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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Poul Houman Andersen, Anna Dubois and Frida Lind

Recent research suggests that the interest in process-based single-case studies is increasing in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This paper aims to discuss research validity…

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Abstract

Purpose

Recent research suggests that the interest in process-based single-case studies is increasing in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This paper aims to discuss research validity issues and dilemmas encountered by process-based single-case researchers in B2B marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a methodology paper that builds on an integration of experiences, ideas and literature.

Findings

In the paper, three dilemmas are suggested that researchers need to deal with in process-based single-case research. These relate to the casing process: crafting the case, communicating the case and describing the process of the study. Furthermore, process validation is suggested as a research quality concept concerned with how these dilemmas are handled.

Research limitations implications

Based on the notion of process validation, the authors provide suggestions for how casing, as a process-based single-case approach, can be conveyed and advanced in its own right.

Practical implications

This study can be used to convey insights that can help new and experienced researchers in conducting single-case studies in B2B.

Originality/value

Coping with issues of research quality in B2B marketing is of relevance to researchers dealing with process-based single-case research and process validation issues, as well as to journal reviewers evaluating the qualities of process-based single-case research.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2017

Jose Luis Retolaza and Leire San-Jose

Although there are several often-used case research methods for teaching purposes, these cannot be used to conduct scientific research into business ethics, perhaps owing to…

1024

Abstract

Purpose

Although there are several often-used case research methods for teaching purposes, these cannot be used to conduct scientific research into business ethics, perhaps owing to criticism levelled against it. The precise aim of this work is to expound and argue for its use within the framework of scientific hypothetical-deductive methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

The opportunities offered by this methodological approach, both from an inductive (Eisenhardt, 1989; Dyer and Wilkins, 1991) and a deductive perspective (Yin, 1993; Carson et al., 2000), have been wasted, creating a need for scientific contributions within this area; hence, this study. It was carried on a theoretical approach of the use of single case applied to corporate management based on religion and spirituality inclusion.

Findings

The results obtained indicate that the single-case research method makes it possible to put forward alternative hypotheses to the dominant hypothesis, making contributions to the theory. Concretely, the scientific legitimacy of its use is justified by what it has been called “possibilistic hypothesis” for what it is not necessary to collect a large data or make an empiric research.

Practical implications

In the field of business ethics, these hypotheses (possibilistics) make alternatives stand out that widen the moral responsibility of decision-makers. It implies an open mind for decision-makers and rigorous arguments using just a single case. Reinforce and make them easier based on moral imagination improvement.

Originality/value

The decision process is complex, but in this rich method, the single-case study could permit establishing rigorous and robust decisions easily. The case study is not used widely for management, but this perspective could enrich and increase its use.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 40 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Qualitative Research in the Study of Leadership
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-651-9

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Naga Vamsi Krishna Jasti and Rambabu Kodali

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on empirical research in lean manufacturing (LM). It provides a critical assessment of empirical research…

7693

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on empirical research in lean manufacturing (LM). It provides a critical assessment of empirical research methodology of 178 research articles published from 1990 to 2009.

Design/methodology/approach

The article reviewed a set of 178 empirical research articles in LM research with respect to empirical research design and its related facets. The 236 empirical research articles which are published in 70 journals during 1990-2009 are collected from four major management science publishers, namely, Emerald Online, Science Direct, Springer Link and Taylor & Francis. In total 178 research articles published in 24 journals are selected for critical review of empirical research methodology in LM. The approach for the critical review of 178 empirical research articles in LM is based on empirical research approach given by Flynn et al. (1990). The critical review discusses the current status of empirical research in LM and future directions.

Findings

It is concluded from the analysis of the results that: the number of empirical research articles in LM is increasing at a faster pace than ever before; theory building and theory verification articles are equally advanced; the researchers have also unexplored various aspects of empirical research such as importance of triangulation of data, alternate research designs other than survey and case studies; contextual focus is mostly on the manufacturing industry; more focus required on other aspects of empirical research such as collecting the samples from developing and undeveloped countries, larger sample size, longitudinal data collection methods. Finally, it concludes that there is a need of LM frameworks, which gives the stepwise process to remove all kinds of wastes from any organization.

Originality/value

To the knowledge of the authors, it is the first of its kind attempt to critically review the empirical research articles in LM. The review analysis entirely focussed on descriptive statistics of empirical research in LM. The sample size is one of the unique features of this research as the number of shortlisted articles is 178 in 24 journals published over a time span of 20 years (1990-2009).

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2018

Olivier Coussi, Kadigia Faccin and Alsones Balestrin

The purpose of this purpose is to understand the territorial management process behind the implementation and anchoring of a foreign direct investment (FDI) project in an emerging…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this purpose is to understand the territorial management process behind the implementation and anchoring of a foreign direct investment (FDI) project in an emerging country during its project life cycle. This research contributes to the “strategy as practice” and “triple helix” research fields.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use qualitative and single-case research with secondary public sources and confirmatory interviews. The case is related to the process of implementing and anchoring a joint venture in the semiconductor industry between a South Korean company and a Brazilian company. The relations between the university, the companies and the government are analyzed in terms of supporting territorial attractiveness.

Findings

Viewing the attraction of FDI in collaborative terms provides new empirical evidence and explanations of the phenomenon. From this single-case study, the authors can offer the following research propositions, which can be further developed and tested: P1 – the use of a triple helix strategy is an attractive factor when applying an exogenous investment; P2: the entrepreneurial university is an attractive factor when applying an exogenous investment; and P3: contemporary public policies must be involved in complex networks with the community to achieve success when locating and anchoring an exogenous investment.

Research limitations/implications

One of the main limitations is linked to the secondary data sources for the reconstruction of the case narrative. Secondary data sources omit important details when reporting events. The authors tried to overcome this limitation by using multiple sources and providing different types and breadth of details; for the triangulation stage, the authors held interviews to confirm the data collected in the newspapers and to look for details that could have passed unnoticed. Additionally, it should be noted that the confirmatory interviews were retrospective. An intensive interview promotes the clarification of each participant’s interpretation of his or her own experience and therefore represents a very useful method for interpretative research. However, the limitation is that between the experience and the date of the interviews, the interviewee undergoes many other experiences, learning and contexts that modify his or her point of view and way of interpreting what happened in the past. Finally, in this study, the authors have chosen a “Gioia method” template rather than an “Eisenhardt” template (Langley and Abdallah, 2011) and one impression may be the result of a limitation of this template, as pointed out by Langley and Abdallah (2011) “This template has limitations too. One potential limitation that seems, however, not to have hindered these researchers concerns the challenge of convincing readers about the transferability and relevance of the findings given the propensity to study single cases.” In an interpretive research, it is argued that it is the depth of contextual detail in a case study that provides the understanding necessary for a reader to judge whether the theoretical implication is pertinent.

Practical implications

This paper presents a case of success in attracting FDI in emerging countries. The authors emphasize the mechanisms, agreements and difficulties experienced by the government and the local community involved in the management process for the implementation and anchoring of an FDI project. This study offers a valuable resource for FDI attraction for public sector managers and society members. The management of the implementation process of an FDI project life cycle leads to a “territorial triple helix” model that can be used by emerging countries to promote sustainable economic development in high-tech industries. By choosing the theoretical choice of narrative, the authors have a better understanding of the process for anchoring FDI because the authors can identify key events and present information on how territories develop their policies.

Social implications

The example of the Brazilian experience in the management of the FDI anchor of the semiconductor industry implies a series of learning for the emerging economies, particularly in terms of the possibility to discover new features to increase the attractiveness of their FDIs. Usually when the authors think about or consult the literature on attracting and anchoring FDI projects, the authors find that countries are concerned about market size, trade openness or interest rate data. However, in the case of HT Micron, an unknown or untouched criterion can be added: the collaboration between the agents of society.

Originality/value

The present research challenges the linear views of project life and displays a successful project that follows a quite different path. This study is original because it provides public sector managers and society members with a valuable resource for FDI implementation and anchoring. Usually when the authors think about or consult the literature on attracting and anchoring FDI projects, the authors find that countries are concerned about market size, trade openness or interest rate data. However, in the HT Micron case, it is possible to add an unknown or untouched criterion: the collaboration between agents of society.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Luna Leoni

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge management systems can support the adoption of the servitization strategy in a manufacturing firm.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge management systems can support the adoption of the servitization strategy in a manufacturing firm.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to reach the paper aim, an inductive single-case study has been adopted. The analysis focuses on the IBM Corporation.

Findings

In spite of the paucity of studies that simultaneously address both servitization and knowledge management topics, the case study findings show five connections points between the two streams of research, proving not only that they are closely connected to each other, but also how the adoption of a good knowledge management system can facilitate the implementation of a servitization strategy.

Research limitations/implications

As far as the adoption of a single-case study is concerned, this could create biases that can affect the final product in terms of reliability, validity, and generalizability. However, as stated by Erickson (1986), the general lies in the particular and, as argued by Flyvbjerg (2006), the strength of a single example is underestimated in its contribution to scientific progress. Thus, even though this paper is based on a single-case study, it is reasonable to believe that it could be considered as a representative case of companies of the time and its findings sufficiently generalizable.

Practical implications

Case study findings could guide managers towards understanding if their knowledge management tools and practices are appropriate, or if they need to be modified in order to successfully implement the servitization strategy adopted.

Originality/value

This study represents the first attempt to fill the paucity of studies contemporaneously addressing both servitization and knowledge management topics, and could be used as a pilot case for future research works.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2021

Oly Mishra

This study aims to focus on implementing frugal innovation and its principles by social entrepreneurs to face the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research paper…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to focus on implementing frugal innovation and its principles by social entrepreneurs to face the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research paper discusses the case of an Indian social entrepreneur who works for menstrual health and hygiene of unprivileged and rural women in India. The social entrepreneur’s constant endeavor is to create an ecosystem to ensure rural women’s economic and social upliftment through financial inclusion and livelihood training. When faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the social entrepreneur re-purposed the manufacturing process to produce masks that were the need of the hour.

Design/methodology/approach

The research paper is qualitative and follows an inductive case study approach. The underlying principles of frugal innovation are established through content analysis of the social entrepreneur’s interviews and her team members.

Findings

The study discusses how adversity can be an opportunity for social entrepreneurs by implementing frugal innovation principles, i.e. re-use, re-purpose, re-combine and rapidity, in times of crisis.

Research limitations/implications

One of the major limitations of this study is that it is based on a single case study, as, in the current scenario, this case appeared to be the most suitable one. There is no way to generalize the assumptions of this model. Researchers will have to study the phenomena of frugal innovation in adversity across multiple cases in the future. Also, the study is based on a single emerging economy, i.e. India. Further research may be carried out with such cases from other countries.

Practical implications

The proposition of this research paper will help new and established social entrepreneurs understand that the four principles of frugal innovation and their practical application by a social entrepreneur. This will act as a guiding light for the present and future entrepreneurs regarding how one can respond to a crisis. This will also help advance our understanding of the distinct ways in which social entrepreneurs’ activities can help society in times of crisis. The findings of this research paper provide timely implications for social entrepreneurs. To respond efficiently to various crises, it is important to consider its effect on social entrepreneurship.

Social implications

The research paper shows that the social enterprise has implemented frugal innovation principles to manufacture the COVID-19 protection items supplied through existing supply chain networks. Also, a social entrepreneur is not intimidated by the sudden changes in the business environment; instead, they look at the situation as an opportunity to do something new. They are always willing to take the risk to innovate a solution that will address people’s problems. frugal innovation, due to its highly collaborative nature and its ability to make the most from limited resources, is the only way social entrepreneurs can create an inclusive, secure and sustainable future.

Originality/value

There are several challenges in social entrepreneurship, especially in emerging economies like India. During the pandemic, availability of resources was the major challenge, due to which social entrepreneurs had to find solutions through frugal innovation. This paper provides the practical application of the four principles of frugal innovation implemented by a social enterprise to manufacture and supply Covid protection items. It also presents the practical and managerial implications of the principles of frugal innovation by social entrepreneurs in low resource settings.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 August 2011

Morten H. Abrahamsen

The study here examines how business actors adapt to changes in networks by analyzing their perceptions or their network pictures. The study is exploratory or iterative in the…

Abstract

The study here examines how business actors adapt to changes in networks by analyzing their perceptions or their network pictures. The study is exploratory or iterative in the sense that revisions occur to the research question, method, theory, and context as an integral part of the research process.

Changes within networks receive less research attention, although considerable research exists on explaining business network structures in different research traditions. This study analyzes changes in networks in terms of the industrial network approach. This approach sees networks as connected relationships between actors, where interdependent companies interact based on their sensemaking of their relevant network environment. The study develops a concept of network change as well as an operationalization for comparing perceptions of change, where the study introduces a template model of dottograms to systematically analyze differences in perceptions. The study then applies the model to analyze findings from a case study of Norwegian/Japanese seafood distribution, and the chapter provides a rich description of a complex system facing considerable pressure to change. In-depth personal interviews and cognitive mapping techniques are the main research tools applied, in addition to tracer studies and personal observation.

The dottogram method represents a valuable contribution to case study research as it enables systematic within-case and across-case analyses. A further theoretical contribution of the study is the suggestion that network change is about actors seeking to change their network position to gain access to resources. Thereby, the study also implies a close relationship between the concepts network position and the network change that has not been discussed within the network approach in great detail.

Another major contribution of the study is the analysis of the role that network pictures play in actors' efforts to change their network position. The study develops seven propositions in an attempt to describe the role of network pictures in network change. So far, the relevant literature discusses network pictures mainly as a theoretical concept. Finally, the chapter concludes with important implications for management practice.

Details

Interfirm Networks: Theory, Strategy, and Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-024-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2007

Ruth Bartlett

The social exclusion of people with dementia is a problem. Older men with dementia in nursing homes are at considerable risk of social exclusion due to factors associated with…

Abstract

The social exclusion of people with dementia is a problem. Older men with dementia in nursing homes are at considerable risk of social exclusion due to factors associated with age, gender, mental health status and this setting. It is not known whether older men in this situation experience it as social exclusion or not. Drawing on a detailed case study from a male participant involved in a larger study on social exclusion, this paper highlights and explores masculine experiences of, and responses to, nursing home life. In this single case study it was found that social exclusion was experienced in an economic, spatial and emotional sense, and the participant aligned himself with other men in the home and masculine behaviours, perhaps to deal with that. Implications for care home practice and research are discussed. The paper concludes that more attention needs to be paid to the influence of gender and, in particular, to the different needs and experiences of older men with dementia in receipt of care generally.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2022

Oleksandr Tkachenko, Jaekyo Seo and Alexandre Ardichvili

This study aims to examine how case study research has been applied in the field of human resource development (HRD).

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how case study research has been applied in the field of human resource development (HRD).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors examined HRD case study research by analyzing 118 refereed, empirical case study articles published between 2000 and 2020 in three Academy of HRD-sponsored journals.

Findings

Findings suggest that case studies have an established place in HRD research. The disciplinary convention has been exploratory case studies, which, to a greater extent, draw on single-case research designs. When examining the proportion of case study articles in relation to all empirical, peer-refereed publications in the journals, the authors found a slight decline in case study research publications in recent years. The results of our post hoc exploratory analysis indicate that HRD case study research that contributes to theory development by eliciting concepts and their relationships is likely to receive more scholarly attention than case studies that provide rich descriptions of the phenomenon. The results also suggest that it is rather case study’s contribution to theory than selected features of case study that attracts scholars’ attention.

Originality/value

The study identified several approaches to conducting case study research that have received less attention by HRD researchers. The authors encourage HRD researchers to expand their repertoire of case study approaches. The authors also provide recommendations addressing the issues of methodological self-awareness, rigor and transparency in case study research.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 46 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 166000