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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

Qualitative case studies in operations management: Trends, research outcomes, and future research implications

Mark Barratt, +2 more
- 01 May 2011 - 
- Vol. 29, Iss: 4, pp 329-342
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TLDR
In many of the qualitative case studies reviewed, sufficient details in research design, data collection, and data analysis were missing and there was a lack of consistency in the way the case method has been applied.
Citations
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Renaissance of case research as a scientific method

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe three distinct methodological accounts of case study: theory generation, theory testing, and theory elaboration, and argue that each approach has its own idiosyncrasies, in particular when it comes to the interplay between theory and empirics.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue for the use of Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and propose a framework that extrapolates SSCM drivers and their relationships.
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Toward a Theory of Multi-Tier Supply Chain Management

TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical development of multi-tier supply chain management by adopting an inductive case study research design is proposed, which is based on the case studies, propositions are built concerning how MSCs operate, and the results show the impact that the dynamics of the MSC have on power balance, structure, interdependence and relationship stability.
References
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The performance of the theory of constraints methodology: Analysis and discussion of successful TOC applications

TL;DR: The results of a meta‐analysis of over 80 successful TOC applications showed that significant improvements in both operational and financial performance were achieved as a result of applying TOC.
Journal ArticleDOI

Quality management: universal or context dependent?

TL;DR: In this article, the authors empirically investigated whether quality management practices are contingent on a plant's manufacturing strategy context, by examining the use of process QM practices across plants representative of different manufacturing strategy contexts.
Journal ArticleDOI

Lean production in a changing competitive world: a Japanese perspective

TL;DR: In this article, the concept of adaptable production is proposed as an approach which can accommodate to greater changes in demand than lean production, and case studies of four manufacturing plants are used to identify problems, solutions and the need for a new approach to production systems design where costs are more sensitive to changing in demand.
Book ChapterDOI

Dynamics of performance measurement systems

TL;DR: It is identified that current knowledge and techniques are sufficiently mature enough to create dynamic performance measurement systems in practice and illustrates this through a case study.
Journal ArticleDOI

Sources of volume flexibility and their impact on performance

TL;DR: In this article, the authors used three case studies to establish the drivers and sources of volume flexibility in a large-scale industrial environment. But they also found that there are several avenues for developing a volume flexible response and that deployment of these tactics is dependent on the availability of resources and systems.
Frequently Asked Questions (9)
Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "Qualitative case studies in operations management: trends, research outcomes, and future research implications" ?

Boyer et al. this paper provide a review of the current state of qualitative case studies in the OM field. 

The authors then conclude by making suggestions for future research. 

Johnston et al. (1999) proposed three main requirements for using qualitative case studies for such confirmation purposes: (1) the case study must begin with an existing theory for the development of research hypotheses; (2) a systematic and logical research design should be followed; and (3) researchers should implement evaluation criteria to independently assess potential biases and to ensure the methodological rigor. 

The over-arching approach that has been proposed for thedeductive use of qualitative case studies is that of confirmation (or falsification) of the appropriateness of a theory ( Bonoma, 1985; Bryman, 1988; Johnston et al., 1999; Ross and Staw, 1993 ; Yin, 1994). 

Single case studies may be useful for longitudinal research (Narasimhan and Jayaram, 1998 ; Voss et al., 2002) and can be used if they are extreme exemplars or opportunities for unusual research access (Yin, 1994). 

Case studies are used primarily to develop new theories (e.g.,Benbasat et al., 1987; Gersick, 1988; Harris and Sutton, 1986 ; Van de Ven, 1989). 

These criticisms may have simply arisen from the lack of familiarity of qualitative methods (Bitektine, 2008 ; Roth, 2007); nevertheless, many researchers trained in positivist traditions have criticized theory-testing based on qualitative case studies on the grounds of “ambiguity of inferred hypotheses” and the “selective bias” (Bitektine, 2008: 161). 

Because the focus is on these patterns involving a priori determined constructs, there is less opportunity for making Type 1 error (i.e. false positive). 

All that the pattern matching requires is “a theoretical pattern of expected outcomes, an observed pattern of effects, and an attempt to match the two” (Trochim, 1989, p. 360).