Nor is political interference rejected. It may be needed to overcome the chauvinism of science that resists alternatives to the status quo.
There are three types of case study: intrinsic, concentrating on a par- ticular topic rather than theory building; instrumental, concentrating on an issue or theory; and collective, using several case studies to support a better understanding of larger issues (Smith, 1994; Stake, 2000). An instrumental case study provides insight into the issues raised by the rationale and combines the benefits of the ethnographic approach to theory building. Ethnographic methods were selected for their long- standing tradition in studying cultural phenomena (Clifford, 1988) uti- lizing participant observation as the principal data collection technique with field notes, journal entries and the collection of documents serving as data for interpretive analysis.
In Pursuit of the Paradigm 105 distorted picture, or no picture at all, of the underlying dynamics of the case’ (615). There can be a tendency to concentrate on the development of constructs at the expense of the context of each case, ‘a story against which researchers can compare their experiences and gain rich theoretical insights’ (Dyer and Wilkins, 1991: 613). The use of a case study tries to
‘locate the global in the local’ (Hamel, Dufour and Fortin, 1993: 34).
However, Eisenhardt and Zbaracki (1992: 35), although appealing
‘for richer visions of strategic decision makers and decision making’
through the use of multiple case studies, offer evidence of the wide use of, and reliance on, single case studies undertaken by scholars utilizing empirical research. In a summary of twenty-eight empirical research studies on strategic decision-making, sixteen applied a single case study, and the remaining twelve, multiple case studies. Paradoxically, these figures are seemingly inflated by the inclusion of what at least appear on the surface to be what might possibly be described as four multiple case studies! Clearly, however, the single case study is recognized as an appropriate research method by a wide number of scholars and particularly if you are minded to select the appropriate supportive evidence!
There is, of course, a practical implication to the case study approach (Silverman, 1994). Stake (2000: 436) highlights that a case study is ‘a process of inquiry about the case and the product of that inquiry’. It is important to find a case study that is capable of producing data to enable the benefit of insight into the issues under study. The academic researcher often has to take what is available in terms of a company pre- pared to spend time and allow access to the aspects of their business that have meaning. Most organizations are, perhaps understandably, sometimes reluctant to allow such access:
The researcher examines various interests in the phenomena, selecting a case of some typicality, but leaning toward those cases that seem to offer opportunity to learn. My choice would be to examine that case from which we feel we can learn the most. That may mean taking the one most accessible, the one we can spend the most time with.
Potential for learning is a different and sometimes superior criterion to representativeness. Isn’t it better to learn a lot from an atypical case than a little from a seemingly typical case . . . The purpose of a case report is not to represent the world, but to represent the case.
(Stake, 2000: 446–8)
The choice of a longitudinal study of Parteisch UK and Parteisch International, a pan-European company based in Belgium and employing
more than 800 people involved in manufacturing and the marketing of products to consumer and other markets, is illustrative. The study lasts over a period of nearly two years at a time when the profile of the market is changing, the traditional products of the industry declining, and fashion and design influences driving a rapidly growing new market. At the same time, the founder and owner of Parteisch International has already recognized the need, and agreed to change the emphasis from a production orientation to a more market-driven orientation in recogni- tion of these changes. The case study is an impressionist tale (see Van Maanen, 1988: 7) and offers the practical potential for observing a business within a changing environment and in particular, the role of positioning on major strategic shifts. In fact, the story of Parteisch International offers the specific One, boundary and integration, patterns of behaviour and coherence and sequence (Stake, 1988), access (Silverman, 1994), and a real possibility of authenticity, plausibility and criticality (Golden-Biddle and Locke, 1993). The representativeness of the case study (Stake, 2000) will be judged by the credibility of the tale through an interpretivist approach whilst the additional use of constructivism will assist the understanding of cultural aspects.
Method of application to the case study
The story of Parteisch International and Parteisch UK will be related in chronological order with progressive focusing around the role of positioning using critical and key events as important landmarks in the description. There is naturally a need to see and understand the participants in the study as well as observe some important interactions that contribute to the actual events.
This study is descriptive but it is not an attempt to tell everything.
This is not an outpouring of accumulated data. It is an attempt to reveal the essence within the context of what Foster (1969) calls ‘the inter- action setting’. A wide variety of techniques have been used to bring the case study to life, the purpose of which is to ‘exhaust the analyst’s momentary ideation based on data with perhaps a little conceptual elaboration’ (Glaser, 1978: 84). As Patton (1980: 304) says: ‘The descrip- tions of the case should be holistic and comprehensive, given the focus of evaluation, and will include a myriad of dimensions, factors, variables, and categories woven together into an idiographic framework.’
The description is related in narrative style and follows a chronological sequence. It is based around the movements of Tom Eden and his involvement with Parteisch UK and Parteisch International. There are
In Pursuit of the Paradigm 107 appropriate breaks in the description that seek to assist the process of understanding and combine some of the qualitative approaches described by Strauss (1987: 23): ‘procedures for discovering, verifying, and formulating grounded theory . . . are in operation all through the research project and . . . go on in close relationship to each other, in quick sequence and often simultaneously’. This framework, whilst clearly identifying individual roles in the study, informs the overall interaction and cultural aspects of the case study in the context of the rationale and principal areas of interest. The method of application will observe a boundaried and integrated system, attempting to demon- strate patterns of behaviour, and displaying prominent coherence and sequence (Stake, 1988). The participants will therefore be introduced as they join the story in chronological order.
It is proposed that the study should adopt three main perspectives in the method of application as identified by Patton (1990: 88):
1. Ethnographic perspective: What is the culture of this group of people?
2. Phenomenological perspective: What is the structure and the essence of experience of this phenomenon for these people?
3. Heuristic perspective: What is the experience of this phenomenon and the essential experience of others who also experience this phenomenon intensely?
The case study will be followed by a conceptualization of the principal observations merged with existing theory as revealed by the previous literature review.
The method of study is modelled on Patton’s (1990) values of partici- pant observation research and the need to understand the context in which people live and share activities in their lives, the first-hand experience of discovering and deducing significance and inferential meanings, the observation of hidden disclosure, and the inclusion of experience in perception and understanding of setting and participants.
The ongoing analysis assists the reader with the building of a mental picture, whilst providing an opportunity to build theory in the grounded milieu as the mental picture takes shape in the context of the research rationale. The analysis attempts to maintain and refocus on the purpose of the research whilst building a picture of the possibilities relating to the subject under investigation: ‘Qualitative studies call for continuous refocusing and redrawing of study parameters’ (Miles and Huberman, 1994: 17).
Wolcott (1994: 22) says that it is satisfying to have a reader of a qualita- tive study say, ‘I just couldn’t put it down’. It is also important to recog- nize that nothing will emerge without the assistance of the researcher in the sense that the atmosphere and emphasis rests largely in the telling and the choice from a multitude of material. Miles and Huberman (1994:
69) cite that the bedrock of inquiry is the researcher’s quest for ‘repeat- able regularities’ to assist in the understanding of patterns, recurrences and plausible whys (Kaplan, 1963). The process is a mixture of dialectic and linear with ‘each process informing the other, each helping with the important work of reducing detail, maintaining the focus, and moving ahead with the story’ (Wolcott, 1994: 20) and reflects a belief that ‘eth- nography aims to explicate patterns of action that are cultural and/or social rather than cognitive’ (Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994: 485). Lang- ley (1999: 695) recognizes that ‘it is the contextual detail in the narrative (“thick description”) that will allow the reader to judge the transferability of the ideas to other situations . . . good researchers of this type will often produce a sense of “déjà vu” among experienced readers’.
The study specifically refers to events that contribute to a better understanding of, or possible connection to, the role of positioning at a strategic level. However, there are undoubtedly wider issues of interest to the reader and it is hoped that the study will also stand as an illustra- tion of contemporary business activity in the wider social context of modern day capitalism. As the description proceeds and familiarity grows, there is possibly a lesser requirement for analysis because the story itself becomes more meaningful in a phenomenological per- spective, with a hermeneutic application of ‘what the text says to us’
(Godamer, 1976: xviii). The reader will hopefully participate in the con- struction and interpretation of thought and meaning of the case study.
The text is systemized through the use of regular commentary and reflects the primary experience of the researcher on a constructivist level. The narrative structure of the text is used as a basis for interpreted meanings. This approach seeks to utilize the most helpful methods of naturalistic enquiry (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) with the overall rationale.