In defence of the case study methodology for research into strategy practice
and | Sep 28, 2017
About this article
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Sep 28, 2017
Page range: 129 - 145
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijm-2017-0013
Keywords
© 2017 Jeff Hughes and Joe McDonagh
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Methodological analysis of the SISP literature
| Time frame | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methodological approach | Case study (single): 2 | Case study (single): 6 | Case study (single): 12 | Case study (single): 5 | Case study (single): 2 | Case study (single): 27 |
| Case study (multiple): 1 | Case study (multiple): 3 | Case study (multiple): 11 | Case study (multiple): 6 | Case study (multiple): 2 | Case study (multiple): 23 | |
| Survey: 0 | Survey: 6 | Survey: 21 | Survey: 17 | Survey: 5 | Survey: 49 | |
| Quantitative approach: 0 | Quantitative approach: 0 | Quantitative approach: 2 | Quantitative approach: 4 | Quantitative approach: 1 | Quantitative approach: 7 | |
| Qualitative approach: 0 | Qualitative approach: 3 | Qualitative approach: 2 | Qualitative approach: 1 | Qualitative approach: 2 | Qualitative approach: 8 | |
| Mixed methods: 0 | Mixed methods: 0 | Mixed methods: 7 | Mixed methods: 5 | Mixed methods: 0 | Mixed methods: 12 |
Ensuring quality: measures taken to establish validity (adapted from Yin, 2009)
| Tests | Case study tactic | Phase of research |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple sources of evidences were collected in the form of interviews, documentation, archival records, and physical artefacts. | Data collection | |
| A clear chain of evidence has been established. | Data collection | |
| The individual case study reports have been reviewed and verified by key informants from the employed case studies. | Composition | |
| A replication logic was employed in the form of literal replication, with similar results expected at the outset of the study. | Research design | |
| A defined protocol was established, of which the researchers were cognisant throughout the conduct of the study. The sequencing of data collection, the methods by which data collection and analysis were undertaken, and appropriate ethical considerations were observed. | Data collection and analysis | |
| A case study database was established through the use of Nvivo, the chosen qualitative analysis software. This resource was supplemented by extensive libraries of pertinent case data stored both locally and in cloud-based storage. | Data collection |
Analysis of the sap literature
| Number of sources | 120 |
|---|---|
| Books: 10 | |
| Journals: 110 | |
| Conceptual: 62 | |
| Empirical: 48 | |
| Single-case study: 21 | |
| Multiple-case study: 17 | |
| Ethnography: 9 | |
| Survey: 1 | |
| Private: 24 | |
| Public: 18 | |
| Mixed: 5 | |
| Voluntary: 1 | |
| Europe: 41 | |
| U.S.A.: 4 | |
| Australasia: 2 | |
| Mix: 1 | |
| Senior managers: 24 | |
| Middle managers: 1 | |
| Lower-level employees: 1 | |
| Mix: 22 |
Data collection: sources of evidence (adapted from Yin, 2009)
| Source of evidence | Strengths | Weaknesses | Included in the current study? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stable – can be reviewed repeatedly. | Retrievability – can be difficult to find. | YES | |
| Unobtrusive – not created as a result of the case study. | Biased selectivity, if collection is incomplete. | Examples – minutes of meetings, written reports, articles appearing in mass media. | |
| Exact – contains exact names, references, and details of an event. | Reporting bias – reflects (unknown) bias of author(s). | Solid foundational evidence for case, used for corroboration. | |
| Broad coverage – long span of time, many events and settings. | Access – may be deliberately withheld. | ||
| (Same as those for documentation) Precise and usually quantitative. | (Same as those for documentation) Accessibility due to privacy reasons. | YES (limited) | |
| Examples – service records showing number of clients served, organisational records showing budget and personnel records. | |||
| Targeted – focus directly on case study topics. | Bias due to poorly articulated question. | YES | |
| Insightful – provide perceived causal inferences and explanations. | Response bias. | Example – In-depth interviews conducted with 31 interviewees across both case sites. | |
| Inaccuracies due to poor recall. | Exhaustive – all key personnel targeted were interviewed. No further suggestions proffered by interviewees. | ||
| Reflexivity – interviewee gives what interviewer wants to hear. | |||
| Reality – cover events in real time. | Time consuming. | NO | |
| Contextual – cover context of case. | Selectivity – broad coverage difficult without a team of observers. | Not employed due to issues of reflexivity. | |
| Reflexivity – event may proceed differently because it is being observed. | The ability to gain the required access over a sustained period of time also uncertain. | ||
| Cost – hours needed by human observers. | |||
| Same as above for direct observation) Insightful into interpersonal behaviour and motives. | (Same as above for direct observations) Bias due to participant’s/observer’s manipulation of events. | NO | |
| Not employed due to the potential bias that such actions would have on the study’s findings. | |||
| Insightful into cultural features. | Selectivity. | YES | |
| Insightful into technical operations. | Availability. | Example – The IS Strategy reports covering 2010–2012 (Case 1) and 2011–2015 (Case 2) and their associated materials. |
Categorisation of secondary data sources
| Context of origin | Number of documents | |
|---|---|---|
| The European context | 12 | |
| The public service context | 27 | |
| The healthcare context | 20 | |
| The host organisation context | 65 | |
| 124 | ||