Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research

Edited by Rebecca Piekkari, Marcus Wallenberg Chair of International Business, Department of Management Studies, Aalto University, School of Business, Finland and Catherine Welch, Chair of Strategic Management, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

’This book provides a thought-provoking and refreshing perspective on case study research. Building on a pluralistic approach it takes us away from the conventional wisdom and adds to our understanding of the various ways in which case research methodologies can contribute to our insights. It is a 'must read' for qualitative researchers, and provides useful insights to all international business researchers.’

• Contents:ForewordJan-Erik VahlnePART I: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CASE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH1. Pluralism in International Business and International Management Research: Making the CaseRebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch2. The Career of a Case Researcher: An Interview with Christopher BartlettRebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch3. Fifty Years of Case Research in International Business: The Power of Outliers and Black SwansYair Aharoni4. The View from the Editorial Office: An Interview with Pervez Ghauri Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine WelchPART II: MULTIPLE PARADIGMS FOR THEORIZING5. Critical Realism and Case Studies in International Business ResearchRicardo Morais6. ‘There is No Alternative’ – Or Is There? A Critical Case Study Approach for International Business ResearchPasi Ahonen, Janne Tienari and Eero Vaara7. Sumantra’s Challenge: Publish a Theory-testing Case Study in a Top Journal Gabriel Szulanski and Robert J. Jensen8. Using Multiple Case Studies to Generalize from Ethnographic ResearchMary Yoko Brannen9. Beyond the Inductive Myth: New Approaches to the Role of Existing Theory in Case ResearchPoul Houman Andersen and Hanne Kragh PART III: ALTERNATIVE CASE STUDY DESIGNS10. Case Selection in International Business: Key Issues and Common MisconceptionsMargaret Fletcher and Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki11. Case Selection Informed by TheoryTrevor Buck12. Mixed-method Case Studies in International Business ResearchLeila Hurmerinta and Niina Nummela13. The Single MNC as a Research SiteJon Erland B. Lervik14. When Truth is the Daughter of Time: Longitudinal Case Studies in International Business ResearchSusanne Blazejewski15. Theorizing Process through Punctuated Longitudinal Case Study ResearchAnna Soulsby and Ed ClarkPART IV: THE POTENTIAL OF MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTICAL METHODS16. Blurring the Boundaries between Case Analysis and Ethnography: Reflections on a Hybrid Approach to Researching Multinational CorporationsRaza Mir 17. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: Taking a Holistic Approach to Ethnographic Case Studies in International BusinessFiona Moore18. Digging Archaeology: Postpositivist Theory and Archival Research in Case Study DevelopmentAlbert J. Mills and Jean Helms Mills19. Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: New Questions for Documents in International Business Case ResearchApril Wright20. Comparative Historical Analysis in International Management Research Ayse Saka-HelmhoutPART V: TAKING ACCOUNT OF DIVERSE CONTEXTS21. Fleas on the Backs of Elephants: Researching the Multinational Company Tony Edwards, Phil Almond and Trevor Colling22. International Research Teams and Collective Case Studies: An Abductive Approach Asta Salmi23. How to Use Ethnographic Case Studies to Decipher National CulturesPhilippe d’Iribarne24. Doing Case Studies in China: Two PerspectivesHui Tan and Matti Nojonen25. Conducting Processual Studies in Transition Economies: Reflections on a Case StudyMartin JohansonIndex