9 – Case Study

Why Should I Care?

If you wish to study business, or any other applied field of study such as law, or medicine, much of the “how-to” knowledge comes from the accumulation of real-life events. Each “case” can help to build your knowledge base, design your playbook, which you will use to decide what to do when a real-life scenario needs your attention. However case studies are anecdotal by design, which means they cannot be used to generalize insights towards other groups of the population.

Definitions

Case:
An object of interest, such as a person, an organization, or an event. An anecdote.

Case Study: 
Research based on one case of interest that is studied in great detail.

Data collection tools: 
All that can possibly apply, except the experiment.

Usefulness: 
Generate hypotheses. Build Profiles.

Scientific Power

Case Studies aim to allow one to learn about a single event, or a single organization, or a single person. They usually generate lots of detail and can be used to further research by providing hypotheses or uncovering new variables which need to be taken into account.

Often, Case Studies are well suited to exploratory research, as long as the case has been identified as being worthy of future study. So they may be exploratory, but not in a 'discovery' stage of research, rather in a slightly more advanced stage.

Most times, Case Studies are used in a descriptive aim. The event or object of study has already shown to be particular, exceptional, or interesting. Researchers will use this method to add detail, and further their analysis of variables involved.

Sampling

Sample size is ONE!

Exception: comparative studies. This said, the tiny sampling is by design and readers should be warned of the caveats involved with tiny sampling. Of course the sampling is non-random, many observations being discarded on purpose.

The sampled phenomenon is usually chosen by the researcher, which makes it a purposive sample.

It would not be appropriate to choose the sampled object randomly, because our tiny sample size limits our ability to generalize findings to the rest of the population. It would also make it possible to choose a less interesting object.

The case is ultimately a very detailed anecdote.

Types of Case Studies

1. Snapshot
   These are done at one point in time. Take advantage of an event, or rare case, to understand something new.
   
   
2. Longitudinal
   These are done over many points in time. Allows you to understand how a case evolves, what changes, and maybe why.
   
   
3. Pre and Post
   This allows to learn about the Before (Pre) and After (Post) of a critical event. Allows you to judge the importance of a pivotal factor.
   
   
4. Patchwork
   These are done with many types of instruments, which allows you to layer the analysis. The researcher can use documentary research, content analysis, interview, questionnaire, and field recordings. Also termed 'triangulation'. Allows for a holistic understanding of the case.
   
   
5. Comparative
   When two or more cases are compared. Cases may be opposite extremes, or an extreme versus a typical/average case. Allows to measure gaps in qualitative and quantitative measurements.
   

Advantages

There are many advantages to case studies.

1. Detail
   By focusing only on one object, such as a company, a person, or a city, the researcher spends more time detailing the aspects of that object which make it unique, or worthy of interest.
   
   
2. Inductive Process
   The researcher builds knowledge from observations, rather than deducting a missing part from a supposed whole. This method is grounded in observation, in reality, which is an advantage. It cannot be dismissed as theoretical, or artificial, such as a model, or mathematical deduction.
   
   
3. Outliers and Crazy Cases
   Much research has to do with how most people behave, or think. Scientists are interested in the central tendencies, the averages. However, this way of studying behaviour misses the extreme cases, the rare cases, the outliers, and even the unthinkable, unpredictable, unfathomable cases. When such a rarity occurs, it is important to study it, because it is so different from the average.
   

Anecdotes Matter

Case studies are sometimes controversial. Many scientists refuse to include them as a scientific method, given their low sample size. Many scientists will be quick to accuse the case data of being 'anecdotal', which is a polite way to say 'useless'.

Keep this in mind. Anecdotes are 100% real observations.

If you are a male with breast cancer, you are sick and need help. You are an anecdote, it's true. You are improbable. You are not the typical breast cancer patient. But you do exist. That reality is sometimes obfuscated by the fact many people prefer to think in terms of the average observation.

The reality of life is that many things are possible in nature. We are often surprised. When that happens, case studies are a great way to learn new things.

Disadvantages

1. Tiny Sample
   The sample is anecdotal and results cannot be generalized to the rest of the population.
   
   
2. Temptation of Rhetoric
   There is a danger for the scientist to become enthused with the subject because they have focused so much on it, and added such detail. The writing may become closer to an argument, than academic tone. Scientific detachment must be preserved.
   

Preferred Disciplines

Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Political Science.

Both Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget, famous psychologists, used anecdotal observation to generate hypotheses which they tested on larger samples. Case studies are thus useful in the initial stages of a larger research project. Piaget famously observed his own children to come up with many new insights in the field of Child Psychology. The case study is generally used in social science as a stepping stone to build more complete theories and models.

Not preferred by

Historians, Economists

History being the study of people of the past, whom may be deceased, the idea of digging into the subject matter with interviews and a special focus on a single event, is not appropriate. For example, one cannot understand the Roman Empire by focusing only on Rome. Most of the available ruins are in far away places such as Scotland, Germany and Portugal.

Economics is very much interested in the behaviour of most people, or in the aggregate, rather than focusing on idiosyncratic events which may not represent the whole at all. However, there are important things to learn from specific cases, such as when a government decides to pursue a certain policy, which allows one to measure its effects.

Applications in Other Disciplines

Applications in Medicine, Journalism, Business Administration, Law, Engineering

The case study method was initially designed by medical doctors. Patients with rare diseases or symptoms are analyzed to learn about medical phenomena.

Business journalism is rife with single-object reports. For example, many financial and business newspapers and magazines will have a 'focus' section devoted to profiling a single company. Often times, the company is a privately-held business, and willing to open their doors and share their story of entrepreneurship, hardships and struggles. However, the companies who are really struggling will refuse to be the object of a 'profile', which reduces the scope of these articles to what's called a 'success story'.

Business magazines such as Forbes, and Fortune in the US, or Canadian Business, and Report on Business Magazine in Canada, or Les Affaires in Quebec, also run 'feature' articles on a specific issue, usually focusing on a single company. These articles will provide the inside story of what really happened at the company, who was involved, why they made such a decision, and when things started to unravel. These in-depth articles can run for more than six pages. They require much research, including interviews, but also content analysis.

Case competitions have become a very important part of applying your knowledge of business and commerce in college and university. Famously, Harvard University was one of the first universities to publish a series of business cases for students who wish to apply their learning to realistic business problems. They are available in the Harvard Business Review. Many journals include business cases. Some journals are specialized in this type of publication, such as the Business Case Journal. In Canada, most universities provide similar services, such as HEC Montréal, which runs the Centre de cas, and a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to business cases: the Revue internationale de cas en gestion.

Innovatank is a leader in business case pedagogy. You may have seen challenges appear on your student dashboard. Innovatank works with leading universities such as Queen's, HEC, and the John Molson School of Business to allow for large-scale competitions. For those who may or may not be enrolled in university case competitions, you are invited to participate in the Innovatank annual World Case Open, which is available to anyone, regardless of college or university affiliation. Make a team, check out the case, and your solution will be heard by the company execs who can actually make a difference.

Innovatank World Case Open

References

Business Case Journal. (2023). https://www.ignited.global/scr/publications/bcj

Canadian Business. (2023). https://canadianbusiness.com/

Del Balso, M. & Lewis, A. D. (2012). First Steps, A Guide to Social Research. Nelson Canada.

Innovatank. (2023). World Case Open. https://innovatank.com/Home/PrivateChallengeDetails?ID=j02nGHYNotk=

Harvard Business Review. (2023). Case Studies Catalogue. https://store.hbr.org/case-studies/

HEC Montréal. (2023). Centre de cas, https://www.hec.ca/centredecas/

Neuman, W. L. & Robson, K. (2015). Basics of Social Research, Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, Third Canadian Edition. Pearson.

Report on Business Magazine. (2023). https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/