange spread across all levels, also enabled by an integrated leadership approach.Originality/valueThis study highlights agile tensions in a real-world project context by describing how APM connects both explorative and exploitative aspects of change within the same APM initiative, in order to manage such tensions, which differs from previous studies that consider APM in alternation with a linear project management approach as stage-gate.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deepen the global sourcing (GS) phenomenon from the acquiring firms’ viewpoint by analyzing the Italian craft beer sector. This industry has been chosen since it represents a perfect context for the GS activities’ analysis. Notably, different features characterizing this business force Italian breweries to turn to suppliers, located outside their national borders, to purchase the necessary raw materials. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a multiple case study concerning four Italian agricultural breweries located in the Marche region. Findings Results identify the main motivations, drivers, risks, obstacles and costs related to the adoption of the GS activities, by corroborating a positive interconnection with the GS literature findings. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is related to the fact that the study is based on a survey carried out on a specific region and product category. Therefore, future research could analyze other Italian regions and/or different types of products. Practical implications The study identifies different gaps characterizing the Italian supply market. Managerially these gaps can be converted into critical opportunities for the future development of the entire Italian brewing sector. Moreover, the results detect several actions the investigated breweries will seek to develop in the near future, which could strongly support the growth of the Italian beer sector. Originality/value The study deepens a topic little explored by literature, especially with reference to the supply activities of the Italian agricultural breweries.

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