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Book part
Publication date: 8 June 2011

Thomas Greckhamer and Kevin W. Mossholder

Purpose – This chapter examines the potential of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) for strategy research.Methodology/approach – We introduce the set-theoretic framework of…

Abstract

Purpose – This chapter examines the potential of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) for strategy research.

Methodology/approach – We introduce the set-theoretic framework of QCA and provide an overview of recent methodological developments.

Findings – We utilize a variety of examples relevant to strategy research to illustrate the action steps and key concepts involved in conducting a QCA study.

Originality/value of paper – We develop examples from core research areas in strategic management to illustrate QCA's potential for examining issues of causality and diversity in strategy research, and in settings involving medium-N samples. We conclude by emphasizing that QCA offers an alternative mode of inquiry to open and redirect important lines of strategy research.

Details

Building Methodological Bridges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-026-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 April 2019

Petteri T. Leppänen, Aaron F. McKenny and Jeremy C. Short

Research in entrepreneurship is increasingly exploring how archetypes, taxonomies, typologies, and configurations can help scholars understand complex entrepreneurial phenomena…

Abstract

Research in entrepreneurship is increasingly exploring how archetypes, taxonomies, typologies, and configurations can help scholars understand complex entrepreneurial phenomena. We illustrate the potential for set-theoretic methods to inform this literature by offering best practices regarding how qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) can be used to explore research questions of interest to entrepreneurship scholars. Specifically, we introduce QCA, document how this approach has been used in management research, and provide step-by-step guidance to empower scholars to use this family of methods. We put a particular emphasis on the analytical procedures and offer solutions to dealing with potential pitfalls when using QCA-based methods and highlight opportunities for future entrepreneurship research.

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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-336-0

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Book part
Publication date: 25 January 2023

S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh, Naser Valaei and Sajad Rezaei

The aim of this chapter is to review and illustrate a step-by-step guideline in conducting fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in tourism and hospitality studies…

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to review and illustrate a step-by-step guideline in conducting fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in tourism and hospitality studies. As an emerging method, fsQCA is simultaneously quantitative and qualitative in nature which makes it an appropriate method for social science disciplines including tourism and hospitality area because of complex nature of relationships between multiple variables where theories and models are underdeveloped. Unlike conventional statistical techniques, fsQCA is an asymmetrical analysis technique that provides a holistic view and interrelationships among several conditions using Boolean algebra. The fsQCA analyses produce comprehensive assessment by revealing causal combinations of antecedents to predict an outcome; and identify sufficient configurations (i.e., causal combinations and recipes) and necessary condition/s. By utilizing this method, researchers would be able to produce complex, comprehensive, and robust results.

Book part
Publication date: 25 April 2013

Thomas Greckhamer, Vilmos F. Misangyi and Peer C. Fiss

Although QCA was originally developed specifically for small-N settings, recent studies have shown its potential for large-N organization studies. In this chapter, we provide…

Abstract

Although QCA was originally developed specifically for small-N settings, recent studies have shown its potential for large-N organization studies. In this chapter, we provide guidance to prospective researchers with the goal of opening up QCA’s potential for widespread use in organization studies involving large-N settings, both as an alternative and as a complement to conventional regression analyses. We compare small-N and large-N QCA with respect to theoretical assumptions and objectives, processes and decisions involved in building the causal model, selecting the sample, as well as analyzing the data and interpreting the results. Finally, we discuss the prospects for large-N configurational analysis in organization studies and related fields going forward.

Details

Configurational Theory and Methods in Organizational Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-778-8

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 7 June 2019

Rosanna Spanó and Nadia Di Paola

Abstract

Details

The Multifaceted Relationship Between Accounting, Innovative Entrepreneurship, and Knowledge Management: Theoretical Concerns and Empirical Insights
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-060-8

Book part
Publication date: 11 May 2007

Claude Rubinson and Charles C. Ragin

Shalev's (2007) critique of the use of multiple regression in comparative research brings together and synthesizes a variety of previous critiques, ranging from those focusing on…

Abstract

Shalev's (2007) critique of the use of multiple regression in comparative research brings together and synthesizes a variety of previous critiques, ranging from those focusing on foundational issues (e.g., the persistent problem of limited diversity), to estimation issues (e.g., the unrealistic assumption of correct model specification), to narrow technical issues (e.g., the difficulty of deriving valid standard errors for regression coefficients in pooled cross-sectional time-series models). Broadly speaking, these concerns can be described as epistemological, theoretical, and methodological, respectively. While the distinctions among these three are not always clear-cut, the tripartite scheme provides a useful way to map the different kinds of critiques that may be directed at the use of regression analysis in comparative research. In the first half of this essay we build upon Shalev's discussion to clarify the conditions under which regression analysis may be epistemologically, theoretically, or methodologically inappropriate for comparative research. Our goal is to situate Shalev's specific critiques of the use of multiple regression in comparative work within the context of social research in general.

Details

Capitalisms Compared
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-414-0

Book part
Publication date: 25 April 2014

Farshid Shams

The aim of this chapter is to introduce a methodology that enables researchers to employ a set of systematic comparative tools and techniques in their multiple case study research…

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to introduce a methodology that enables researchers to employ a set of systematic comparative tools and techniques in their multiple case study research that allow them to move from drawing loose comparisons towards a more formalised type of analysis, while simultaneously paying attention to within-case complexities. This methodology stands between the qualitative and the quantitative methods and helps researchers to build middle-range theories (Mjoset, 2001) from small to intermediate numbers of cases. This methodology encompasses a number of techniques including crisp and fuzzy set-theoretic qualitative comparative analyses, which have been used in a wide range of social science disciplines. However, these techniques have not received sufficient attention from higher education scholars.

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Theory and Method in Higher Education Research II
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-823-5

Book part
Publication date: 7 December 2016

Arch G. Woodside

Prior reports on theory and research focusing on describing and explaining national cultural influences on purchase and consumption behavior use a net effects approach (i.e.…

Abstract

Synopsis

Prior reports on theory and research focusing on describing and explaining national cultural influences on purchase and consumption behavior use a net effects approach (i.e., theory and analysis relying on main and interaction effects via statistical analysis). Theory and research in this chapter advances qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of a configuration perspective of culture's consequences on consumption behavior. This research informs the view that national cultures represent causal recipes (conjunctions) of cultural values; the study of main and interaction effects offer meager representations of national culture's consequences in comparison to adopting a cultural configuration stance. The configuration research here includes transforming Hofstede's country cultural scores into fuzzy set values and applying Boolean algebra to estimate the relevancy of alternative cultural configurations for each of 14 nations to consuming experiences during visits to Australia. The findings support primary and additional hypotheses that specific cultural configurations are sufficient (but not necessary) for describing substantial culture's consequences on consuming tourism experiences. For example, the animus (i.e., Carl Jung's unconscious masculine personality-force) configuration — the combination of high power (P), high individualism (I), high masculine (M), and low uncertainty avoidance (∼U) (i.e., P·I·M·∼U) — is sufficient in indicating not-shopping-for-gifts while visiting Australia. Western national cultures (e.g., United States) have higher fuzzy set scores than Eastern national cultures (e.g., Japan) for the animus configuration.

Details

Case Study Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-461-4

Book part
Publication date: 12 July 2023

Edwin Amenta, Neal Caren and Weijun Yuan

Under which conditions do social movements receive extensive attention from the mainstream news media? We develop an institutional mediation model that argues that combinations of…

Abstract

Under which conditions do social movements receive extensive attention from the mainstream news media? We develop an institutional mediation model that argues that combinations of the news-heightening characteristics of movements, including their disruptive capacities, organizational resources, and political orientation, and political contexts, including partisan regimes and benefiting from national policies, bring extensive attention to movements. It also holds that investigations will draw extensive media attention to movements, and those that have achieved prominence in the news will remain prominent under specific conditions. We appraise these combinational arguments by examining 29 social movements across 100 years in four national newspapers using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Researchers typically use QCA to study the consequences of movements when they hypothesize outcomes to result from multiple combinations of conditions. This raises our second main question: How should scholars best address combinational hypotheses using QCA? Here we employ Venn diagrams to identify and illustrate key analytical issues and anomalies, including constrained diversity in observational data, empirical instances when combinations of conditions do not produce the expected outcome, and instances when unexpected combinations of conditions produce a consistent result. We also demonstrate the value of broad comparisons across movements and over time in these analyses.

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Methodological Advances in Research on Social Movements, Conflict, and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-887-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 April 2013

Peer C. Fiss, Axel Marx and Bart Cambré

The notion of configuration – that the whole is best understood from a systemic perspective and should be viewed as a constellation of interconnected elements – is arguably one of…

Abstract

The notion of configuration – that the whole is best understood from a systemic perspective and should be viewed as a constellation of interconnected elements – is arguably one of the central ideas of organization studies. Yet, this idea also remains one of the field’s least understood aspects. In this volume and its introduction, we outline a new perspective for understanding configuration. Our starting point is the emergence of set theoretic configurational methods, and especially Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), which provides novel ways for analyzing configurations. Our volume goes beyond introducing a new method to the fields of management and organization, as these methods furthermore offer an opportunity to rethink our understanding of the field and to develop different ways of theorizing the rich complexity of relationships that characterize organizational life. In this introduction, we introduce some of the key themes that differentiate the approach taken here from previous work on organizational configurations and provide evidence for the emerging renaissance of the configurational approach in organizational theory and research.

Details

Configurational Theory and Methods in Organizational Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-778-8

Keywords

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