Introduction to Advances in Case Research

Tony Hines

Ten things to know about case study research

Case study approaches to doing research in the Business and Management domain have been popular since these practice subjects entered university level education in the 20th Century.  In this guide I want to highlight ten things to know about designing case research that enable researchers to make choices and provide justification for research strategies adopted. These are:-
1. Types of case study research: what is the purpose of a case study? For example, is the intention verification or theory building?
2. Planning case designs and how these fit with the types of knowledge you want to generate. What are the criteria for judging quality?
3. Is it possible to combine methods within a case design? Ontological and epistemological considerations.
4. What are the different data sources to inform case study research? For example, qualitative and/or quantitative data and there is also growing interest in using visual data in addition to documents, archival records, interviews, direct/participant observations and artefacts.
5. How do I choose an appropriate sampling strategy? Single or multiple cases, purposive, theoretical or representative sampling?
6. Doing case research – what does it involve? How can I ensure rigour? What are the benefits? What are the risks? How long does it take?
7. How does a case design limit knowledge claims? Is case research generalizable? How does it contribute to our knowledge/understanding of management practice? How can case research build theory? We will consider a philosophical justification for choices we make.
8. How do I analyze case evidence? Ensuring that there is a chain of evidence to justify claims. Some practical suggestions are offered that include: linear analytic, comparative analysis in multiple cases, chronology, and theory-building amongst them.
9. How do I write the case report? Writing the case report: chronology, how to structure the evidence and develop the narrative.
10. How can I ensure that my case research is rigorous, relevant and will make a desired contribution to knowledge for my PhD? Think like a lawyer! Examples of rigorous case study research in different management and business disciplines and the contributions to knowledge they have made will be cited as examples.

Copyright (c) Tony Hines 2012-2020

FURTHER READING

For those wishing to adopt a critical realist approach Geoff Easton offers some useful guidance. Even if not taking this approach you may find the article useful as a means of constructing your own justifications.

Easton, G. (2010). Critical realism in case study research. Industrial Marketing Management, 39, 118-128.

If working in the discipline of operations you may find this of interest.

Ketokivi, M. and Choi, T. (2014). Renaissance of case research as a scientific method. Journal of Operations Management, 32, 232-240.

This is an interesting case about a public hearing and power relations.

Topal, C. (2010). The Construction of General Public Interest: Risk, Legitimacy, and Power in a Public Hearing. Organization Studies, 30, 277-300.

For those working in supply chains or thinking of using a small number of case comparisons.

Yi, C.Y., Ngai, E.W.T. and Moon, K.-L. (2011). Supply chain flexibility in an uncertain environment: exploratory findings from five case studies. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 16, 271-283

Tanskanen, K. and Aminoff, A. (2015). Buyer and supplier attractiveness in a strategic relationship — A dyadic multiple-case study. Industrial Marketing Management, 50, 128-141

Bruno, G., Esposito, E., Genovese, A. and Simpson, M. (2016). Applying supplier selection methodologies in a multi-stakeholder environment: A case study and a critical assessment. Expert Systems with Applications, 43, 271-285.

If interested in health care.

Baker, G.R. (2012). The contribution of case study research to knowledge of how to improve quality of care. BMJ quality safety, 20, i30-i35.

Cronin, C. (2014). Using case study research as a rigorous form of inquiry. Nurse Researcher, 21, 19-27.

For those interested in Information Systems, There are useful discussions regarding generalization in the paper.

Tsang, E.W.K. (2014). Case studies and generalization in information systems research: A critical realist perspective. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23, 174-186.

Researching family businesses then read this.

De Massis, A. and Kotlar, J. (2014). The case study method in family business research: Guidelines for qualitative scholarship. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5, 15-29

Environmental public policy case.

Cairns, G., Wright, G. and Fairbrother, P. (2016). Promoting articulated action from diverse stakeholders in response to public policy scenarios: A case analysis of the use of ‘scenario improvisation’ method. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 103, 97-108.


(c) 2012-2020


Advances in Case Research

Prof Hines

(c) 2012-2020


This is a live workshop project. Materials are continually updated. If you would like to know more about case study research you can check and book through Eventbrite.


These workshops are for researchers who are either considering or doing case study research. This workshop is suitable for Masters and PhD level candidates. It helps you think about purpose, data sources, building the evidence to support claims and writing up the case study. Workshops run 10-1pm UK Time.


Workshops run regularly throughout the year. 


Upcoming Workshop Dates

These workshops can be booked directly on Eventbrite


21st October 2020 - Online

24th November 2020 - Online

16th February 2021 - Online

23rd March 2021 - Online

20th April 2021 - Online