Case Studies

Business cases introduce difficult real-world scenarios often faced by management, industries, and organizations. Case studies are often used in classes to practice making complex, timely, and sometimes uncomfortable decisions with limited information, which prepares you for potentially similar situations in your future careers.

Case studies have many benefits. They allow you to:

• apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations
• look at issues through different contextual lenses
• develop critical thinking skills

The Sage Business Cases collection has more than 5,384 cases from 2006 to present. 

Alongside the case collection, the Sage Video Database collection has videos from 2006 to present (note: the UCW Library currently has the Business & Management, Leadership, and Social Justice video collections).

To search SAGE Business cases:

1. Enter a company name or subject into the search bar; or browse by discipline, SAGE Originals, Enhanced Case, or Region.
2. On the results page, use the Quick Filters bar to select "Content available to me", and click "Apply Filter".
3. Use the Quick Filters bar to adjust your search by region, date range, case length, and more. 

Example search:

The Harvard Select Case Study Collection has more than 2,207 cases from1955 to 2022. 

Note: If your instructor has assigned a Harvard Business Case Study that is not available in the UCW Library collection, you will need to purchase it from the HBR Store. 

To search Harvard Business cases:

1. Enter a company name or subject into the search bar
2. Add "case study" or "case studies" into the second search bar, and click "Search".
3. Use the All filters bar to adjust your search. You can search for cases from specific publication dates, and more.

Example search:

• Journal of Case Studies
• Journal of Business Case Studies
• Asian Case Research Journal
• International Journal of Case Studies in Management
• Journal of Case Research

• Kogan Page Case Study Library
• Case Studies In Asian Management
• Case Studies in Organizational Communication : Ethical Perspectives and Practices
• Case Studies in Suburban Sustainability
• Cases in Public Relations Strategy

There are many Open Educational Resources that include case studies. The following resources include case studies as well as guiding questions to help better understand the topic:

Public Relations Case Studies: Strategies & Actions by Sam Schechter 
Publication Date: n.d.

Public Policy Case Studies by Johnson Shoyama
Publication Date: 2023

Business Case Studies: Sustainability by Faculty, School of Business, Conestoga College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning
Publication Date: n.d.

There are a few different ways to prepare for a case study and we recommend that you always check your assignment description for the specific requirements. In general, you will follow the following steps:

Understand the task

Read the assignment instructions closely as well as any discussions prompts to get a clear understanding of what is required for the assignment.

Understand the case

Read the case thoroughly and critically to identify the key facts of the case and what kind of case you are reading. Is the case asking you to identify a problem, assess a decision, or evaluate an outcome?

Ask yourself:

• Who is involved? Who are the stakeholders?
• What is the internal environment of the company/organization?
• Who makes decisions?
• What are the risks, significance, or implications of these decisions?
• Are there conflicts, issues, financial constraints to be aware of?
• What is the timeline of events?
• What strategies were implemented (if any) and what were the outcomes?

Identify the main problems

The main problem might not be immediately obvious. There may be other underlying issues, but the goal is to understand the central problem that is causing all other issues, conflicts, or problems to occur.

Consider why an event or issue occurred, why something went wrong, and why it is significant. These will help to identify the main problem.

Analyze the problems

After you identify the problems, your task is to analyze them to determine their causes, or why they might be happening. Techniques like a SWOT analysis can help here.

Building on your understanding of the case, ask yourself:

• Are there any major or minor problems with the internal culture, structure, or environment of the company/organization? How did they impact the outcome?
• Is the main decision maker an appropriate person/group to be making the decision? What authority and expertise do they have?
• Is the company facing any internal or external conflict, issue, or financial constraint? If so, are these contributing to the problem?
• Were the strategies used in the case based on any particular theory, concept, or business principle? Were they applied correctly?
• What kind of management or leadership style was used? What was the outcome?

Develop and evaluate solutions

After critically analyzing the problems, you can now come up with some solutions. Identify a few potential solutions to the problems and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Consider:

• is the solution feasible given what you know about the company/organization? Does anything need to change to make the solution possible?
• how might specific theories, concepts, or business principles either positively or negatively influence the identified solutions.
• are there bigger social, economic, political, and cultural factors that might prevent or impact the identified solution in some way?

Make recommendations for action

The final step of a case study analysis is to select the solution which will have the best possible outcome, and provide ample justification for your decision.

Use your understanding, insights, and analysis of the case, as well as any other research you have done to back up your recommendation.

This analysis outline is informed by the Six steps to approaching a case study, from Monash University.

There is a skill to writing case studies, the following links provide you with guidance on the case study writing process.

• Management Library: Basics of Developing Case Studies: Presents resources on case studies, including guides, examples, and best practices for business and management education.
• The Case Study Handbook, Revised Edition: A Student’s Guide*: Teaches students how to read, analyze, and write effective business case analyses using practical frameworks and examples. *Available through UCW Library
• Sage Business Cases: For Students & Researchers: Provides resources on SWOT analysis, including templates, examples, and guidance for application in business and management contexts.
• Business Resources for Students: Case studies: Offers resources on business case studies, including real-world examples, study questions, and tools to support business and management education.