Building Theories from Case Study Research

This is part 5 of a 5 part series on using case study research methods in information systems research

This essay provides an overview and review of Eisenhardt’s (1989) article titled “Building theories from case study research” published in Volume 14 of the Academy of Management Review in 1989. In this paper, Eisenhardt (hereafter known as ‘the author’) the author presents a roadmap to help researchers use case study research to build theories.  The roadmap is made up of nine ‘building blocks’. These building blocks are described in more detail in the following paragraphs and examples from research are given for each.

The first building block for using case studies is arguably the most important.  Prior to starting any research project, the basic research question must be determined so that the research project is well defined.  This holds true for case study research as well. Santora & Sarros (2008) clearly defined their research question to be specifically around the reasons that an interim executive director wouldn’t seek to become the full-time executive director of a non-profit organization.  This narrow focus helped set the stage for the case study research.   Another example can be seen in Haunschild & Eikhof’s (2009) case study use to build a theoretical basis for managing a mobile workforce.  In this case study, the authors defined their research question in terms of human resource practices and policies for managing telecommuting and mobile workers in the creative industry.

The second building block consists of selecting appropriate cases for the study.  By ‘appropriate’, it is meant that the theory being built should be tested against a population that allows for testing of the specific theory being built as well as providing variation in environments.  An example of this can be in the case study by Moller, et al., (2005) that reports on school leadership in Norway. The authors chose their cases based on a set of criteria that allowed them to use ‘good schools’ (as defined by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research) and school size, structure, location and the principal’s gender.  This variation allowed the researchers to vary the demographics across their cases to test their theories.  Another example can be found in a case study by Opoku (2006) where the author conducted multiple case studies on different small and medium sized businesses to conduct research on these types of companies’ methods of collecting customer feedback.  The author used similar sized companies with similar backgrounds to try to have a similar population across multiple organizations.

The third building block has to do with research methodologies, data collection methods and types of data to be used in the case study.   Prior to beginning any research project, the research methodology should be determined and a game plan for collection, storing and analyzing data should be created.  An example of this building block can be found in Masterman, Jameson & Walker’s (2009) article describing their use of data collection techniques during a research project to determine best practices for learning design.  Yet another example can be found in Abdullah & Zainab’s (2008) article that describes data collection methods during a research project on digital libraries.

The fourth building block is the aspect of entering the field to simultaneously collect and analyze data.  By collecting and analyzing data at the same time, researchers are able to adjust data collection methods as needed. Abdullah & Zainab’s (2008) article describe this in detail as they use data collection methods to collect user requirements and analyze said requirements while working in the field. Haunschild & Eikhof’s (2009) article also provides a good example of collecting and analyzing case study data while in the field.

The fifth building block is analyzing and writing up case data on a per-site basis.  This provides a few benefits to the research; namely by writing up and analyzing data for each site (case), the research becomes intimately familiar with each case while staying away from ‘data overload’ trap that multiple-site case studies normally create (Eisenhardt, 1989).   Excellent examples of the use of within-case analysis can be found in Yeo’s (2003) research on linking organizational learning to performance and  Seawright & Gerring’s (2008) article on case selection techniques.

The sixth building block is analyzing data across the multiple cases to find patterns that may exist.  In performing cross-case data analysis, it is imperative to use multiple analysis methods to keep from over-simplifying the outcomes and/or to keep from jumping to any conclusions based on initial impressions. Great examples of the use of cross-case analysis can be seen in Doolin & Ali’s (2008) research on mobile technology adoption in the supply chain and Masumoto & Brown-Welty’s (2009) case study of leadership practices and community relationships in high school education in California.

The seventh building block involves using the within-case and cross-case analysis that was performed in previous steps to shape a hypothesis.  This is done by reviewing the cases and data collected and refining the definition of the theory and ensuring that the collected data provides evidence to help solidify the hypothesis. An example of building and shaping a hypothesis using cross-case and within-case analysis (and other methods) can be see in Kambil’s (2008) article that looked at multiple organization’s recesession strategies to create a hypothesis for organizational strategies for recession planning.  Another example can be seen in Scholes, Westhead & Burrows (2008) research project involving family firm succession planning and buyout/buy-in rules and strategies.

The eighth building block involves performing an extensive literature review to determine if the theory being developed is similar to other theories and/or to determine if there are other studies that support or conflicts with the theory. An example of an extensive literature review can be found in many of the previously mentioned papers with Abdullah & Zainab (2008) and Haunschild & Eikhof’s (2009) articles.

The ninth building block is the final block and involves closing the case study process down.   This is an important step in theory building, as it requires the researcher to really think about how much data and how many cases are ‘enough’.   While no specific examples were found that specifically mentioned ‘closure’, two good examples that show some signs of selecting the ‘right’ number of cases to study can be seen in Moller, et al., (2005) and an excellent write-up of case selection techniques (including choosing the number of cases) can be found in Seawright and Gerring’s (2008) article.

References

• Abdullah, A., & Zainab, A. N. (2008). The digital library as an enterprise: the Zachman approach. The Electronic Library, 26(4), 446.
• Doolin, B., & Ali, E. (2008). Adoption of Mobile Technology in the Supply Chain: An Exploratory Cross-Case Analysis. International Journal of E-Business Research, 4(4), 1.
• Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
• Haunschild, A., & Eikhof, D. (2009). From HRM to Employment Rules and Lifestyles. Theory Development through Qualitative Case Study Research into the Creative Industries**. Zeitschrift f¸r Personalforschung, 23(2), 107.
• Kambil, A. (2008). What is your recession playbook? The Journal of Business Strategy, 29(5), 50.
• Masterman, E., Jameson, J., & Walker, S. (2009). Capturing teachers’ experience of learning design through case studies. Distance Education, 30(2), 223.
• Masumoto, M., & Brown-Welty, S. (2009). Case Study of Leadership Practices and School-Community Interrelationships in High-Performing, High-Poverty, Rural California High Schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education (Online), 24(1), 1.
• Moller, J., Eggen, A., Fuglestad, O. L., Langfeldt, G., Presthus, A.-M., Skrovset, S., et al. (2005). Successful school leadership: the Norwegian case. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(6), 584.
• Opoku, R., A. (2006). Gathering customer feedback online and Swedish SMEs. Management Research News, 29(3), 106.
• Santora, J., & Sarros, J. (2008). Interim Leadership in a Nonprofit Organization: A Case Study. The Business Review, Cambridge, 11(2), 66.
• Scholes, L., Westhead, P., & Burrows, A. (2008). Family firm succession: the management buy-out and buy-in routes. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15(1), 8.
• Seawright, J., & Gerring, J. (2008). Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research: A Menu of Qualitative and Quantitative Options. Political Research Quarterly, 61(2), 294.
• Yeo, R. (2003). Linking organisational learning to organisational performance and success: Singapore case studies. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), 70.