Developing Case Studies for Classroom Use

Leeds University Business School Developing Case Studies for Classroom Use Timothy M Devinney University Leadership Chair & Professor of Intl Business Why Case Studies? The Value of Case Studies  Good case studies require students to:  Discover the ‘correct’ questions to be asked when faced with specific circumstances and contexts • Framing of complexity  Distinguish amongst alternative potential avenues of ‘solution’ to those questions • Pathways to construction of alternative options  Decompose the case in a manner that allows for and involves systematic analysis • Application of tools  Decide which of the options will achieve an acceptable and implementable solution for the questions • Reveal a decision calculus  Good case studies present a reality, but may not present reality. The do not need to be perfectly factual as they require closure within a specific pedagogical time frame  Hence case studies are like movies based on ‘history’ that may ‘twist’ history to create a good story that fits into a 2-3 hour time frame and fit with the requirements of a movie theatre (c) Devinney, 2014 Why Case Studies? The Value of Case Studies  Bad case studies are:  Uninteresting, boring, and do not tell a compelling story  Unbalanced and biased • Little more than a sycophantic retelling of a corporate or individual story that plays to the ego or public relations demands of the person/corporation that is the focus of the case • Little more than a philosophical/political rant about an issue or cause  So simple that they are more like a set of directions to a singular solution that a monkey can follow  So overly complex that they make it impossible for an average student to stand a chance of decomposing the main issues  Informationally incomplete • Exclude key information from the case – Most cases should be doable within the context of a class or exam • Demand that the student access large amounts of external information or information without specific guidance (c) Devinney, 2014 Why Case Studies? The Value of Case Studies  Case studies work because:  Individuals are better at understanding and framing reality around images and events than words or abstract formulations • Cases are variants of storytelling and the rules of storytelling apply – There are many rules for storytelling and you need to find the right one for your story (e.g., Aristotle’s Poetics, Freytag’s Dramatic Techniques or if you are a mystery fan something like a police procedural)  Individuals learn more by practice and repetition than via rote learning or simple testing • Case studies are variants of apprentice-based learning  People are more likely to be convinced by anecdotes than facts • The key is to use anecdotal structures to convey knowledge based on larger scale evidence (c) Devinney, 2014 Why Case Studies? The Value of Case Studies  Case studies allow an instructor to achieve a number of aims:  To show that understanding the question is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for addressing any problem, analysing data, and achieving an effective solution  The illustration of specific theoretical concepts in practice • Theory in practice versus theory in use  The need to potentially combine multiple theoretical concepts to address complex problems  The revelation of the causal linkages between factors underlying an event or decision • Complexity of events, false leads, and the hidden reality of theoretical applications  The imperfect nature of solutions • Multiple potential ‘acceptable’ solutions, none of which dominate and may be dependent not on reality but on assumptions about what might be true now or later (c) Devinney, 2014 Four Case Illustrations Nizhlak German chemical manufacturer. Two main issues arise in the case. The first is the structure of the arrangement that led to the new venture. The second, and more, important is understanding how culturally and organisationally the management structure should be put together. Egon Zehnder Intl Swiss/American based executive search firm. The question appears simple: “Where should the firm expand to next?” However, this reveals some startling facts about the firm that requires serious rethinking of its whole global strategy (or lack thereof). There is a (B) case that follows. Southgold An African mining company. This is a simple case in that it relates to the role of hedging. However, it is very complex in terms of actually (a) understanding what the real question is, and (b) how to actually technically formulate the hedging strategy. Carrefour vs Walmart (c) Devinney, 2014 An industry level case study. It allows for many different comparisons between the two players. Normally, I use to illustrate a specific issue: the lack of a dominant strategy in the international context. Four Case Illustrations Nizhlak Context: Russia as illustrative of LDCs; Venture Level of Analysis: Individual personnel, Organisational structure Theoretical Logic: Span of control, Governance Problem: Lines of communication, how to control the operations Egon Zehnder Intl Context: Asia/Global Level of Analysis: Country & Firm Theoretical Logic: FSA/LSA, Global competences & capabilities Problem: Where to locate given pressures from clients? Southgold Carrefour vs Walmart (c) Devinney, 2014 Context: Africa & Mining Level of Analysis: Mine (Factory) & Firm Theoretical Logic: International Financial Exposure and Hedging Problem: Can hedging strategy make an unproductive mine profitable? Context: Global Level of Analysis: Industry & Firm Theoretical Logic: Horses for Courses, FSA/LSA Problem: Who will be more successful in their expansion strategies? The Technical Stuff: How to Write a Good Pedagogical Case  Rule #1: A good case is not a single document but three documents:  The case the students see  The supplementary materials (if required) plus any follow on cases  The teaching note (TN)  Rule #2: The case body should be no longer than 20 pages of text  In some cases you may want to have more but you should consider whether it is worthwhile having multiple linked cases or a series of cases  Rule #3: Provide some distractions  Provide more information than is necessary in the student case (e.g., financial statements, company history, personal history of the protagonists, etc.)  Make finding the question part of the exercise. If you leave something out make sure it is discoverable (c) Devinney, 2014 The Technical Stuff: How to Write a Good Pedagogical Case  Rule #4: Do not hint at ‘the’ solution  You may want to hint at multiple conflicting solutions, but only if they are relevant to the storyline  Rule #5: Have a focus (or foci) for the case  A protagonist; e.g., a person or a competitor  A context: A place (e.g., Russia), a decision (e.g., market entry), a time frame or time period, a conflict or other event  Rule #6: Create lots of tables and illustrations  The more you have about the company, country, etc. the better. Collect it and organise it. It is easier to decide later if it goes in the case or the TN or the supplemental materials  Rule #7: Use media where possible  Today it is important to have supplementary material. Conduct and record (via video if possible) and make this available (c) Devinney, 2014 The Technical Stuff: How to Write a Good Pedagogical Case  Rule #8: Go back and forth between the case and the TN when writing  What you write will evolve. Do not first write the case then attempt to write the teaching note. Write them at approximately the same time.  The natural tendency is to reveal too much in the case. Remember this is a ‘mystery’ story. Hence, you need to balance what is in the case and what is in the TN. You need to find ‘the Goldilocks’ zone.  Rule #9: Think like a student  Student’s think they know a lot but actually know very little. They will generally use ‘templates’. Work to make them work but remember they will make ‘rookie’ mistakes. This is the point of learning. Write the case so that their mistake looks like a reasonable solution (in other words, anticipate what they will want to say)  Rule #10: Think like a professor  Professor’s want students to get specific lessons from cases. Generally stick to one or two theories and use them as the basis of the teaching note. (c) Devinney, 2014 The Technical Stuff: What’s in a Good Teaching Note  Teaching notes are important in that they reveal the pedagogical reason for the case  Good teaching notes will normally have:  A statement as to the use and purpose of the case  A link to the relevant academic literature (a bibliography) & company materials  A structure for using the case in class • Probing questions • Time windows • Exercise structure (e.g., if you want to have presentations, debates, team discussions, etc.)  A verbal run through of the important points, learning outcomes, theoretical models and other factors to guide the instructor through the class discussion  Slides, supplemental teaching materials, and additional tables and data for potential use in class  A link to follow-on materials relating to the outcomes of the case if relevant (c) Devinney, 2014 Conclusion  Cases can be a valuable dissertation topic  There are many forms of case study that can be done and what is normally in a dissertation can be written in a case form  Using a case as your project can open up the possibility that it will be used by others and can be a source of achievement  Most HBS, Ivey, Insead, IMD case studies are written by students  Case studies are many times use illustratively to bolster the impact of academic articles • Richard & Devinney (2005). Modular Strategies: B2B Technology and Architectural Knowledge, California Management Review • Soo, Devinney, Midgley & Deering (2002). Knowledge Management: Philosophy, Processes, and Pitfalls, California Management Review (c) Devinney, 2014 Some Support Materials  Writing Case Studies: A Manual  Available at: http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/casestd/casestds.pdf  Ivey Publishing Case Authoring Tools  Available at: https://www.iveycases.com/TeachingAuthoringTools.aspx  The Case Centre Articles  Available at: http://www.thecasecentre.org/educators/casemethod/resources/articles  Writing Cases and Teaching Notes (E. Raymond Corey)  Available at: HBS, 399077-PDF-ENG  The Art and Craft of Case Writing (Naumes & Naumes). Available at Amazon.  Video Journalism for the Web: A Practical Introduction to Documentary Storytelling (Lancaster). Available at Amazon. (c) Devinney, 2014