Empirical Case Study Work Approach

Abstract

This chapter describes the course of action in the empirical case study work undertaken by the scholar in 2012 and 2013 to eventually identify management practices that support business unit managers in successfully realizing BMI. As suggested by EISENHARDT, information about the procedures of data collection and analysis is provided in order to enhance the readers’ confidence in the results’ validity. Figure 9 illustrates an overview of the four steps that comprise the case study work and that build upon the theoretical foundation established in chapter 2. The following sections explain each step in greater detail. Sections 3.1 through 3.3 elucidate the method pursued by the scholar to arrive at the five cases that have been subject to an in-depth study. Section 3.4 explicates how the findings have been induced from the cross-case analysis. Finally, section 3.5 summarizes how the scholar worked to ensure the validity and reliability of the case study findings.