Maurizio Massaro, John Dumay and Carlo Bagnoli
This paper aims to analyse “how”, “why” and “where” authors use citations of Robert Yin’s classic text, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, to determine the application of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse “how”, “why” and “where” authors use citations of Robert Yin’s classic text, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, to determine the application of methodological transparency in published case study research.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is conducted using a structured literature review methodology.
Findings
The results reveal problems of obliteration by incorporation, miscitations, appeals to ethos, rhetorical convenience and a shadow effect, also known as adumbration. The authors argue that case study research relying, either in full or in part, on Yin’s methodology should transparently describe how and which parts of the methodology have been applied. Thus, the conclusions signal some opportunities for improving transparency in the use of citations in case study research.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis highlights behaviours that may lead researchers to questionable findings due to a lack of methodological transparency in developing case study research, along with some recommendations for avoiding such problems. Improving transparency is useful for readers to understand what was done, for reviewers and editors to evaluate the research, and to guide other researchers who wish to conduct case study research.
Originality/value
This research compares citation practices in case study research in accounting and management with a focus on citations of Robert Yin. The results build on previous studies that analyse how scholars apply case study methodology that encourages researchers to adopt greater transparency.
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Xin Li, Verner Worm and Peihong Xie
The paper debunks Peter P. Li’s assertion that Yin-Yang is superior to any other cognitive frames or logical systems for paradox research. The purpose of this paper is to alert…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper debunks Peter P. Li’s assertion that Yin-Yang is superior to any other cognitive frames or logical systems for paradox research. The purpose of this paper is to alert the Chinese indigenous management researchers to the danger of Chinese exceptionalism and over-confidence.
Design/methodology/approach
To show that Peter P. Li’s assertion is doubtful, the authors identify the flaws in his analysis.
Findings
The authors find that there are three serious flaws in Peter P. Li’s analysis. First, there are four defects in the typology of cognitive frames he built in order to compare Yin-Yang with the others. Second, his understanding of dialectics in general and Hegelian dialectics in particular is flawed. And finally, without resorting to Yin-Yang, many scholars can develop theories that are equivalent to those derived from Yin-Yang.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the page limit, this paper only focuses on arguing that Yin-Yang is not superior to other cognitive frames or logical systems without going one step further to explain in which situations Yin-Yang are valuable and might be more suitable than others for helping us understand some research issues.
Practical implications
This paper implies that we should not blindly believe that the Chinese way of thinking and acting is superior to other people’s. Chinese people should be open-minded in the globalized era, not only promoting their own culture but also appreciating and learning from other cultures.
Social implications
The reduction of cultural exceptionalism and ethnocentrism can make cross-cultural communication and interaction smoother.
Originality/value
This paper is a rigorous critique on the “Yin-Yang being superior” assertion of Peter P. Li.
The methodological debate relating to accounting research using actor‐network theory (ANT) has primarily focused on how ANT generates performative studies that significantly…
Abstract
Purpose
The methodological debate relating to accounting research using actor‐network theory (ANT) has primarily focused on how ANT generates performative studies that significantly differ from ostensive studies. These discussions have in many ways (and for good reasons) distanced performative from ostensive research. Recently, however, several scholars have emphasized the interdependencies between ostensive and performative aspects when it comes to knowledge development, thereby underlining the need to coordinate ostensive and performative studies and bring them closer together. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the methodological opportunities and limitations for ANT researchers who seek to move closer to ostensive research.
Design/methodology/approach
The basis for exploring the opportunities and threats stemming from integration at the methodological level is a comparison of performative and ostensive case study methodologies as they have been presented in research. Robert K. Yin's case study methodology is chosen to represent an ostensive view whereas performative case study methodology is represented by the methodological reflections of Bruno Latour, John Law, and Michel Callon.
Findings
The paper illustrates how the process is a balancing act. On the one hand, it requires performative researchers to relate more closely to aspects decisive for ostensive researchers; yet, on the other, they need to preserve the distinctiveness of the performative approach.
Originality/value
This paper exemplifies these issues with reference to management accounting research and contributes by clarifying the methodological implications of moving performative research closer to ostensive research.
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At the moment central concepts relating to the case study strategy are insufficiently understood. This is unfortunate in that the truth value of results inferred from case studies…
Abstract
Purpose
At the moment central concepts relating to the case study strategy are insufficiently understood. This is unfortunate in that the truth value of results inferred from case studies may be questioned. Given the fact that case studies are widely employed in many fields the identified ambiguities represent an imperative dilemma of great consequences to the research community in general. Hence, the objectives are to identify ambiguities, explore further consequences of ambiguities and to propose a rival understanding that will remedy the present inconsistencies.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of literature was undertaken. Based on a critical assessment of existing theoretical concepts, modifications and novel conceptual ideas are proposed. The proposed framework is, moreover, thoroughly exemplified by a business‐to‐business research example, thereby enhancing applicability when future case studies are undertaken.
Findings
The outcome was a string of generic case study characteristics, an elaboration of ambiguity and consequences of the identified ambiguity, a modification of Yins' case study design typology, and finally an integrative theoretical framework that illustrates an alternative conception of the unit of analysis and the case. Accepting the criticisms and ideas presented makes it easier to identify and demarcate units of analysis that are comparable with the original analyzed unit of analysis. This will enhance the probability of authenticity and fittingness of inferred case results.
Originality/value
The contributions of this paper will facilitate a higher level of awareness about the assumptions of the paradigmatic posture researchers hold. This will cause researchers to craft more logical coherent designs and conduct better case studies across fields of theories. Moreover, they will to a higher extent be able to understand rival points of view, enabling them to construct more nuanced and astute discussions and novel insights.
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Discusses methodological aspects of case study research and qualitative data collection and analysis. Discusses the choice of a research strategy and data collection and analysis…
Abstract
Discusses methodological aspects of case study research and qualitative data collection and analysis. Discusses the choice of a research strategy and data collection and analysis methods according to theory as well as the arguments which lead to qualitative case research. Suggests steps in research processes according to different authors and considers in more detail the theory and practice of each of these steps (case study design; preparing for data collection; conducting case studies; analysing data; and reporting). Concludes that carrying out qualitative case study research, in the author’s experience, is first and foremost a matter of learning by doing.
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This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal…
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal companies operating in Australia. The industry settings are as follows: steel construction, vegetable oils trading, aluminum and steel can manufacture, and imaging solutions. The research analyzes two main aspects of relationships: structure and process. This paper deals with structure describing it by the most desired features of intercompany relationships for each focal company. The primary research data have been coded drawing on extant research into business relationships. The main outcome of this part of the research is a five construct model composed by trust, commitment, bonds, distance, and information sharing that accounts for all informants’ utterances about relationship structure.
Rebecca Geiger and Andreas Aschenbrücker
German universities (GU) require an active control to ensure fulfillment of the strategic goals and to strengthen their competitiveness against other national and international…
Abstract
Purpose
German universities (GU) require an active control to ensure fulfillment of the strategic goals and to strengthen their competitiveness against other national and international institutions for higher education. Implementing a performance measurement and management (PMM) is one possible way of achieving this. But, the instrument has not yet arrived in GU. Therefore, this chapter describes the specific requirements for implementation of PMM in a GU.
Methodology/approach
With the intention to deeply understand processes, structures and decisions, and in order to derive the necessary transformations for PMM in GU as well as to contribute profound recommendation for an appropriate implementation of PMM in GU we investigated a GU using a case study design. Hence, the case university, which illustrates phenomena in real-world context.
Findings
The findings of the case study are threefold. First, the traditional categories of PMM are inadequate for GU and have to be adapted to the specific requirements of every university. Second, performance measures differ from those in companies concerning addressees, complexity of data supply, and goal conflicts. Third, the basic principle of controllability is not valid for GU. These differences to PMM systems in business companies have to be considered during implementation of PMM in universities and highlight needfulness of transformations.
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Julia Segar, Kath Checkland, Anna Coleman and Imelda McDermott
What is our unit of analysis and by implication what are the boundaries of our cases? This is a question we grapple with at the start of every new project. We observe that case…
Abstract
What is our unit of analysis and by implication what are the boundaries of our cases? This is a question we grapple with at the start of every new project. We observe that case studies are often referred to in an unreflective manner and are often conflated with geographical location. Neat units of analysis and clearly bounded cases usually do not reflect the messiness encountered during qualitative fieldwork. Others have puzzled over these questions. We briefly discuss work to problematise the use of households as units of analysis in the context of apartheid South Africa and then consider work of other anthropologists engaged in multi-site ethnography. We have found the notion of ‘following’ chains, paths and threads across sites to be particularly insightful.
We present two examples from our work studying commissioning in the English National Health Service (NHS) to illustrate our struggles with case studies. The first is a study of Practice-based Commissioning groups and the second is a study of the early workings of Clinical Commissioning Groups. In both instances we show how ideas of what constituted our unit of analysis and the boundaries of our cases became less clear as our research progressed. We also discuss pressures we experienced to add more case studies to our projects. These examples illustrate the primacy for us of understanding interactions between place, local history and rapidly developing policy initiatives. Understanding cases in this way can be challenging in a context where research funders hold different views of what constitutes a case.
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Chulapol Thanomsing and Priya Sharma
Social media are increasingly being used in teaching and learning in higher education. This paper aims to explore multiple case studies to better understand how instructors decide…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media are increasingly being used in teaching and learning in higher education. This paper aims to explore multiple case studies to better understand how instructors decide to incorporate social media into learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative case study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore five instructors' use of social media for teaching and learning, particularly the pedagogical reasons and goals driving their use of social media. Participant interviews, course documentation and social media observation data were collected to answer the research questions.
Findings
Findings suggest that an instructor's social media knowledge and awareness of instructional goals are important for the use of social media in learning. Three pedagogical objectives of the use of social media were found across five participants: collaborative learning, dialog and discussion, and authentic learning.
Originality/value
Previous studies have explored potential pedagogical uses of social media tools, however studies that attempt to understand how and why instructors decide to use particular social media tools are underreported.