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Case Study Research Manufacturing and Technology Management Research Methodology Workshop 2008

Case Study Research Manufacturing and Technology Management Research Methodology Workshop 2008. Dr Erik Stam University of Cambridge . Outline. What is a case? Why case study research? Designing case studies Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups

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Case Study Research Manufacturing and Technology Management Research Methodology Workshop 2008

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  1. Case Study ResearchManufacturing and Technology ManagementResearch Methodology Workshop 2008 Dr Erik Stam University of Cambridge Case Study Research

  2. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  3. What is a case? Case Study Research

  4. What is a case? • A person: …. • A site: an organization – a country • An artefact: technology, product • Units of analysis in case studies: • Events, activities Case Study Research

  5. A case study is an empirical enquiry that: • Investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when • the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and • multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin 2003:13-14). Case Study Research

  6. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  7. Why case study research? • Emphasis on (societal, historical) context • Trying to reach a full explanation of a phenomenon within a unit of analysis • Interpret events, uncovering processes (Mohr 1982) • ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions • Problem solving: closeness to practitioners (<-> abstract variables in much quantitative research) Working with Industry Case Study Research

  8. Why case study research? • Rule of thumb: more variables than cases (<-> survey research: more cases than variables) • Relevant mechanisms, variables are not yet clear Case Study Research

  9. Why case study research? • Three important uses: • Motivation of research (falsify theories) • Inspiration for new ideas (theory building) • Illustration: concrete examples of theoretical constructs, show how the causal relationships work e.g. “dynamic capabilities”: Cisco (Mayer & Kenney 2004); IDEO (Hargadon & Sutton 1997) Case Study Research

  10. Accusation:‘Case study research is a “convenience” research strategy’ ‘… this study used the case study-method because of the complexity of the phenomenon studied. We did in-depth interviews with key actors in the firm.’ ‘Not much is known about X, hence we engage in theory building with case study research’ • Quick results: • Too limited search in the literature for similar studies, relevant theories • Too limited efforts to select a proper case / sample Case Study Research

  11. Three types of case study research Research question Observation Theory Problem (Theory) Theory Observation Observation Case Study Research

  12. Theory building (Eisenhardt 1989) • unchartered waters, research as a voyage of discovery • “grounded theory”: iterations between observations and emerging theory (Strauss & Corbin 1990) Case Study Research

  13. Theory testing (Yin 2003) • Social experiment • internal (causal connections) and • external validity (generalisability: stat-anal) • reliability (inter-subjectivity; protocols) • construct validity (operationalisation of concepts) Case Study Research

  14. Problem solving (Van de Ven 2007) • Practical problem central: engage with stakeholders Working with Industry & Policy Case Study Research

  15. Case Study Research

  16. A Diamond Model for Case Analysis (Van de Ven 2007) Problem/Question Model Building Problem Formulation Case Reality Conceptual Model Model Evaluation Problem Solving Solution • 1. Ground the problem & question in reality. • 2. Develop a conceptual model to address the question. • 3. Evaluate how well the model applies to the case. • 4. Implement a solution that solves the problem/question. Case Study Research

  17. Research in practice Problem solving Theory building: existing / new Theory testing Case Study Research

  18. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  19. Designing case studies • How many cases? • 1 (Dyer & Wilkins 1991): Talking pig (exceptional case) • Multiple (Eisenhardt 1989=4-10) Case Study Research

  20. Designing case studies • Sampling: • Statistical generalization (cases are representative for a wider population: sample -> population) • Analytical generalization (adequacy of theoretical inferences): replication logic of sampling (multiple case studies) • Select contrasting cases (independent/dependent variables): counterfactual • Select similar cases: saturation Case Study Research

  21. Accusation: ‘Case study research is unscientific because of limited generalizability’ Case Study Research

  22. Designing case studies • Timeframe: • Retrospective: +: select on the dependent variable +: compress time (history) • Longitudinal: +: no ‘survival’ bias +: measure the effect of designed interventions Case Study Research

  23. Designing case studies • Qualitative, quantitative data: • Triangulation in method • N: survey (>40) – semi-structured interviews (10-40)– unstructured interviews (1-10) – participant observation (1) Case Study Research

  24. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  25. Why Butterflies Do(n’t) Leave Locational behavior of entrepreneurial firms Erik Stam University of Cambridge Case Study Research

  26. Development of the spatial organizationfirm B Case Study Research

  27. Explaining changes in the spatial organization of high-growth start-ups (Stam 2007) • No (complete) theory: theory testing • Initial quantitative survey to explore the field • Theoretical sampling: • only 8 high-growth start-ups (defined as…) that moved their headquarters out of the region of origin • Matched pairs with non-moved hgsu, and with non-growth su • ...in the end: 33 cases • Semi-structured interviews, retrospective life course analysis of all (128) locational events • … Case Study Research

  28. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  29. Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster Case Study Research

  30. The decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster (Stam & Garnsey 2008) • Emphasis on quantitative data (employment, establishments, patents) • Longitudinal: 1987-2006 • Theory testing: • industry life cycle theory • ecological carrying capacity theory • Need for additional qualitative data to uncover the causal mechanisms Case Study Research

  31. Outline • What is a case? • Why case study research? • Designing case studies • Example 1: changes in the spatial organization of high growth start-ups • Example 2: the decline of the Cambridgeshire high-tech cluster • Summary Case Study Research

  32. Summary • All research includes cases, but not everything is case study research • Focus on context: uniqueness + analytical generalization • 3 types: theory building, theory testing, problem solving • Design choices: nr of cases, timeframe, type of data Case Study Research

  33. References • Dyer, W.G. and Wilkins, A.L. (1991) Better Stories, Not Better Constructs, to Generate Better Theory: A Rejoinder to Eisenhardt, Academy of Management Review 16(3): 613-619. • Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) Building Theories from Case Study Research, Academy of Management Review 14(4): 532-550. • Eisenhardt, K.M. (1991) Better Stories and Better Constructs: The Case for Rigor and Comparative Logic, Academy of Management Review 16(3): 620-627. • Mohr, L. (1982) Explaining organizational behaviour. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. • Stam, E. (2007) Why butterflies don’t leave. Locational behavior of entrepreneurial firms, Economic Geography, 83.1, 27-50. • Stam, E. and Garnsey, E. (2008) Limits to cluster growth, Work in progress… • Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage: London. • Van de Ven, A. (2007) Engaged Scholarship. A guide for organizational and social research. Oxford University Press: Oxford. • Yin, R. (2003) Case Study Research. Design and Methods. 3rd edition. Sage: London. Case Study Research

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