The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study based on a four-year study of six public schools leaves the reader with a sense that qualitative analysis and its implicit companion, the case study cannot yet be regarded a rational, much less scientific venture.
Abstract: March 198 1, volume 26 In hisASQ article entitled "Qualitative data as an attractive nuisance," Matthew Miles (1 979) has written a disarmingly candid rendition of the perils of qualitative analysis. Unfortunately, his candor in admitting the existence of these perils was matched by few suggestions for overcoming them. As a result, his article, based on a four-year study of six public schools, leaves the readerwith a sense that qualitative analysis-and its implicit companion, the case study cannot yet be regarded a rational, much less scientific venture.
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01 Feb 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure, which is a process similar to hypothesis-testing research.
Abstract: Building Theories From Case Study Research - This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.
40,005 citations
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.
22,673 citations
Cites background or methods from "The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers..."
...More recently, Yin (1981, 1984) has described the design of case study research....
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...Although the terms qualitative and case study are often used interchangeably (e.g., Yin, 1981), case study research can involve qualitative data only, quantitative only, or both (Yin, 1984)....
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...…contrast, with the exception of Glaser and Strauss (1967), previous work was centered on other topics such as qualitative data analysis (e.g., Miles, 1979; Miles & Huberman, 1984; Kirk & Miller, 1986), case study design (Yin, 1981, 1984; McClintock et al., 1979), and ethnography (Van Maanen, 1988)....
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...This roadmap synthesizes previous work on qualitative methods (e.g., Miles & Huberman, 1984), the design of case study research (e.g., Yin, 1981, 532 This content downloaded from 129.240.204.115 on Fri, 14 Nov 2014 09:07:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1984), and grounded theory…...
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...For example, Glaser and Strauss (1967) detailed a comparative method for developing grounded theory, Yin (1981, 1984) described the design of case study research, and Miles and Huberman (1984) codified a series of procedures for analyzing qualitative data....
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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
Book•
23 Nov 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the discovery of grounded theory within the tradition of qualitative methods is discussed, and Grounded Theory within its Philosophical, Sociological, and Personal Contexts.
Abstract: Introduction PART ONE: SITUATING THE DISCOVERY OF GROUNDED THEORY Situating the Discovery of Grounded Theory within the Tradition of Qualitative Methods Situating Grounded Theory within Its Philosophical, Sociological and Personal Contexts PART TWO: THE GROUNDED THEORY RESEARCH APPROACH Distinguishing Characteristics of Grounded Theories Grounded Theory's Research Operations Evolution of Grounded Theory's Research Operations PART THREE: THE GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH IN MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION STUDIES Grounded Theory in Studies of Management and Organization Writing Grounded Theory
2,011 citations
TL;DR: Investigating the methodological sophistication of case studies as a tool for generating and testing theory by analyzing case studies published during the period 1995-2000 in 10 influential management journals finds that case studies emphasized external validity at the expense of the more fundamental quality measures, internal and construct validity.
Abstract: This article investigates the methodological sophistication of case studies as a tool for generating and testing theory by analyzing case studies published during the period 1995-2000 in 10 influential management journals We find that case studies emphasized external validity at the expense of the two more fundamental quality measures, internal and construct validity Comparing case studies published in the three highest-ranking journals with the other seven, we reveal strategies that may be useful for authors wishing to conduct methodologically rigorous case study research
1,878 citations
Cites methods from "The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers..."
...Despite this, the case study method has been prone to concerns regarding methodological rigor in terms of validity and reliability (e.g., Campbell, 1975; Miles, 1979; Daft and Lewin, 1990; March et al., 1991; Yin, 1981)....
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...…the case study as a method for generating and testing theory has recently seen a revival (e.g., Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007; Siggelkow, 2007; Weick, 2007), after it has lain in limbo for more than 20 years (e.g., Campbell, 1975; Miles, 1979; Daft and Lewin, 1990; March et al., 1991; Yin, 1981)....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1979
11,977 citations
TL;DR: There is a distinct tradition in the literature on social science research methods that advocates the use of multiple methods as mentioned in this paper, which is usually described as one of convergent methodology, multimethod/multitrait (Campbell and Fiske, 1959), convergent validation or, what has been called "triangulation".
Abstract: December 1979, volume 24 There is a distinct tradition in the literature on social science research methods that advocates the use of multiple methods. This form of research strategy is usually described as one of convergent methodology, multimethod/multitrait (Campbell and Fiske, 1959), convergent validation or, what has been called "triangulation" (Webb et al., 1 966). These various notions share the conception that qualitative and quantitative methods should be viewed as complementary rather than as rival camps. In fact, most textbooks underscore the desirability of mixing methods given the strengths and weaknesses found in single method designs.
7,449 citations
01 Mar 1972
TL;DR: The second edition of the Essence of Decision as discussed by the authors was published in 2003 and is 78 pages longer than the original and is illustrated with up-to-date examples from the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Abstract: blockbuster. In the first 16 years (for which figures are available), more than 70,000 copies of Essence of Decision were sold; by its 25th anniversary, more than 1,600 journal articles referenced in the Social Science Citations Index had cited the work. It was a staple on the reading lists. As controversial as it was famous, critiquing Essence of Decision became a cottage industry. In the recent publication of the second edition of Essence of Decision, Allison is joined by co-author Philip Zelikow, director of the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, former Bush administration official, and Allison's former Harvard colleague. The second edition is as fascinating and as frustrating as the original, and surely will remain in the canon of political science. It is 78 pages longer than the original and is illustrated with up-to-date examples from the Clinton and Bush administrations. The authors meticulously use newly available historic materials on the case, and the theory chapters draw from more recent academic scholarship.
2,957 citations
TL;DR: The use of such techniques in organizational studies literally forces the researcher to come to grips with the essential ethnographic question of what it is to be rather than to see a member of the organization.
Abstract: Ethnographic research is of course more than a single method and can be distinguished from participant observation on several grounds one of which is that of its broader aim, the analytic description of a culture. This paper conveniently glosses over many of the fine points of methodological nuance and regards any social study at least partially ethnographic if it allows a researcher to become immersed in the everyday life of the observed. In essence, the use of such techniques in organizational studies literally forces the researcher to come to grips with the essential ethnographic question of what it is to be rather than to see a member of the organization.
1,563 citations
"The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers..." refers methods in this paper
...Conversely, using t hese methods does not always lead to the production of case studies (e.g., the ethnographic and observational research on police behavior by Reiss, 1971; Rubenstein, 1973; and Van Maanen, 1979; none of which had typically been designed as case studies)....
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TL;DR: The Journal of Personality Assessment (JPA), Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 96-97, this paper, was the first publication of the QuasiExperimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings.
Abstract: (1982). Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings (Book) Journal of Personality Assessment: Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 96-97.
1,301 citations