This important and original book places the case study in international business research in its historical context, critically evaluates current case study practices in the field and proposes a more pluralistic future for case research within international business and international management research. While the case study is the most popular qualitative research strategy in the field, only a narrow selection of possible approaches is currently used. IB and IM researchers typically rely on a case study approach that could be characterized as 'qualitative positivism'. The editors and contributors look beyond this disciplinary convention and encourage greater pluralism in IB and IM case research. Their key argument is that increased awareness of prevailing disciplinary conventions - and their limitations - increases the potential for methodological innovation and versatility in case research. The contributions provide critical, novel and innovative perspectives on the case study in IB and IM research. The book offers inspiration to case authors and an authoritative methodological reference for those publishing and reviewing case research. It will also be highly regarded by postgraduate and doctoral students in IB and IM as well as both qualitative and quantitative researchers in the field.
Contents: PART I: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CASE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 1. Pluralism in International Business and International Management Research: Making the Case Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch 2. The Career of a Case Researcher: An Interview with Christopher Bartlett Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch 3. The View from the Editorial Office: An Interview with Pervez Ghauri Rebecca Piekkari and Catherine Welch PART II: MULTIPLE PARADIGMS FOR THEORIZING 4. Critical Realism and Case Studies in International Business Research Ricardo Morais 5. 'There is No Alternative' - Or Is There? A Critical Case Study Approach for International Business Research Pasi Ahonen, Janne Tienari and Eero Vaara 6. Sumantra's Challenge: Publish a Theory-testing Case Study in a Top Journal Gabriel Szulanski and Robert J. Jensen 7. Using Multiple Case Studies to Generalize from Ethnographic Research Mary Yoko Brannen 8. Beyond the Inductive Myth: New Approaches to the Role of Existing Theory in Case Research Poul Houman Andersen and Hanne Kragh PART III: ALTERNATIVE CASE STUDY DESIGNS 9. Case Selection in International Business: Key Issues and Common Misconceptions Margaret Fletcher and Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki 10. Case Selection Informed by Theory Trevor Buck 11. Mixed-method Case Studies in International Business Research Leila Hurmerinta and Niina Nummela 12. The Single MNC as a Research Site Jon Erland Lervik 13. When Truth is the Daughter of Time: Longitudinal Case Studies in International Business Research Susanne Blazejewski 14. Theorizing Process through Punctuated Longitudinal Case Study Research Anna Soulsby and Ed Clark PART IV: THE POTENTIAL OF MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTICAL METHODS 15. Blurring the Boundaries between Case Analysis and Ethnography: Reflections on a Hybrid Approach to Researching Multinational Corporations Raza Mir 16. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: Taking a Holistic Approach to Ethnographic Case Studies in International Business Fiona Moore 17. Digging Archeology: Postpositivist Theory and Archival Research in Case Study Development Albert J. Mills and Jean H. Mills 18. Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: New Questions for Documents in International Business Case Research April Wright 19. Comparative Historical Analysis in International Management Research Ayse Saka-Helmhout PART V: TAKING ACCOUNT OF DIVERSE CONTEXTS 20. Fleas on the Backs of Elephants: Researching the Multinational Company Tony Edwards, Phil Almond and Trevor Colling 21. International Research Teams and Collective Case Studies: An Abductive Approach Asta Salmi 22. How to Use Ethnographic Case Studies to Decipher National Cultures? Philippe d'Iribarne 23. Doing Case Studies in China: Two Perspectives Perspective No 1: The Chinese Researcher Now Living Abroad Hui Tan Perspective No 2: A Confessional Tale by a Western Researcher Matti Nojonen 24. Conducting Processual Studies in Transition Economies: Reflections on a Case Study Martin Johanson Index