The planning paradox: Why engineer-to-order companies must embrace contradictions in tactical planning
通过五家瑞典公司的案例研究，揭示了按订单设计企业在报价规划与销售运营规划中面临的九类一般矛盾和七类情境矛盾，指出有效规划需要拥抱而非解决矛盾，并发现销售运营规划可作为矛盾综合机制。
Tactical planning practices, like request for quotation (RFQ) planning and sales and operations planning (S&OP) are critical for competitiveness in engineer-to-order (ETO) settings yet remain understudied compared to repetitive manufacturing. This study explores RFQ planning and S&OP practices in ETO settings through integrated paradox and contingency theory lenses, addressing how experienced contradictions affect these practices and how contingency factors influence contradictions and practice design. A multiple case study of five Swedish companies reveals that ETO organizations face nine general and seven context-specific contradictions shaping their tactical planning practices influenced by seven contingency factors grouped into fundamental, mediating and operational levels. The findings challenge static views of organizational fit, revealing a four-stage iterative cycle where contingency factors manifest contradictions that shape RFQ planning and S&OP practices, which subsequently become new contingency factors. This dynamic relationship suggests that effective RFQ planning and S&OP practices in ETO settings requires embracing rather than resolving inherent contradictions through continuous adaptation and sophisticated management. S&OP emerges as a powerful contradiction synthesis mechanism when properly designed for ETO settings. The study extends paradox theory to tactical planning domains, advances contingency theory by revealing practice-contingency co-evaluation.