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Table Table 1 From the research bench

From narrated case to evidence design

A case boundary is a set of decisions. A company name can sit inside it, but it cannot define every field by itself.

Design fieldStory versionEvidence-design version
QuestionWhat happened at this company?Which decision, mechanism, or condition is being examined?
Case boundaryThe company, brand, or project nameExplicit inclusion and exclusion rules, with a start and end point
UnitThe organisation treated as one actorThe decision, relationship, event, team, site, or organisation that answers the question
SelectionThe most visible success or the easiest accessA stated theoretical reason: replication, extension, conceptual category, or contrasting type
EvidenceInterviews that make the chronology readableInterviews, observation, documents, system traces, or measures selected for the question, with provenance
AnalysisA smooth chronology and a list of themesWithin-case reconstruction, cross-case or cross-source comparison, and searches for reversals
Rival explanationA footnote that names one alternativeA log of what the rival predicts, which observations support it, and what remains unresolved
TransferThis is what worksThese conditions may travel; these conditions are local; this magnitude is not identified

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Cite Embed

Reference & Evidence

Source: Author's operationalisation of Eisenhardt (1989) and Gioia, Corley & Hamilton (2013). The right column is a design aid, not a published measurement instrument.

Each line is a claim from the register this journal publishes against, resolved from the register at build time.

  • B The paper describes a process, not a result: "This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case stud"ies, from specifying the research questions to reaching closure Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C1
  • B Sampling is theoretical rather than statistical: "Such research relies on theo""retical sampling (i.e., cases are chosen for theo"retical reasons, including polar types Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C2
  • B The triangulation is named in the paper's own contribution list: "triangulation of multiple investigators, within"-"case and cross-case analyses, and the role of" existing literature Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C3
  • B Within-case first, then across: the framework names "case and cross-case analyses, and the role of" existing literature as separate steps Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C4
  • B Closure is a judgement, and the table says so: "Theoretical saturation when possible Ends process when marginal improvement becomes small" Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C5
  • B Case-based theory should be evaluated for evidence fit, testability, logical coherence, rival explanations, and bounded novelty Eisenhardt. (1989). Building theories from case study research · EISEN89-C6
  • B The two orders are the paper's own device: "a systematic presentation of both a" first-"order analysis (i.e., an analysis using informant-centric terms and codes)" and a second-order one, distilled into "aggregate dimensions" Gioia, Corley & Hamilton. (2013) · GIOIA13-C1
  • B And the authors refuse the template reading: "we see it as a flexible orientation toward qualitative, inductive research that is open to innovation", rather than a cookbook Gioia, Corley & Hamilton. (2013) · GIOIA13-C2

Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.

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