Do Cases Always Deliver What They Promise? A Quality Analysis of Business Cases in Higher Education

Abstract

Although the usage of case studies is very common in teaching worldwide, there has been inadequate discussion concerning the quality with respect to teaching and learning. The focus of this article is to assess the pedagogic aspect of business case studies in academic teaching. On the basis of a specific tool to detect the pedagogical quality of business cases and related teaching notes, a total of nine award-winning case studies delivered by a well-known publishing house were analysed. The findings indicate that the pedagogical quality varies from case to case. There are deficits concerning the focus on problem orientation and the complexity of the cases. Further weaknesses have been identified in some case studies regarding the learner’s autonomy and prior knowledge, while with respect to real-life orientation, most case studies have a high level of accordance with a pedagogic optimum.