AGILA METODER : Vikten av att balansera stabilitet och flexibilitet för att uppnå organisatorisk ambidexteritet

Sammanfattning: In order to respond to the changing demands of the business environment, organizations need to develop a higher degree of flexibility in relation to the market and prevailing competition. One way for organizations to become more adjustable is to adopt flexible ways of working that promote innovation. A dominant approach for this is agile methods. Although the basic values and principles of agile methods were initially formulated for work processes linked to software development, an interest in integrating the work method into other functions and industries beyond IT has emerged. An integration and usage of agile methods can, however, give rise to paradoxical tensions as it is challenging to combine organizational needs for stability with agile methods' emphasis on flexibility. The balance between stability and flexibility is highlighted as important and is described as organizational ambidexterity. This study aimed to investigate the integration and usage of agile methods in an organizational context and how to balance stability and flexibility to manage paradoxical tensions. To answer the study's purpose, a qualitative method has been conducted with semi-structured interviews within the chosen organization. The data has been analyzed with James March's (1991) theory Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning and Tushman and O'reilly's (1996) theoretical framework Ambidextrous Organizations. The result shows that there are both external and internal motives for integrating agile methods. Furthermore, the study has found central challenges and opportunities linked to the integration and usage of agile methods. Prominent findings show the importance of reaching an organizational consensus and understanding when agile methods are being integrated, making a selection of what agile values and principles have the possibility to actually generate improvements and benefits, as well as applying traditional and agile methods in combination through hybrid models. The result also highlights the importance of balancing organizational stability and flexibility in order to manage paradoxical tensions and achieve organizational ambidexterity.