In search of non-positivist case study research

Louise Knight; Thomas Johnsen

In search of non-positivist case study research

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

This critical review of trends in case study (CS) research within purchasing and supply management (PSM) is motivated by a concern that a rising prevalence of CS research standards that place theory development above all else, and that are founded on positivist-inspired evaluation criteria, may have the unintended consequence of ‘crowding out’ CS research that is ‘non-positivist’ and/or whose primary contribution is practice-oriented. Through a review of journal articles reporting PSM-related CS research and relevant methodology literature, we compare different approaches (positivist/non-positivist) to CS research, and derive guidance for the design, contributions and reporting of CS research in the field of PSM.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - 4 Sept 2020
Event	36th Annual IMP Conference and Doctoral Colloquium, IMP 2020: Sustaining and Energizing in the IMP Spirit - Virtual Event, Örebro, Sweden Duration: 2 Sept 2020 → 4 Sept 2020 Conference number: 36 https://www.imp2020.se/

Conference

Conference	36th Annual IMP Conference and Doctoral Colloquium, IMP 2020
Abbreviated title	IMP 2020
Country/Territory	Sweden
City	Örebro
Period	2/09/20 → 4/09/20
Internet address	https://www.imp2020.se/

Keywords

case study methodology
research quality
theory development

Cite this

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title = "In search of non-positivist case study research",

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AU - Johnsen, Thomas

N1 - Conference code: 36

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N2 - This critical review of trends in case study (CS) research within purchasing and supply management (PSM) is motivated by a concern that a rising prevalence of CS research standards that place theory development above all else, and that are founded on positivist-inspired evaluation criteria, may have the unintended consequence of ‘crowding out’ CS research that is ‘non-positivist’ and/or whose primary contribution is practice-oriented. Through a review of journal articles reporting PSM-related CS research and relevant methodology literature, we compare different approaches (positivist/non-positivist) to CS research, and derive guidance for the design, contributions and reporting of CS research in the field of PSM.

AB - This critical review of trends in case study (CS) research within purchasing and supply management (PSM) is motivated by a concern that a rising prevalence of CS research standards that place theory development above all else, and that are founded on positivist-inspired evaluation criteria, may have the unintended consequence of ‘crowding out’ CS research that is ‘non-positivist’ and/or whose primary contribution is practice-oriented. Through a review of journal articles reporting PSM-related CS research and relevant methodology literature, we compare different approaches (positivist/non-positivist) to CS research, and derive guidance for the design, contributions and reporting of CS research in the field of PSM.

KW - case study methodology

KW - research quality

KW - theory development

M3 - Paper

T2 - 36th Annual IMP Conference and Doctoral Colloquium, IMP 2020

Y2 - 2 September 2020 through 4 September 2020

ER -

In search of non-positivist case study research

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

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Cite this