The Role of Case Studies in Informing Systems: Introduction to the Special Series

Abstract

The purpose of this introductory article is to provide an overview of the contributions that make up this Special Series of Informing Science on The Role of Case Studies in Informing Systems, summarizing the major findings and discussing the key issues. In the first two articles, the founder of a leading consultancy and a veteran Harvard Business School professor offer their unique insights on the multiple dimensions and complexities of the case method, the first highlighting the parallels between business leadership and case teaching as informing systems, and the second revealing the multiple pathways of informing through case research. The next two articles are examples of discussion cases that have opened new informing patterns among researchers, case protagonists, and members of society, having produced impacts that extend to small farmers in Central America and delinquent gangs in Venezuela. The next two articles involve innovations in case development and teaching that open still further informing pathways: the organization of undergraduate students as case writers, interacting with protagonists and leading CEO's in Croatia, and the new informing patterns in case teaching that take place through the use of online technology. In the final article, four business school professors discuss their attempts to measure improvements in critical thinking skills among MBAs that have come about as a result of case method learning. Case Method ManagementIt is appropriate, then, that the first article in this Special Series, "Case Method Management," addresses the role of the discussion case in the education of managers. In this article Harry Strachan, business school professor turned practitioner, argues from experience that the most effective senior managers practice case method teaching in leading and developing their management team. He describes the role of the case method teacher as focusing early on the decision, forcing involvement, challenging assertions, setting the rules of engagement, allowing pauses for reflection, articulating consensus, demanding analytic rigor, but also inspiring, making students and subordinates feel that "he sees gold in me that even I can't see."Strachan cautions us that not all teachers who use cases are using the case method. A founding partner in Bain & Co. and former INCAE and Harvard Business School professor, he prefers whiteboards to power point presentations, which he believes can subvert the learning goals of the case method by providing students with answers rather than building their analytic muscles in preparation for the heavy lifting they must perform in their jobs after graduation.

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“…Case studies are a common tool for learner-centered teaching (Herreid, 2014;Ickis, 2013;Strachan, 2013). The benefits of active involvement of students into learning process are widely recognized (e.g., Sivan, Leung, Woon, & Kember, 2000).…”