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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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Qualitative Case Study Guidelines

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss methodological problems associated with qualitative case-based research and offer guidelines for overcoming them, and some modifications to the dependencies between the six case study stages are suggested.
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Blockchain applications in supply chains, transport and logistics : a systematic review of the literature

TL;DR: A systematic review of the literature finds four main clusters in the co-citation analysis, namely Technology, Trust, Trade, and Traceability/Transparency, and discusses the emerging themes and applications of blockchains for supply chains, logistics and transport.
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Sustainable supply chain management: framework and further research directions

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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Journal ArticleDOI

A Longitudinal Study of the Role of Manufacturing Technology in Business Strategy

TL;DR: In this paper, a study of the use of flexible manufacturing systems in three strategic business units over a period of six years is presented, where each SBU describes its manufacturing technology strategy and contrasts it with tactical measures of actual operations to gain insight into the role of manufacturing technology in the SBU's business strategy and its evolution.
Journal ArticleDOI

Cause, consequence and control: towards a theoretical and practical model of operational risk

TL;DR: In this article, a provisional model of operational risk based upon the input and outcome dimensions of causal event and negative consequence is developed, and effective risk control is highlighted as an integrated process with more similarities to service quality management than variation-reduction process control.
Journal ArticleDOI

Management of industrial maintenance – economic evaluation of maintenance policies

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model to decide whether to schedule preventive maintenance and the model trades off the capital costs of preventive maintenance with the sum of corrective maintenance and down-time costs based on the production line state.
Journal ArticleDOI

The planning flexibility bottleneck in food processing industries

TL;DR: This work proposes a planning framework that relates planning events to the way in which planning decisions are structured in the planning organization, and shows that existing production planning approaches, ERP systems, and advanced planning systems can only partly resolve this.
Journal ArticleDOI

An initial assessment of the influence of IT on TQM: a multiple case study

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an initial investigation of such relationships through an interview survey of 14 companies based in Spain and conclude that there is a framework underpinning this relationship, and an instrument for testing the conjectured linkages within the framework.
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).