Business case studies
What are business case studies?
Business case studies are usually summaries of real-life business scenarios or fictitious accounts of a business situation or dilemma. Case studies enable students to analyse business issues from a variety of perspectives and apply critical thinking and problem solving skills that they have been developing in their classes. Business case studies can illustrate business theory and show the application of such theory.
There are publishers, such as Harvard Business School Press, which produce and sell cases for teaching and learning purposes. There are also other sources of case studies, including books, articles, academic research and free internet sources.
The key parts in the write-up of a case are analysis of the situation, identification of the key issues and making of recommendations. For background you may need to undertake company or industry research. Consult our Companies and Industry and product information guides for additional resources.
Case study method
"A research design that takes as its subject a single case or a few selected examples of a social entity - such as communities, social groups, employers, events, life-histories, families, work teams, roles, or relationships - and employs a variety of methods to study them." Scott, J., & Marshall, G. (2014). case-study. In A Dictionary of Sociology. Retrieved from www.oxfordreference.com
The database SAGE Research Methods has some excellent material on the case method. Search under Methodologies - Methods and browse for the term case study.
Selected books held include:
- The anatomy of the case study by Gary Thomas
SAGE: 2015 - Case study evaluation: Past, present and future challenges edited by Jill Russell et al.
Emerald: 2015 - Case study research: Design and methods by Robert Yin. (5th ed.)
SAGE: 2014 - Case study research for business by Jillian Farquhar
SAGE: 2012 - Applications of case study research by Robert Yin. (3rd ed.)
SAGE: 2012 - Case study methodology in business research by Jan Dul & Tony Hak
Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier: 2008 - The case study handbook: How to read, discuss and write persuasively about cases by William Ellet
Harvard Business School Press: 2007
Case studies in books
Many books contain case studies in their contents. Combine "case studies" with your chosen company or topic in a Catalogue keyword search.
Examples:
"case studies" kiwifruit
"case studies" "supply chain"
"case studies" "New Zealand" dairy
You can sometimes find relevant material in Google books by searching with the phrase "case study" or "case studies" and a keyword.
New Zealand material
Selected titles containing New Zealand case studies
- International business strategy: A New Zealand perspective by Michèle Akoorie & Joanna Scott-Kennel
Pearson Prentice Hall: 2005 - Management: A Pacific rim focus by Kathryn Bartol et al. (6th ed.)
McGraw-Hill: 2011 - Business case studies in operations management by Tom Batley
Prentice Hall: 2002 - Managing in an international context: New Zealand case series, a McGraw-Hill Custom publication prepared for the University of Auckland Business Case Centre by Wendell Dunn & Ian Hunter
McGraw-Hill Australia: 2008 - Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice by Howard Frederick & Donald Kuratko (2nd ed.)
Thomson: 2010 - New Zealand case studies in information systems by Val Hooper
Pearson Education New Zealand: 2007 - Management: Perspectives for New Zealand by Kerr Inkson & Darl Kolb (3rd ed.)
Pearson Education: 2002 - Managing organisations in New Zealand by Sandy Millar & Christopher Theunissen (3rd ed.)
Pearson Education: 2008 - He wairere pakihi: Māori business case studies by Malcolm Mulholland
Massey University, College of Business Studies: 2008 - Management communication: New Zealand and Australian case studies by Deborah Page & Theodore Zorn. Pearson Prentice Hall: 2007
- Taking care of business: Indigenous business case studies by Naomi Smyth, Miriana Ikin & Liz Norman
Aotahi: 2008 - Case in point: Best cases from the 2005 International Conference on Case Study Teaching and Learning edited by Marie Wilson. GSE Publications: 2005
- Managing innovation in New Zealand: Case studies. Volumes I, II & III by Peter Winsley, David Gilbertson & Paul Couchman. Dunmore Press: 2001
Databases to search for case studies
A number of business databases include case studies on companies or industries, and some journal articles are in effect case studies. Search for articles which include case type information by including the name of the company, industry or product in your search.
The following databases are worth searching for case studies.
- ABI/Inform
Before carrying out your search select case study from the document type box. - Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre
Combine the phrase "case study" with your keyword(s) or company. - Business Source Premier
- Before carrying out your search select case study from the document type box. The Harvard Business Review publishes a case study article (usually fictional) in each issue. These can be located in the database by combining Harvard Business Review in the Publication Name field with case studies in the Subject Terms field.
Note: Harvard Business School cases are not available via the Library but have to be purchased. - Emerald Fulltext
Select Advanced search and combine the phrase "case study" with your keyword(s).
Note: We do not have access to Emerald's Emerging Markets Case Studies database. - Factiva
Use the phrase "case study" in conjunction with keywords or terms from company, subject, industry or region pull-down menus. - Google Scholar
Combine the phrase "case study" or "case studies" with other keywords and phrases. - Kanopy Video Streaming
Use the browse subjects tool and then select Business and Business Case Studies. - MarketLine Advantage
Within the search box select case studies from the drop-down menu and combine with keyword(s) or company name or industry.
Case study journals
The following journals specifically focus on business case studies. Many of them are indexed by databases such as Business Source Premier.
- The Asian Case Research Journal
- Asian Journal of Management Cases
- Business Case Journal
- Case Research Journal
- International Journal of Management Cases: IJMC
- The Journal of Business Case Studies
- Journal of Cases on Information Technology
- Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications: JITCA
- Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases
- Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies
Purchasing case studies
- Many business case studies are available for purchase via clearing houses.
- Case studies may often be purchased as class sets for teaching purposes.
- The purchase of class sets is organised through academic departments and not through the Library. Harvard Business case studies are not sold to libraries and can only be purchased via the Harvard Business Publishing website.
- Abstracts are often available from the following collections, but most require payment for the full text of each case.
Business case collections and clearing houses
- Richard Ivey School of Business (for purchase)
Cases by theme. - Business Case Studies
Previously The Times 100 Business Case Studies. Case studies from the website are free for educational purposes although there is a charge for PDF versions. - The Case Centre for Educators (mostly for purchase)
Case studies from international business schools. Some case studies are free to educators once they register. - Caseplace.org
Focuses on social, environmental and ethical issues in business. - Darden Case Collection
Cases available for free download from Social Science Research Network (SSRN). - Stanford Graduate School of Business Cases (mostly for purchase)
For free cases narrow your search to those available to download at no charge. - Thunderbird Case Series (for purchase)
- Asiacase.com: The Asian Business Case Centre (some free - most for purchase)
Includes Nanyang Case Collection, Asian Case Collection and Cases in Chinese. - The North American Case Research Association
Case Studies appear in the Case Research Journal and are also included in the The Case Centre for Educators listings. - INSEAD case studies (for purchase)
- Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (for purchase)
Cases on business decision making and management throughout key global emerging markets - LearningEdge Case Studies
Free learning resource from MIT Sloan School of Management.
New Zealand case studies
Some NZ case studies are available via international clearing houses. In addition:
- CANZ (Competitive Advantage New Zealand)
University of Victoria. Contains a number of New Zealand company case histories, dated but freely available. - Case Studies
Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Case studies for public sector management development, available to members. - Case Studies
Diversity Works (formerly the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust) - Case Studies
New Zealand Ministry of the Environment.
Selected books on case writing
- Writing cases by Michiel Leenders et al. (4th ed.)
Ivey Publishing: 2001 - The art & craft of case writing by William Naumes & Margaret J Naumes (3rd ed.)
M.E. Sharpe: 2012 - The case study handbook: How to read, discuss, and write persuasively about cases by William Ellet
Harvard Business School Press: 2007
Web resources
- Analysing and writing case studies
Cengage Learning - Case writing guide
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University - How to write the case study
Monash University - Preparing an effective case analysis
South Western College Publishing
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