Case Study Research: A State-of-the-Art Perspective

Theory building from case studies is a research strategy that combines grounded theory building with case studies. Its purpose is to develop novel, accurate, parsimonious, and robust theory that emerges from and is grounded in data. Case research is well-suited to address “big picture” theoretical gaps and dilemmas, particularly when existing theory is inadequate. Further, this research strategy is particularly useful for answering questions of “how” through its deep and longitudinal immersion in a focal phenomenon. The process of conducting case study research includes a thorough literature review to identify an appropriate and compelling research question, a rigorous study design that involves artful theoretical sampling, rich and complete data collection from multiple sources, and a creative yet systematic grounded theory building process to analyze the cases and build emergent theory about significant phenomena. Rigorous theory building case research is fundamentally centered on strong emergent theory with precise theoretical logic and robust grounding in empirical data. Not surprisingly then, theory building case research is disproportionately represented among the most highly cited and award-winning research.

Workshops as an Essential Practice in Doing Biographical Research

The aim of the paper is to share our reflections on the meaning, goals, and course of analytical workshops, which are treated by the authors not only in terms of methodological procedures, but also as a process of grounded theory building, where the phase of collective work is pivotal. We present the idea of workshops worked out within interpretative sociology and qualitative analysis and developed in different fields, yet we mainly focus on biographical research analysis. The knowledge and practice transfer between scholars in this respect is also one of the frames of our reasoning. The paper consists of several sections: firstly, we present a short overview of workshop practices in the field of biographical research referring mainly to students’ workshops; in the second part, we describe advantages of workshop practices for researchers and their possible outcomes; the third section describes examples of research and analysis of the same empirical material done by researchers representing different methodological approaches; finally, we finish with concluding remarks.

Jihadist waves: Syria, the Islamic State, and the changing nature of foreign fighters

This article offers the first systematic analysis of cross-generational and cross-organizational aspects of jihadist foreign fighter (JFF) mobilization. How are individuals fighting in Syria different from foreign fighters who fought in the previous jihadist wars? What factors distinguish the Islamic State (IS) fighters from individuals joining other jihadist groups in Syria? The article builds an original sample of 477 JFFs from Turkey spanning three decades and employs the Random Forest technique, a method with several distinct advantages over regression analysis in the study of small N conflict data. The results have substantial and practical implications and show that fighters in Syria and IS fighters have different demographic characteristics and life experiences than fighters in pre-Syria wars and non-IS fighters in Syria, respectively. They inform more empirically grounded theory building about the recruitment motives and methods of JFFs.

How was competitive advantage sustained in management consultancies during change

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the process in which dynamic capabilities renewed operational capabilities to sustain competitive advantage in management consulting firms of Iran during a period of drastic environmental changes. Design/methodology/approach Using a grounded theory building approach, comparative longitudinal case analyses were conducted in consultancies of Iran. The research was based on a deep study of documents, observations and interviews with managers and employees of 14 consulting firms. Findings It was found that during a period of environmental changes there was a relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage, but this relationship was mediated by the role of marketing and technological capabilities of a firm. It was also found that trust-building capabilities of the consulting firms moderate the relationship between dynamic and operational capabilities. The research explores homogeneity and heterogeneity of dynamic capabilities among consultancies too. Originality/value This research shows that under changing environmental conditions, dynamic capabilities of consultancies can become a source of competitive advantage. Moreover, it discusses whether dynamic capabilities are idiosyncratic or are best practices. It also explains the role of trust-building capabilities of consulting firms in moderating the relationship between dynamic and operational capabilities in the particular environment of Iran.