Introduction to Case Studies

In: Conducting Case Study Research for Business and

Management Students

By: Bill Lee & Mark N.K. Saunders

Pub. Date: 2019
Access Date: November 23, 2021
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd
City: 55 City Road
Print ISBN: 9781446274170
Online ISBN: 9781529716702
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This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods. Please note that the pagination of the
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Introduction to Case Studies

Introduction

The purpose of this book is to provide a guide to students who decide to incorporate one or more case
studies into the data collection processes that they conduct in preparation of a Masters-level dissertation.
We will elaborate on what case studies are below, but a provisional definition is that a case study entails
a decision to study an instance, institution or phenomenon primarily as interesting per se, rather than
as a representative of a broader population. This initial decision will subsequently involve the researcher
in fieldwork, collecting evidence about the phenomenon from a range of sources to seek to develop a
multidimensional understanding of the case.

Masters-level students are our primary audience but this book may also provide a primer for students studying
for research degrees such as PhDs or for others who are considering using case studies for the first time.
In offering some form of guide, we outline two broad approaches to help structure the discussion. In defining
them as broad approaches, we are intending that the reader recognizes that we are presenting each as
a genre that may embrace a number of different variants, rather than a definite prescription of a single
best way of conducting each type of case study. One broad approach may be considered as orthodox and
starts with the reading of literature and progresses in a linear way through the development of a research
question or questions, design of research, collection of data, analysis of data and writing up of the research.
The other recognizes greater iteration and will be referred to throughout as an emergent approach. As will
become clear below, we do not intend the term emergent to imply that it is an approach that is only just
being developed; instead we use the term to infer that the case will be developed as the research proceeds
when the researcher encounters new circumstances and ideas, often in unanticipated ways. So the emergent
approach will not necessarily start from the reading of the literature, but may instead start with a problem or
an observation or some data in the form of anecdotal evidence that the researcher finds interesting and then
progresses from there to include the stages that appear in the orthodox approach, although often not in the
same order as takes place in the orthodox approach.

The two approaches are not necessarily dichotomous. Indeed, some readers who are experienced in the
conduct of case studies and conversant with a broad range of literature on case studies and research
methods more generally may suggest that this book simplifies what some writers on orthodox case studies
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advocate, or it combines elements of a range of different approaches into emergent cases, or it does
not centralize alternative ways of dividing case studies such as by the epistemological preferences of the
researcher as is used by some other writers (e.g., Boblin et al., 2013). We recognize some legitimacy in such
criticisms.

We do, however, have two main reasons for organizing the book according to the chronological order in which
stages in the research process are carried out. The first main reason is that the two approaches reflect two
broad traditions that are presented below when we discuss the history of case studies. The first approach
is based on the principles of experimental psychology where research questions are defined within tightly
defined boundaries and there are then attempts to control the boundaries and collect evidence within those
boundaries so that the original research questions and findings addressed to those questions are seen to
have validity. The second approach is that of ethnographic research stemming originally from anthropological
studies where boundaries are not known, and where issues of interest deemed most worthy of expression in
written-up findings only emerge as the research progresses. The former lends itself to a linear progression
through the stages of research. The latter can accommodate a much less rigid advance through the different
stages in the research process. As you may be undertaking your first research project, you may have had
limited opportunities to familiarize yourself with different traditions, so this book provides you with these
alternatives.

The second main reason to justify our organization of the book according to differences in the chronological
order in the stages that the case study is conducted, is that the two approaches tend to reflect what happens
in practice when experienced academics undertake case studies. Cases do start at different stages, not least
because people may have made a number of observations, or had a number of experiences over time and
they may have started to formulate ideas of why those events had occurred. In effect, they had started to
define a problem before they had conducted an extensive review of the literature. Alternatively, a problem
may be suggested to a researcher by someone who then provides access to evidence (see, for example,
Buchanan, 2012). Only some case studies will start because people identify a gap in the literature and
progress from there to conduct of the case. If the research of experienced academics progresses in different
ways, it would be inappropriate to suggest that people with less experience should not also have a choice of
alternatives, especially when many Masters-level students are mature and have numerous experiences that
might help in defining a research problem. This book is written in a way where it will not only provide a guide
to using case studies in research that has different starting points but the information provided will also help
you to document a systematic explanation of what you have done and why you did it. It is worth noting at this
stage that some other authors also write about ‘teaching cases’ that document a scenario and ask students to
consider issues surrounding the scenario from different vantage points. We deliberately avoid consideration
of teaching cases as the purpose of this book is to provide guidance around using case studies in research.

The objectives of the remainder of this chapter are threefold. The first is to expand on ideas of what
constitutes case studies and the two alternative approaches. These are described here as either orthodox
that involves the advanced definition of the protocol of the specific case study as a comprehensive research

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strategy, or emergent where the case study is perceived as a strategic choice that presupposes only using
one or more institutions or instances as cases, but the exact way in which knowledge about those cases
will be derived and used to add to our understanding is not pre-defined and will be finalized as a research
strategy as the research progresses. The second objective is to discuss the origins of case studies partly as a
means to providing an understanding of why they have been developed as ways of conducting research and
to help illuminate the differences in the two approaches that are outlined. The final objective of this chapter is
to outline the remainder of the book.

What is a case study?

One of the things that may surprise – and confuse – a reader new to research when reviewing the literature
on case studies is the different terms that are used to explain what case studies are. For example, Janckowicz
(2005: 220) has described case studies as a research method which may be defined as ‘a systematic and
orderly approach taken to the collection and analysis of data’. For Janckowicz (2005: 221) case studies will
then embrace different techniques – which are identical to what others have described as ‘methods’– that
comprise ‘particular step-by-step procedures which you can follow in order to gather data and analyse them
for the information they contain’. Robert Yin (2014), who is probably the best-known author on case studies,
sometimes uses the term ‘method’ to describe a case study and at other times suggests that a case study
is a research strategy which will contain a number of methods. This definition of case studies as a research
strategy embracing a number of methods is one echoed by a number of other writers (see, for example,
Hartley, 2004).

The above definitions are all aligned with orthodox approaches that tend to suggest that all research
components that lead to a research output known as a case study may be collapsed into a set of decisions
in advance of the study taking place. For this reason, this book will view such approaches as seeing case
studies as a research strategy. That strategy will progress through a route that is primarily linear as presented
in Figure 1.1.

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Figure 1.1 Orthodox linear approach

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It starts with a thorough literature review that will result in the formulation of clear theoretical propositions often
expressed as research questions. The research then progresses to a plan for the conduct of the research
which will entail theorizing about the cases in ways that will allow the generation of answers to the research
questions, the evidence that will be necessary and the people whose position will enable provision of that
evidence and then to the execution of that plan. Although some authors may acknowledge that some stages
may be repeated, we have focussed on the aspects of linearity when providing an outline of the orthodox
approach in Figure 1.1 to help distinguish the difference between orthodox and emergent approaches. The
advanced definition of what is to be done in the course of such an orthodox case study is usually expressed
in the form of a research protocol – see Chapter 4 for more on this. Unplanned divergence from that protocol
is a violation of the research and is likely to create bias. The orthodox approach relies heavily on propositional
knowledge – i.e., that which has been expressed in formulated and shared statements – derived from the
literature review and determines the scope of the research. The advantage of this approach is that if the
research has been designed properly to make a contribution to the literature – and perhaps to resolve a
problem within a case study organization – and the case can be executed as initially conceived, early stages
of the research process may be written up as the case is progressing (see Yin, 2014: 195) and the dissertation
project should be completed and written up in a timely way with the desired outcome. This type of approach
clearly has its supporters (e.g., Crowe et al., 2011; Yin, 2014) and it may be one which you seek to – and
your dissertation supervisor encourages you to – utilize. In subsequent chapters, this book will outline how to
conduct orthodox case studies.

There are, however, drawbacks with orthodox case studies. Firstly, propositional knowledge may not have
captured experiential, empathetic and tacit knowledge, which can enhance understanding. To focus only on
propositional knowledge is to risk excluding these other forms of knowledge from the case study. Everyone
exists in a range of different communities and will be affected by a wide range of different issues. It seems
less than sensible to suggest that they should not seek to think analytically about – and document – what
they know about those communities and issues simply because they have not yet conducted an extensive
literature view. Secondly, a reluctance to wait until a literature review has been conducted could lead to the
forfeit of opportunities that provide ‘accidental access’ to an organization that constitutes an interesting site
to study a particular problem (Otley and Berry, 1994: 51). Conversely, the ideal site to examine a particular
research question that follows from a literature review may not be identifiable or accessible. Thirdly, once the
case is started, there is a danger that the specified case study protocol could become a straightjacket that
precludes new opportunities to gather evidence as they arise, or the case could lead to many false starts as
new projects have to be started if new, important insights become available. Encouragement to miss such
opportunities is perhaps most evident in Yin’s (2014: 55) discussion of holistic cases when he says:

The initial study questions may have reflected one orientation, but as the case study proceeds, a
different orientation may emerge, and the evidence begins to address different research questions.
… you need to avoid such unsuspected slippage; if the relevant research questions really do
change, you should simply start over again, with a new research design.

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The alternative approach to case studies being proposed here recognizes both the other forms of knowledge
that enhance understanding that may need to be embodied in a case study at some point and that qualitative
research that involves naturalistic settings tends ‘to be much more fluid and flexible than quantitative research
in that it emphasizes discovering novel or unanticipated findings and the possibility of altering research plans
in research to such serendipitous occurrences’ (Patton, 2015: 240). Not surprisingly, Stake (1995: 28) has
said:

Researchers differ on how much they want to have their research questions identified in advance.
Case study fieldwork regularly takes the research in unexpected directions, so too much
commitment in advance is problematic.

In suggesting an alternative of emergent case studies, the objective is to realize the benefits of alternative
forms of knowledge identified above and to exercise the degree of flexibility to respond to events that were
not anticipated, but which might enhance the understanding that can be derived from a case. For these
reasons, the suggestion here is that an emergent approach will simply view a case study as a strategic choice.
The nature of the choice that is made is that empirical study of one or more institutions or instances of a
phenomenon is the best way of answering a particular research question. How the choice of cases is made,
decisions on the defining aspects of the cases, the theorization of any relationship between the case and a
wider population, the interesting aspects of the case requiring focus and the ways to derive data to address
the interesting aspects of the case are all other decisions that will be made in the course of the research. As
such the strategic choice of using one or more cases may be built into a range of different research strategies
that will involve conducting case studies and employing them in a dissertation, but which will emerge as the
research progresses.

Figure 1.2 adapts what is presented in Figure 1.1 to show the general course of development in emergent
approaches to case studies. In the diagram, the definition of the research question(s) is decoupled from
the conduct of the literature review. The research questions are not seen as unimportant – indeed, they
remain central to the construction of the case and are likely to guide many actions; however, there is
acknowledgement of the possibility that ‘the best research questions evolve during the study’ (Stake, 1995:
33). Thus, in the diagram, the definition of the research question(s) could take place at a range of stages,
both before or after each of the respective stages of reviewing the literature, designing the study, collecting
the data, preparing for further study and collecting more data or analysing data. It will all depend on what
knowledge – either formal propositional or experiential, empathetic and tacit – you have already acquired
and the extent to which you have identified a phenomenon as a problem. As the diagram illustrates, there
may be considerable movement backwards and forwards between different stages and some might overlap.
For example, the identification of an initial problem could lead to a provisional design of a study and even
the collection of some data to check that the problem may be significant simultaneous to an initial literature
review, leading to a refined definition of the research questions.

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Figure 1.2 Emergent approach

It is, however, important to emphasize two points with regards to the different approaches. Firstly, neither
Figure 1.1 nor Figure 1.2 has a stage of ethical approval. A requirement to obtain ethical approval before
conducting research that involves the collection of data from human participants is increasingly common and
some universities will not allow you to use data that has been collected without ethical approval. It is, thus,
important that you check your own institution’s ethical procedures and comply with them when following either
of the journeys represented in Figure 1.1 or Figure 1.2. Secondly, the final writing-up and reporting of findings
to the appropriate audiences is accepted here as the last stage for a Masters-level student when preparing
a dissertation, although it may be that the work involved in the dissertation will be continued in some form or
other afterwards.

In identifying orthodox and emergent approaches to case studies, the intention here is not to suggest that the
outcome will necessarily be any different. As Yin (2014: 16; see also Tsang, 2014: 370) reports the product
of a case study is ‘an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon (the “case”) in depth
and within its real-world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not
be clearly evident’. Similarly, orthodox and emergent approaches will each recognize other aspects of Yin’s
(2014: 16) definition of a distinctive and complex situation being studied that will require multiple sources of

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data and will involve some development of theory, although – as previously indicated – not necessarily in the
same order or for the same objective or to address the same research questions. The nature of the case, if
an institution, may be either generic such as industry, sector, specific country or population, or it may be more
specific such as a particular corporation, responsibility or programme of tasks. The nature of the case, if a
phenomenon, may be an event, a co-existing series of events or a ritual. The understanding proposed may
be a general one to be represented as shared, or it may be from a particular viewpoint such as line managers’
view of, or influence on, personnel practices at their organization. The aim will be to provide rich descriptions
of both the phenomenon and the context for the purpose of providing new knowledge about the case and/or
theoretical constructs.

As the objective of a Masters dissertation is to report clearly to an academic audience – and sometimes
to a practitioner one as well – it is just as important when pursuing an emergent approach as it is with an
orthodox approach to keep systematic records of the evidence that has been collected – even though the
way of conducting the research was not defined fully at the outset – and link that evidence to propositional
statements found in published academic work. Similarly, it is just as important when utilizing an orthodox
approach as it is with an emergent approach to seek to capture and convey much of the implicit, unstated
understandings that are commonly known by the participants, in order to be able to provide understanding
and a convincing account of what is happening in the case. In linking your findings to the different forms of
knowledge that you have utilized, it is important to describe the ideas with which you started your research
and how these developed in the course of your project so as to convey an accurate account of the conduct
of your study. As Otley and Berry (1994: 47) point out, a common failing in case study research is that it is
often not clear whether the ideas that are reported are the ones that the researcher started with at the outset
or whether they are ones that have been adopted in the course of the research.

Table 1.1 summarizes the differences that we have identified between orthodox and emergent approaches
to case studies in this section. It will be useful to review this table to make sure that you understand these
differences before proceeding further. If you already have a research question to study in mind, you might
also think briefly at this point about the issues in the left-hand column and whether you are already leaning
towards either an orthodox or an emergent approach and how you are intending to proceed through the
stages outlined in either Figure 1.1 or Figure 1.2.
Table 1.1 Key distinctions between orthodox and emergent case study approaches
Orthodox Emergent

Initial type of primary Propositional from formal theories Possibly partly propositional but also derived from within
knowledge that are brought in from the outside the case and often experiential, empathetic and tacit

Point of conduct of
Outset Throughout
principal literature review

Point of definition of Immediately after principal literature Any time before completion of fieldwork

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principal research
review
questions

Integrated strategy with clear Series of strategic choices that are fluid and emergent
Nature of choice
protocol throughout the case

Process of case Primarily linear Primarily iterative

Why use a case study?

One of the distinctions that will be evident in the next chapter is that of particularization versus generalization.
One of the claims for quantitative survey research is its utility if you seek to make statistical generalizations
about a population. By contrast, case studies are often criticized for not allowing generalization. While such a
view of case studies has been challenged (see, for example, Tsang, 2014) – and in Chapter 2 we will return
to consider how you might use case studies in a research strategy where you wish to generalize your findings
– it is important to emphasize that a key strength of case studies is that of particularization. This refers to
the capability to study the particular institution or phenomenon in depth to identify its unique characteristics
and the ways in which those unique characteristics combine in a very specific way to produce a particular
outcome and to provide an explanation based on those unique characteristics and combinations. A case may
be interesting in its own right and does not require wider inferences to give it greater value. It is this strength
that has been a feature of case studies when one looks at their historic development.

In the social sciences, case studies originated in early twentieth century anthropology as authors such
as E.E. Evans-Pritchard conducted systematic ethnographic studies of other cultures using participant-
observation methods with long periods of fieldwork in a different society. Case studies were then transferred
through the adoption of ethnographic approaches in sociology as sociologists researched parts of their own
indigenous culture; one of the most famous being the Chicago School’s urban studies. Although there had
been piecemeal uses of cases in the general area of management previously, such as Taylor’s (1911) use of
Schmidt at Bethlehem Steel Company to illustrate the principles of Scientific Management, this latter period
saw a number of ethnographic studies of workplaces. This latter tranche of studies included the work of
Donald Roy (1959) and Michael Burawoy (1979) in the USA and Tom Lupton (1963) and Huw Beynon (1973)
in the UK. These studies provided a cross-over between the disciplines of sociology and the more emergent
disciplines related to management. Indeed, Tom Lupton was one of the academics recruited to the area of
management as Schools of Business or Management were established in the UK as part of the expansion of
higher education in the 1960s. Knowledge of methods was, thus, transferred by the movement of academics
between disciplines in the UK. A common feature of the work of all the above authors is that, regardless
of their disciplinary and geographical context, they all provided rich insights into areas of social life that
were not previously understood. As the academics immersed themselves in the everyday life of people that
they studied, the ideas or theories they developed tended to emerge from the empirical evidence that they
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collected.

In some quarters, however, their approach was considered as not scientific, lacking in the methodological
rigour that would enable their findings to be made generalizable. Perhaps a little unfortunately, one response
to this criticism helped to establish a new orthodoxy in the disciplines that make up business and
management. Robert Yin – who is an experimental psychologist (Campbell, 1984) – produced a work
that married a positivist epistemology to an experimental design to propose highly defined ways of using
case studies. A reading of Yin’s book, first published in 1984 and now in its fifth edition, gives insight
into how he seeks to transfer some of the logic of control from experiments into the design of case
studies. Yin’s book became popular in the subsidiary disciplines of the Business and Management field. Lee
(1999: 15) reports that Yin’s book was one of the three top methodological works for citations across four
important American journals; namely, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly,
Organizational Science and Strategic Management Journal. Yin’s book offered an alternative to the statistical
generalization found in quantitative survey research, to allow a small number of case studies to be seen
as having wider applicability. The alternative he proposed was that of theoretical or analytic generalization
based on the generalizability of theoretical propositions to different situations. Yin’s approach has shaped the
orthodoxy in the Business and Management field. For example, Tsang (2014) conducted a review of the 25
articles based on case studies that appeared in the American Academy of Management Journal between
2008 and 2012 and found that all sought to use theoretical generalization.

Since that time, others have challenged some of the ideas evident in Yin’s orthodox approach and highlighted
the potential of case studies to utilize experiential and empathetic knowledge, retain flexibility in the course of
fieldwork and produce understanding of a unique institution or phenomenon through particularization (Stake,
1995: 7; Lee et al., 2007). Proposals on how to utilize orthodox case studies will be outlined in the next
chapter, along with suggestions of how to conduct the alternative of emergent case studies that are identified
above. What is meant by an emergent approach is not incompatible with the ethnographic case studies
identified above where, instead of there being a tendency to pre-design all aspects of the research, there
is acknowledgement that some decisions about the research will be made as the case progresses. Thus, in
your research, you may choose to use a case study because you aspire to understand whether your findings
may be generalized to other units of analysis, or because you wish to understand the unique qualities of the
case as a single unit of analysis.

Outline of remainder of book

So far, we have outlined two approaches to undertaking case studies. The remainder of the book is organized
in the following way. In Chapter 2, we discuss issues that should be considered when conducting a case study
using either an emergent or orthodox approach. These issues, which will never be far from the surface until
the research is completed, include:

• The philosophical position of the researcher;

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• The impact of the philosophical position on the design of the research;

• The ways in which the philosophical position and the design will affect the relationship between the
cases that are studied and any wider population of cases which will affect the capacity to theorize
from the research;
• The types of logic that may be employed when theorizing;
• The different strategies for selecting cases; and
• The factors that will affect the choice of data collection methods to be used in a case.

This leads into Chapter 3 that provides a discussion of the tasks that have to be completed in the course
of a case study. Chapter 4 then brings together the contents of the preceding chapters to discuss just how
both orthodox and emergent case studies might be conducted. Chapter 5 provides examples of published
cases where different approaches have been adopted. Chapter 6 concludes by reflecting on the strengths
and limitations of case studies. A glossary of key terms is also provided at the end of the book.

Summary

This chapter has distinguished between two approaches to case studies – the orthodox that sees the case
study as an integrated, pre-defined, research strategy so that research proceeds in a linear way, and the
emergent that sees the case study as a strategic choice that is made and there are movements backwards
and forwards between different stages in the research process in the course of the research as other
decisions of how to conduct the case study and for what purpose are built into the research strategy as the
research proceeds. Why orthodox cases gained prominence in management disciplines has been discussed,
although the understanding brought by each type of case has also been outlined, as has the remainder of the
book. Before you proceed to the next chapter, you may wish to think about the exercise that is shown in Box
1.1 on the following page that illustrates the differences between orthodox and emergent case studies that
have been made in this chapter and which will be evident in subsequent chapters.

Box 1.1 Questions for reflection

First:

• Write down a research question based on the literature that you know from any of
the modules that you have studied.
• Identify a case to be studied that will allow you to address that question.
• Think about the type of evidence that you will need from that case to answer the
research question that you have posed.

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Then:

• Think of an institution or phenomenon that you know well.

• Think about something in that institution or phenomenon that you do not
necessarily understand in some way.
• Think about how you could use your knowledge and understanding of an institution
or phenomenon that you know well to formulate a research question to investigate
the part that you do not know well.

[Link]

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