Demystifying Case Study Selection In International Business Research

The purpose of this paper is to recognise the complexity of case selection and review case selection strategies in IB articles in four main journals (JIBS, JWB, MIR, IBR). Using qualitative content analysis, we consider case selection strategies in relation to ontological and epistemological assumptions, logic and theoretical purpose in 331 case study papers. Our evidence suggests a paucity of information associated with methodological reporting: 13% of 333 papers lacked a section on methodology entirely and 59% of papers gave no indication of how cases were selected. Frequent references to Yin and Eisenhardt, an emphasis on existing deductive theories, the identification of research gaps and research questions lead us to conclude that CS research is dominated by “qualitative positivism”. Despite the potential of this approach, we associate ourselves with methodologists who appeal for pluralism and the matching of methodologies with purposes and topics.