Writing a Case-study Methodology Section

Business-to-business marketing academics study complex phenomena, aiming to describe these phenomena through theoretical frameworks, explaining the relationships among the framework’s constructs, and provide guidance and insight to decision-makers. Not surprisingly, often business-to-business researchers undertake qualitative case studies. In this chapter, we discuss what we believe could be reported in the write-up of a case-study methodology section. In particular, we consider the issues of selecting cases; crafting instruments and protocols, entering the field; and analyzing the data. How to assess the validity and reliability of qualitative case studies is also discussed. We finish the chapter by examining three exemplar case studies that have been published in Industrial Marketing Management.