Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:58:22.498Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 3 - Of Talking Pigs and Black Swans

Single Holistic Case Study Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2023

Lakshmi Balachandran Nair ,
Michael Gibbert  and
Bareerah Hafeez Hoorani
Lakshmi Balachandran Nair
Affiliation:
Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Italy
Michael Gibbert
Affiliation:
Università della Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland
Bareerah Hafeez Hoorani
Affiliation:
Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Management Research, The Netherlands
Get access

Summary

We introduce and define the single holistic case study design in this chapter. The strengths of the design are discussed in detail, with examples. In particular, we discuss the potential of single holistic design in providing a detailed explanation of processes. Single holistic case studies also explore the theorizing potential of unique cases which hold the potential to reveal new dimensions of a phenomenon or falsify/refute an existing theory. Relatively high data access, construct validity, potential to include an unlimited number of variables, etc., are some other strengths that we discuss. The weaknesses of the design (i.e. low internal and external validity) are discussed afterwards. The chapter also addresses some common (mis)conceptions regarding single holistic designs and their external validity.

Keywords

Single holisticConstruct validityInternal validityExternal validityFalsificationUnique caseBlack swanMultiple variablesExplanatory
Type
Chapter
Information
Combining Case Study Designs for Theory Building
A New Sourcebook for Rigorous Social Science Researchers
 , pp. 31 - 49
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allison, G. T. (1971). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Blatter, J. & Blume, T. (2008). In search of co‐variance, causal mechanisms or congruence? Towards a plural understanding of case studies. Swiss Political Science Review, 14(2), 315–356.Google Scholar
Blatter, J. & Haverland, M. (2012). Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-N Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Breuer, J. & Freud, S. (2009). Studies on Hysteria. London: Hachette.Google Scholar
Cappelli, P. & Sherer, P. D. (1991). The missing role of context in OB: The need for a meso-level approach. In: Cummings, L. & Staw, B. (eds.) Research in Organizational Behavior. Greenwich: JAI Press, 55–110.Google Scholar
Cloutier, C. & Langley, A. (2020). What makes a process theoretical contribution? Organization Theory, 1(1), 2631787720902473.Google Scholar
Crosina, E. & Pratt, M. G. (2019). Toward a model of organizational mourning: The case of former Lehman Brothers bankers. Academy of Management Journal, 62(1), 66–98.Google Scholar
Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, K. M., Graebner, M. E. & Sonenshein, S. (2016). Grand challenges and inductive methods: Rigor without rigor mortis. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1113–1123.Google Scholar
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245.Google Scholar
Geddes, B. (1990). How the cases you choose affect the answers you get: Selection bias in comparative politics. Political Analysis, 2, 131–150.Google Scholar
George, A. L. & Bennett, A. (2005). Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Boston: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gerring, J. (2004). What is a case study and what is it good for? American Political Science Review, 98(2), 341–354.Google Scholar
Gerring, J. (2007). Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gibbert, M. & Ruigrok, W. (2010). The “what” and “how” of case study rigor: Three strategies based on published work. Organizational Research Methods, 13(4), 710–737.Google Scholar
Gibbert, M., Ruigrok, W. & Wicki, B. (2008). What passes as a rigorous case study? Strategic Management Journal, 29(13), 1465–1474.Google Scholar
Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago: Aldine Press.Google Scholar
Jick, T. D. (1979). Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods: Triangulation in action. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(4), 602–611.Google Scholar
Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 386–408.Google Scholar
Langley, A. (1999). Strategies for theorizing from process data. Academy of Management Review, 24(4), 691–710.Google Scholar
Lüscher, L. S. & Lewis, M. W. (2008). Organizational change and managerial sensemaking: Working through paradox. Academy of Management Journal, 51(2), 221–240.Google Scholar
Lynd, R. S. & Lynd, H. M. (1929). Middletown; a Study in Contemporary American Culture. New York: Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar
Lynd, R. S. & Lynd, H. M. (1937). Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts. New York: Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar
Michailova, S. (2011). Contextualizing in international business research: Why do we need more of it and how can we be better at it? Scandinavian Journal of Management, 27(1), 129–139.Google Scholar
Nair, L. B. (2021). From “Whodunit” to “How”: Detective stories and auditability in qualitative business ethics research. Journal of Business Ethics, 172(2), 195–209.Google Scholar
Pierson, P. (1996). The path to European integration: A historical institutionalist analysis. Comparative Political Studies, 29(2), 123–163.Google Scholar
Popper, K. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.Google Scholar
Shapiro, D. L., Von Glinow, M. A. & Xiao, Z. (2007). Toward polycontextually sensitive research methods. Management and Organization Review, 3(1), 129–152.Google Scholar
Siggelkow, N. (2007). Persuasion with case studies. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 20–24.Google Scholar
Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Tsang, E. W. (2014). Generalizing from research findings: The merits of case studies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 16(4), 369–383.Google Scholar
Yin, R. K. (2013). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×