Circular procurement as a multi-phase innovation process: managing paradoxical tensions through sequenced coping strategies

This study conceptualises Circular Procurement (CP) implementation as a multi-phase innovation process requiring firms to manage dynamic and persistent tensions arising from the changes in sourcing routines, supplier evaluation and governance mechanisms. Drawing on Paradox Theory, we examine which paradoxical tensions procurement managers face and which coping strategies they adopt across the CP innovation process. Empirical findings from fifteen case studies of Italian fashion and furniture manufacturers, show that CP innovation unfolds through four sequential phases, i.e., search, select, implement, and capture, each characterised by a distinct configuration of belonging, learning, organising, and performing tensions. A recurrent pattern of coping strategies is found: acceptance in search, spatial separation in select, temporal separation in implement, and synthesis in capture, with each strategy creating the enabling conditions for the next phase. These findings advance theoretical understanding about CP and provide actionable recommendations to procurement managers implementing it.