Case Studies

• In all of the business disciplines, case studies used in

many different ways. The two most popular uses of
case studies in business school are, first in teaching,
and, second, an research.
• In teaching, case studies are tremendously helpful to
students in them to understand better the theory and
principles that are relevant to business.
• Case studies illustrate a principle or a particular point
that the instructor wishes to make. They show that the
theory has a practical application and bring the subject
matter to life.
 Case Studies
• Case studies are designed to illustrate a more
general point or a theory that is already well
known to most, if not all, instructors in the
subject.
• The purpose of teaching cases is to help
students learn. The cases themselves may be
based on real life or they may be fictional.
 Research Cases
• By contrast, research case studies are written primarily
for researchers, not students. Research cases are used
as empirical evidence to convince other researchers
of the applicability (or inapplicability) of a particular
theory or proposition.
• If the case is first published as part of a research article,
the particular point that the research article makes is
likely to be new to those reviewing the paper (i.e,
other experts in the same field).
• The purpose of research cases is thus to contribute to
knowledge in a particular field.
 A comparison of teaching and
research cases
Teaching Cases
• Written primarily for
students
• Designed to illustrate an
existing theory or principle
• Published on its own as a
teaching case, often with
notes for the instructor
Research Cases
• Written primarily for
researchers
• Designed to contribute to a
new theory or explore/test
an existing theory
• Published as part of a
research article in a journal,
conference, or book
• Writing a research case requires different skills and knowledge than when
writing a teaching case.
• To write a teaching case, an author needs to be familiar with the subject
matter of the course being taught: for example, the textbook and readings
that are used in that course.
• The author also needs to gain access to or to create an interesting
scenario that illustrates the point to be made. However, the theory or the
guidelines that the case is designed to illustrate may or may not be
explicitly mentioned in the write-up of the case itself.
• As a general rule, the write-up will include few, if any, citations of the
relevant research literature. This is because the very idea of a teaching
case is often for students to 'discover' the applicable theory or principles
for themselves.
• One of the key things about creating teaching cases is that the case needs
to be written in an engaging manner such that students are inspired and
encouraged to learn.
• To write a research case, the author needs to have a
much higher and more detailed knowledge of the
subject matter. The author needs to be familiar, the
latest research on the particular topic in question.
• The case needs to be written in such a way that the
story is plausible and convinces other researchers that
the research article is indeed a new contribution to
knowledge in the field. The case also needs to be
written in an engaging manner, such that fellow
researchers will find the story interesting.
 THEORY BUILDING FROM CASE
STUDIES IN MANAGEMENT
• Research case studies can be used in the exploratory
phase of a research topic, to discover the relevant
features, factors, or issues that might apply in other
similar situations. In this way, case studies are used in
the early stages of research on a particular topic.
• Research cases can also be used in explanatory
research, when there is already a large body of
literature on the subject. In this way, case studies can
be used to test theory, to develop causal
explanations,or even to compare theories. It is mistake
to suggest, as some do, that research cases can only be
used in an exploratory way.
• Case study research is thus applicable at any stage of the
research on a partopic. value.
• In a business discipline, case study research uses empirical
evidence from real people in contemporary real-life
organizations. The specific topics vary widety, from current
marketing practices in marketing through to the
implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems in the field of information systems. But a defining
feature of case study research is its focus on asking 'how'
and 'why' questions.
• The case study researcher seeks to understand how and
why a particular business decision was made, or how and
why a business process works the way it does.