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Journal ArticleDOI

Building theories from case study research.

01 Oct 1989-Academy of Management Review (Academy of Management)-Vol. 14, Iss: 4, pp 532-550
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes.
Abstract: �Traditional, hierarchical views of leadership are less and less useful given the complexities of our modern world. Leadership theory must transition to new perspectives that account for the complex adaptive needs of organizations. In this paper, we propose that leadership (as opposed to leaders) can be seen as a complex dynamic process that emerges in the interactive “spaces between” people and ideas. That is, leadership is a dynamic that transcends the capabilities of individuals alone; it is the product of interaction, tension, and exchange rules governing changes in perceptions and understanding. We label this a dynamic of adaptive leadership, and we show how this dynamic provides important insights about the nature of leadership and its outcomes in organizational fields. We define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and we present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these ideas for organizational behavior and organization and management theory.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a systematic approach to new concept development and grounded theory articulation that is designed to bring "qualitative rigor" to the conduct and presentation of inductive research is presented.
Abstract: For all its richness and potential for discovery, qualitative research has been critiqued as too often lacking in scholarly rigor. The authors summarize a systematic approach to new concept development and grounded theory articulation that is designed to bring “qualitative rigor” to the conduct and presentation of inductive research.

6,189 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the theoretical foundations of value creation in e-business by examining how 59 American and European e-Businesses that have recently become publicly traded corporations create value.
Abstract: We explore the theoretical foundations of value creation in e-business by examining how 59 American and European e-businesses that have recently become publicly traded corporations create value. We observe that in e-business new value can be created by the ways in which transactions are enabled. Grounded in the rich data obtained from case study analyses and in the received theory in entrepreneurship and strategic management, we develop a model of the sources of value creation. The model suggests that the value creation potential of e-businesses hinges on four interdependent dimensions, namely: efficiency, complementarities, lock-in, and novelty. Our findings suggest that no single entrepreneurship or strategic management theory can fully explain the value creation potential of e-business. Rather, an integration of the received theoretical perspectives on value creation is needed. To enable such an integration, we offer the business model construct as a unit of analysis for future research on value creation in e-business. A business model depicts the design of transaction content, structure, and governance so as to create value through the exploitation of business opportunities. We propose that a firm's business model is an important locus of innovation and a crucial source of value creation for the firm and its suppliers, partners, and customers. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

5,082 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the use of case study research in operations management for theory development and testing is reviewed and guidelines and a roadmap for operations management researchers wishing to design, develop and conduct case-based research are provided.
Abstract: This paper reviews the use of case study research in operations management for theory development and testing. It draws on the literature on case research in a number of disciplines and uses examples drawn from operations management research. It provides guidelines and a roadmap for operations management researchers wishing to design, develop and conduct case‐based research.

4,127 citations


Cites background or methods from "Building theories from case study r..."

  • ...Field notes are a running commentary about what is happening in the research, involving both observation and analysis, preferably separate from one another (Eisenhardt, 1989)....

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  • ...Interviews are usually conducted by a single investigator, but as Eisenhardt (1989) points out, the use of multiple investigators can have advantages....

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  • ...In particular, we will draw on the work of Eisenhardt (1989), who brought together much of the previous work on building theory from case research....

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  • ...Eisenhardt (1989) argues that a priori specification of constructs is valuable because `̀ It permits researchers to measure constructs more accurately....

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  • ...However, in case research we often build a sample of cases by selecting cases according to different criteria (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An approach based on ‘systematic combining’ grounded in an ‘abductive’ logic is suggested for single case research aiming at theory development in industrial network research.

4,121 citations


Cites background from "Building theories from case study r..."

  • ...Eisenhardt (1989) argues that parsimony is the hallmark...

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  • ...reader with information that makes it possible to evaluate the adequacy of the research procedure and its outcomes (Eisenhardt, 1989)....

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  • ...One striking feature regarding how to build theory from case studies in general is that of ‘‘frequent overlap of data analysis with data collection’’ (Eisenhardt, 1989)....

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  • ...It is important to provide the reader with information that makes it possible to evaluate the adequacy of the research procedure and its outcomes (Eisenhardt, 1989)....

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  • ...reader with information that makes it possible to evaluate the adequacy of the research procedure and its outcomes (Eisenhardt, 1989). Logical coherence as a foundation for analytical generalization is an important criterion for quality in case research. The third problem with case research relates to the fact that some researchers tend to describe everything and ‘as a result describe nothing’. Such studies interfere with a second criterion of research quality. According to Pfeffer (1982), ‘‘good theory should be parsimonious....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the black box of knowledge sharing within Toyota's network and demonstrate that Toyota's ability to effectively create and manage network-level knowledge-sharing processes at least partially explains the relative productivity advantages enjoyed by Toyota and its suppliers.
Abstract: Previous research suggests that knowledge diffusion occurs more quickly within Toyota’s production network than in competing automaker networks. In this paper we examine the ‘black box’ of knowledge sharing within Toyota’s network and demonstrate that Toyota’s ability to effectively create and manage network-level knowledge-sharing processes at least partially explains the relative productivity advantages enjoyed by Toyota and its suppliers. We provide evidence that suppliers do learn more quickly after participating in Toyota’s knowledge-sharing network. Toyota’s network has solved three fundamental dilemmas with regard to knowledge sharing by devising methods to (1) motivate members to participate and openly share valuable knowledge (while preventing undesirable spillovers to competitors), (2) prevent free riders, and (3) reduce the costs associated with finding and accessing different types of valuable knowledge. Toyota has done this by creating a strong network identity with rules for participation and entry into the network. Most importantly, production knowledge is viewed as the property of the network. Toyota’s highly interconnected, strong tie network has established a variety of institutionalized routines that facilitate multidirectional knowledge flows among suppliers. Our study suggests that the notion of a dynamic learning capability that creates competitive advantage needs to be extended beyond firm boundaries. Indeed, if the network can create a strong identity and coordinating rules, then it will be superior to a firm as an organizational form at creating and recombining knowledge due to the diversity of knowledge that resides within a network. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

3,638 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 1962
TL;DR: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of science and philosophy of science, and it has been widely cited as a major source of inspiration for the present generation of scientists.
Abstract: A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were-and still are. "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. And fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don't arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but that revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of "normal science," as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn's essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introductory essay by Ian Hacking that clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking's essay provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.

36,808 citations

Book
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: Giddens as discussed by the authors has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.

13,552 citations

Book
01 Jan 1969

12,535 citations

Book
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: This book presents a meta-coding pedagogical architecture grounded in awareness contexts that helps practitioners and students understand one another better and take responsibility for one another's learning.
Abstract: The teaching of qualitative analysis in the social sciences is rarely undertaken in a structured way. This handbook is designed to remedy that and to present students and researchers with a systematic method for interpreting qualitative data', whether derived from interviews, field notes, or documentary materials. The special emphasis of the book is on how to develop theory through qualitative analysis. The reader is provided with the tools for doing qualitative analysis, such as codes, memos, memo sequences, theoretical sampling and comparative analysis, and diagrams, all of which are abundantly illustrated by actual examples drawn from the author's own varied qualitative research and research consultations, as well as from his research seminars. Many of the procedural discussions are concluded with rules of thumb that can usefully guide the researchers' analytic operations. The difficulties that beginners encounter when doing qualitative analysis and the kinds of persistent questions they raise are also discussed, as is the problem of how to integrate analyses. In addition, there is a chapter on the teaching of qualitative analysis and the giving of useful advice during research consultations, and there is a discussion of the preparation of material for publication. The book has been written not only for sociologists but for all researchers in the social sciences and in such fields as education, public health, nursing, and administration who employ qualitative methods in their work.

11,846 citations


"Building theories from case study r..." refers background in this paper

  • ...One is the work on grounded theory building by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and, more recently, Strauss (1987)....

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  • ...Third, particularly in comparison with Strauss (1987) and Van Maanen (1988), the process described here adopts a positivist view of research....

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  • ...Glaser and Strauss (1967) and more recently Strauss (1987) have outlined pieces of the process, but theirs is a prescribed formula, and new ideas have emerged from methodologists (e.g., Yin, 1984; Miles & Huberman, 1984) and researchers conducting this type of research (e.g., Gersick, 1988; Harris…...

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