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Business Dissertation Topics

Published by Owen Ingram at January 5th, 2023 , Revised On September 9, 2024

As a business student, you will study various aspects of conducting business. From handling human resources to managing marketing and finances, you will study them all. However, what is essential is to understand how you will put your learning into practice.

That is when the real challenge starts. You might have aced your quizzes and assignments and stood out in your class, but if you cannot implement your learning in your practical life, your academic success means nothing.

Thus, to help you understand the real-life scenario, the dissertation can be a great starting point. Dissertations help you understand the concepts, frameworks, and models of business in great depth.

Choose a topic for your dissertation that will interest you and help you in your professional life. Thus, to help you fulfil your academic condition and choose an appropriate dissertation topic, here is a list of topics that are recent and relevant.

To help you get started with brainstorming for business topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your business dissertation.

These topics have been developed by PhD qualified  writers of our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You can also start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the problem,  research question , aim and objectives,  literature review , and the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted. Let us know if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  free example dissertations and free business and business management dissertation examples to get an idea of how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation  here.

So, without further ado, here’s a list of business dissertation topics that will help you stand out in your class.

• International Development Dissertation Topics
• Cooperate Governance Dissertation Topics
• Business Intelligence Dissertation Topics
• Business Information Technology Dissertation Topics
• International Business Dissertation Topics
• Business Management Dissertation Topics
• Business Psychology Dissertation Topics
• Business Law Dissertation Topics
• Project Management Dissertation Topics
• HRM Dissertation Topics
• Management Dissertation Topics
• Operations Management Dissertation Topics

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2024 Business Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: an evaluation of the impact of business ethics on the moral obligations associated with business deals of corporations.

Research Aim: The research aims to conduct an evaluation of the impact of business ethics on the moral obligations associated with business deals of corporations

Objectives:

• To analyse the importance of ethics for the shareholders of a business.
• To evaluate the link between business ethics and successful business deals.
• To investigate the impact of business ethics on the moral obligations of corporations while executing business deals

Topic 2: The impact of AI-based tools on business decision making and overall organisational profitability.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the impact of AI-based tools on business decision making and overall organisational profitability.

• To analyse the impact of AI tools on the strategic management of the business.
• To evaluate the factors impacting business decision making and profitability.
• To investigate the impact of AI tools on business decision making and overall organisational profitability.

Topic 3: How does the HRM function impact the business health of organisations?

Research Aim: The research aims to understand how the HRM function impacts the business health of organisations.

• To analyse the role of the HRL function of organisations.
• To analyse the concept of business health and how it is measured.
• To examine the impact of HRM on the business health and wellbeing of the organisations.

Topic 4: The impact of corporate governance on firm performance and internationalisation.

Research Aim: The research aims to examine the impact of corporate governance on firm performance and internationalisation.

• To critically analyse the impact of corporate governance on brand image and equity.
• To investigate the impact of firm performance on internationalisation decisions.
• To investigate how corporate governance impacts firm performance and internationalisation.

Topic 5: An assessment of the impact of materials management on production efficiency and cost optimisation of business

Research Aim: The research aims to examine the impact of materials management on production efficiency and cost optimisation of business

• To investigate the impact of materials management in the production business
• To analyse the factors impacting production efficiency and cost minimisation of business.
• To evaluate how materials management impacts production efficiency and cost optimisation of business

Latest Business Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: impact of digital business on the economic growth of the country: a case study of xyz country.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the significance of digital business during the pandemic and its impacts, not the country’s economic growth. It is a detailed view of the future that needs to be digitalised.

Topic 2: Brand Marketing through social media

Research Aim: This research aims to focus on the importance of Brand Marketing through social media by addressing various current strategies used in brand marketing.

Topic 3: Impacts of social media on customer behaviour

Research Aim: This research aims to measure social media’s impacts on customer behaviour and address various strategies that are effective in attracting customers through social media.

Topic 4: What factors influence the consumer's buying decisions?

Research Aim: This research aims to identify factors that influence the consumer’s buying decisions

Topic 5: Black Friday sale strategy to drive sales

Research Aim: This research aims to identify how the Black Friday sale strategy effectively drives sales. How can huge discounts benefit sellers?

Topic 6: The role of Influencer Marketing in increasing sale

Research Aim: Influencer Marketers impact the customer’s perception. This research aims to examine the role of influencer marketing in increasing sales.

Topic 7: Impact of E-marketing on consumer purchase decision: the case of the luxury industry in the UK

Research Aim: This research aims to measure E-marketing’s impact on consumer purchase decisions in the UK luxury industry.

Topic 8: Analysis of the customer-centric marketing strategies in attaining competitive advantage for the firm and sustaining business success

Research Aim: This research focuses on attaining customer-centric marketing strategies in a competitive advantage for the firm and sustaining business success.

Topic 9: Traditional vs. digital marketing: a comparative study of the last ten years

Research Aim: This research aims to conduct a comparative study of traditional vs. digital marketing in the last ten years.

Topic 10: The impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty: an analysis of the Honda motor

Research Aim: This research aims to assess the impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty. An analysis of the Honda motor will be conducted as the base of the research.

Topic 11: The importance of search Engines in e-commerce

Research Aim: This research aims to identify the importance of search engines in e-commerce.

Topic 12: E-Commerce company's advertising strategy-critical analysis

Research Aim: This research aims to identify the importance of an E-Commerce company’s advertising strategy.

Topic 13: Importance of customer retention in E-commerce

Research Aim: This research aims to measure the importance of customer retention in E-commerce.

Topic 14: Importance of brand loyalty in Internet marketing

Research Aim: This research aims to identify the importance of brand loyalty in Internet marketing.

Top Business Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: assessing how the regional differences between countries influence the business strategies of multinational companies.

Research Aim: Their regional differences and conflicts between countries have directly affected trade activities. Therefore, this research will identify a highly sensitive issue by analysing how regional differences between countries impact the overall business strategies of multinational companies.

Topic 2: How corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects customer loyalty: A case study of the UK petroleum industry

Research Aim: Corporate social responsibility has become an important phenomenon as it directly impacts the brand image of the company. Therefore, the main purpose of the research is to analyse how CSR activities influence customer perception, which in turn impacts customer loyalty. The focus of the research will be the UK petroleum industry.

Topic 3: Assessing the leadership styles of a non-profit organisation and how they impact the overall business operations

Research Aim: Leadership has always been a significant aspect of any organisation as it has a drastic impact on the overall business processes. Many researchers have focused on identifying the best leadership style for MNCs and SMEs; however, few have focused on non-profit organisations. Therefore, the main purpose of the research is to assess the most effective leadership styles that non-profit organisations should practise and how it affect the overall operations.

Topic 4: Examining the impact of global business negotiations on cross border mergers and acquisitions

Research Aim: The main aim of the research is to analyse the effect of international business negotiations on cross border mergers. Due to intense competition, many companies are going for mergers and acquisitions to enhance their market share. Therefore, this research will explore the aspect of global business negotiations in mergers and acquisitions between two different companies in two different countries.

Topic 5: Analysing the impact of forwarding and backward integration on business performance and sustainability

Research Aim: To gain a competitive advantage, firms have devised various supply chain strategies that help them improve their business performance. One such strategy is forward and backward integration. Therefore, this research will be focusing on analysing the impact of both forward and backward integration on business performance and sustainability.

Topic C1: The economic suffering due to the plague of COVID-19

Research Aim: The research must assess the disruption that has been created by the spread of  COVID-19 in the world. This must include the global lockdown of the countries and the shutting of industries, resulting in soaring unemployment rates and a dramatic decline in economic statistics. The research aims to look at the economic consequences generated by the outbreak of COVID-19 in general.

Topic C2: The major sufferings in the economy as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak

Research Aim: The research must assess the reasons behind the rising suffering in specific business sectors and industries. For instance, the supply chain is suffering because China has become the manufacturing hub, which has brought disruption in the supply chain of the whole industry due to a complete lockdown in the country. The research aims to study majorly affected regions such as the entertainment sector, tourism industry, restaurant sector etc.

Topic C3: Expecting changes in the economic statistics by the outbreak of COVID-19

Research Aim: The recent expected changes by the professionals about the impact of COVID-19 on the global economic statistics must be discussed in the research, such as the estimated growth rates of the world and China was predicted to be 0% and 1.6%, respectively, for the year 2020 by the Ethan Harris, head of global economic research in the Bank of America according to his recent interview. Similarly, articles from other professionals must be included in the research to focus on the effects of an outbreak on the economy.

Topic C4: The major regions and business industries affected by the spread of COVID-19

Research Aim: The research would assess the regions (cities and countries) which are being affected by the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 and the major impacted business industries, such as the food industries like restaurants are completely locked down after the outbreak of the virus and the people that were engaged in those industries are unemployed now. The research aims to focus on such industries and the impact of their lowered productivity on the economy.

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Business Strategy and Globalisation Dissertation Topics

Globalisation can be defined as the process that assists organisations and businesses in spreading their operations and influence on an international scale to increase their profit levels.

According to the Financial Times Lexicon, it is  “a process by which national and regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through the global network of trade, communication, immigration and transportation.”

It would not be wrong to say that globalisation is the integration of policymaking, cultures, markets, industries, and economics around the globe.

In recent times, the concept of globalisation has been expanded to include a broader range of activities and areas such as biological, political, social, cultural, technological, climate and media factors, even though initially it primarily focused on the economies, capital flows, foreign direct investment, and trade.

Some recent topics with respect to globalisation and business strategy are listed below:

Topic 6: Why organisations and businesses must change their business strategies in the era of globalisation

Research Aim: Any and every company that does strategies based on globalisation will lose out on huge business opportunities. Thus, this research will focus on the reasons why companies should plan for globalisation-related strategies.

Topic 7: Business management framework and globalisation – An empirical study

Research Aim: This research will talk about a successful business management framework for companies operating in the era of globalisation.

Topic 8: Global business strategy for MNCs and the role of corporate vision, conflicts, and empowerment

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various business strategies available for MNCs and the role their vision, conflict management, and empowerment play in building these strategies.

Topic 9: Exploring the drivers of Chinese business expansion strategy into Africa and other developing countries

Research Aim: This research will explore the various factors that drive Chinese business expansion into Africa and other developing countries.

Topic 10: An investigation into the process of offshore outsourcing of customer services to determine the causes of poor customer satisfaction

Research Aim: This research will assess customer services’ offshoring process, which in turn impacts customer satisfaction.

Topic 11: Cross border management strategy – A research study focusing on foreign business organisations in Malaysia

Research Aim: This research will talk about cross border management strategies and specifically about foreign businesses operating in Malaysia.

Topic 12: An investigation into the impact of globalisation on UK businesses' operations on both a national and international scale.

Research Aim: This research will study the impact of globalisation on UK businesses. The impact on both national and international scales will be assessed.

Topic 13: How banks can implement business strategies in light of globalisation to improve connectivity with clients – A case of Barclays Plc

Research Aim: This research will focus on the globalisation of banks. Barclays PLC will be used as a case study for this research.

Topic 14: A study to examine the factors affecting the MNC’s choice of alliances and entry modes – The case of Sri Lanka

Research Aim: This study will discuss the various factors that impact the MNC’s choice of alliances and entry modes. Sri Lanka will be used as a case study for this research.

Topic 15: Performance, e-business strategies, and globalisation – Examining the factors affecting the social media strategy of business organisations in the UK

Research Aim: This research will discuss the factors that impact the performance, e-business strategies, and globalisation of UK based businesses. The study will also focus on factors impacting the social media strategy of these organisations.

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Strategic Change Management Dissertation Topics

Change management can be defined as the management of “change and development” within a business organisation. Dealing with the impact of change is of critical importance. Strategic change management helps managers deal with change from the perspective of the individual and an organisation.

An important aspect of this concept is the organisational tools that can help achieve successful transitions to adopt change. Furthermore, business organisations can effectively and quickly implement change to meet changing market requirements as part of the strategic change management process.

Topic 16: An investigation into the implementation of strategic change management in the UK retail sector

Research Aim: This research will analyse and investigate how the UK retail sector changes its business processes to stay relevant in the market.

Topic 17: Examining the factors affecting organisational changes from the perspective of employees – The case of HSBC

Research Aim: This research will focus on organisational changes from the perspective of employees. HSBC will be studied as a case in this research.

Topic 18: Use of a proprietary change management system with respect to transformational change and stakeholder communication

Research Aim: This research will discuss a proprietary change management system that helps with transformational change and stakeholder communication.

Topic 19: The role of feedback in organisational culture change: A case study of any multinational company

Research Aim: This research will assess the role of feedback, be it from employees or customers, in bringing and managing organisational cultural change. This study will be based on a company of your choosing.

Topic 20: Strategic management of change in Asian countries – The case of Singapore

Research Aim: This study will talk about strategic change management in Asian countries. Singapore will be the chosen country for the purpose of this study.

Topic 21: To establish the importance of measuring the stress levels of employees to successfully implement change

Research Aim: This research will talk about the importance of employee stress measurement in order to implement change successfully.

Topic 22: The role of senior management of business organisations in developing a framework that connects unexpected results and strategic plans

Research Aim: This study will talk about the role of senior management of businesses in developing a framework that will help the company bring together strategic plans and unexpected positive results.

Topic 23: Differences in working styles of Saudi project managers and foreign project managers

Research Aim: This research will help understand the different working styles of Saudi project managers and foreign project managers.

Topic 24: Intervention, project management, and change management – The banking sector in the UK

Research Aim: This research will talk about the change management and implementation barriers that companies are unable to implement change effectively.

International Human Resource Management Dissertation Topics

International Human Resource Management is a system that is designed to improve employee performance at national and international levels. The IHRM function primarily focuses on the policies developed to ensure efficient personnel management within organisations at an international level.

Various activities such as training and development, skills enhancement, employee recruitment, motivational programmes, bonuses and rewards systems, and performance appraisal are implemented to help businesses increase their work output.

Topic 25: Managing employees’ performance in non-profit organisations – A case study of any non-profit organisation

Research Aim: This research will help non-profit organisations understand how they can manage and monitor employee performance even when operating at an international level.

Topic 26: Developing an effective human resource management system in large multinational companies – The recommended practices and strategies

Research Aim: This research will help multinational companies develop an effective human resource management system.

Topic 27: Examining the impact of human resource professionals and human resource management in the new global economy

Research Aim: This study will help understand the impact of human resource professionals and shed light on human resource management in the new globalised economy.

Topic 28: Can human resource development and training help to remedy poor selection processes

Research Aim: This research will aim to understand whether resource development and training will lead to better selection processes or not.

Topic 29: The causes and forms of deviance in business and non-profit organisations

Research Aim: This research will help understand the causes and forms of deviance in business and non-profit organisations.

Topic 30: Investigating the effects of organisational transition on employees’ performance in large diversified companies.

Research Aim: This research will investigate the impact of organisational transition on the performance of employees in multinationals.

Topic 31: Configuration of human resource management system in multinational companies

Research Aim: This research will help understand how the human resource management system in multinationals is configured.

Topic 32: Learning from small businesses in the UK – How firm performance is associated with strategic human resource management.

Research Aim: This research will understand how firm performance in small businesses is linked with strategic human resource management and its benefits and limitations.

Topic 33: Human resource challenges for UK construction industry – Knowledge transfer and retention

Research Aim: This research will help understand human resource challenges for the UK construction industry, particularly knowledge transfer and employee retention.

Topic 34: The role of strategic human resource management in the public sector – The recommended practices and policies

Research Aim: This research will help understand the role of strategic human resource management in the public sector.

Information Technology Management Dissertation Topics

The process of managing all information technology resources of a business organisation is known as “information technology management”. It should be noted that the information technology resources of an organisation are usually managed in accordance with the priorities, policies, and requirements set out by the business.

Physical investments, including the staff, data centre facilities, networks, data storage databases, software, and computer hardware, are examples of information technology resources required to be managed within a company.

This is done using simple management skills such as organising and controlling, change management, and budgeting.

Topic 35: Developing a framework for the strategic management of information technology

Research Aim: This research will help companies build a sustainable framework for the strategic management of the information technology sector.

Topic 36: Role of information technology management in large diversified business organisations.

Research Aim: This research will help in understanding the role of information technology management in large businesses.

Topic 37: Analysing the issues associated with the implementation of Information technology in new technology-based firms.

Research Aim: This study will help in assessing issues associated with the implementation of information technology in technology firms.

Topic 38: Recommended practices to introduce and implement information systems in business organisations.

Research Aim: This study will help companies introduce and implement information systems in organisations.

Topic 39: How business organisations can gain a competitive advantage through social media branding in a fast-paced electronics industry?

Research Aim: This study is extremely relevant for this day and age as it focuses on gaining a competitive advantage through social media for the electronics industry.

Topic 40: The role of strategic alliances, acquisitions and mergers in building eCommerce business giants – A case study of any large scale and established virtual company.

Research Aim: This research will focus on understanding the role of strategic alliances, acquisitions, and mergers for e-commerce business giants. You can choose a large scale company of your choice for this study.

Topic 41: How can an e-HR system help UK energy companies improve their efficiency?

Research Aim: Electronic-human resource management systems are a thing of today. This research will focus on implementing e-HR in UK based energy companies.

Topic 42: Identifying the most influential factors affecting information technology management in the UK construction industry.

Research Aim: This research will identify factors that influence information technology management in the UK construction industry.

Topic 43: Investigating the Benefits and Limitations of Implementing Information Technology in the UK Fashion Industry.

Research Aim: This research will help explore the benefits and limitations of implementing information technology in the UK fashion sector.

Topic 44: To investigate the important elements of information technology management.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the essential factors of information technology management.

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Organisational Leadership Dissertation Topics

Business leaders are the management staff that provide operational oversights, inspiration and other administrative services. It is the duty of business leaders to help prioritise organisational objectives and corporate vision for other team members. Here are some interesting topics related to organisational leadership.

Topic 45: Examining the effects of leadership and clarity of vision on business organisations.

Research Aim: This research will understand the impact of leadership on businesses and how having a clear business vision helps organisations.

Topic 46: The impact of organisational culture and leadership behaviours on practices of knowledge management in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Research Aim: This research will examine the impact of organisational culture and leadership behaviours on knowledge management in SMEs.

Topic 47: Examining the impact of leadership on organisational performance of small enterprises in Saudi Arabia.

Research Aim: This research will study the impact of business leadership on the organisational performance of small businesses in Saudi Arabia.

Topic 48: Evaluating the impact of leadership on organisational performance – A case study of any large and diversified firm.

Research Aim: This research will help evaluate the impact of leadership on organisational performance. You can choose a company of your choice for this research.

Topic 49: Role of organisational leadership in developing countries – A case study of any home-grown company.

Research Aim: This study will evaluate the role of organisational leadership in developing countries.

Topic 50: Traits of prevention-oriented and charismatic leader for the successful operation of medium-sized enterprises.

Research Aim: This research will examine the various traits of leadership that are required for successful business operations.

Topic 51: Organisational leadership in the multicultural environment of Saudi Arabia.

Research Aim: This research will focus on organisational leadership in a multicultural environment in Saudi Arabia.

Topic 52: Distinguishing leadership from management to achieve corporate strategies.

Research Aim: This research will analyse and compare leadership and management which companies achieve corporate strategies.

Topic 53: Investigating the differences between individual charismatic leadership and traditional organisational leadership.

Research Aim: This research will help to investigate the differences between charismatic leadership and traditional leadership.

Topic 54: How leadership decisions to implement new business strategies can be influenced by organisational culture – A case study of Nokia.

Research Aim: This research will assess how leadership decisions help in implementing new business strategies and how they are influenced by organisational culture. This study will be based on Nokia.

International Business Strategy Dissertation Topics

International business can be defined as the transactions that occur across country borders as a result of trade. For example, a UK based company selling its products in another country is involved in international business.

Another definition of international business is the exchange/trade of goods or products among businesses and individuals in multiple countries.

However, it is worth noting that all commercial transactions, including transportation, logistics, investments, sales, governmental and private, that occur as a result of trade between two different regions are the elements of International Business.

Here are some interesting topics based on international business strategy:

Topic 55: Investigating the patterns of foreign direct investment in new global economies

Research Aim: This research will help outline foreign direct investment patterns in new global economies.

Topic 56: The future of the bamboo industry in Europe – Opportunities and challenges

Research Aim: This research will understand the bamboo industry in Europe, its opportunities, and the challenges the industry has to face.

Topic 57: How Telenor internationalised in Asia – The case of Pakistan

Research Aim: This research will focus on Telenor expanding its operations in Asia. International business strategies undertaken by the company will be discussed.

Topic 58: Internationalisation opportunities for Chinese multinational companies – The link between international business development and “knowledge and learning.”

Research Aim: This research will explore the internationalisation opportunities for Chinese multinational companies, i.e. the link between international business development and knowledge will be studied.

Topic 59: Exploring strategic alternatives in Research & Development through the exploitation of opportunities and capabilities

Research Aim: This research will talk about the various strategic alternatives in research and development by exploring various opportunities and capabilities.

Topic 60: The role of new theoretical models with respect to global politics and business

Research Aim: This research will understand the role of new theoretical models by considering global politics and businesses.

Topic 61: The impact of corporate governance on performance and internationalisation of business organisation

Research Aim: This research will focus on the impact of corporate governance on the performance and internationalisation of business organisations.

Topic 62: Examining the factors that could motivate large multinational corporations to adapt an internationalisation strategy

Research Aim: This research will analyse the factors that motivate multinationals to adapt to internationalisation strategies.

Topic 63: The growing importance of social media strategies in the global business environment – Internationalisation, e-business plans and performance of firms

Research Aim: This research will understand the importance of social media strategy in the global business environment, i.e. firm performance, e-business plans, etc.

Topic 64: Investigating “foreign direct investment” strategies of large and diversified companies in developing economies – The case of India

Research Aim: This research will examine foreign direct investment strategies of huge diversified businesses based in India.

Corporate Social Responsibility Dissertation Topics

The concept of corporate social responsibility has gained tremendous importance, thanks to growing social and environmental concerns that need to be integrated into business operations.

CSR allows business organisations to achieve a balance of social, environmental, and economic obligations and addresses stakeholders and shareholders’ needs.

Implementing CSR amongst small and medium-sized enterprises can prove to be an extremely daunting task primarily because it requires strategies to be designed in a manner where the respective capabilities and needs of these businesses are considered, but the profitability of the company is not adversely impacted.

Here are some relevant CSR dissertation topics for you to choose from:

Topic 65: Investigating the role of corporate social responsibilities in brand equity

Research Aim: This research will analyse how brand equity is built with the help of corporate social responsibility.

Topic 66: How values are associated with perceptions of corporate social responsibility

Research Aim: This research will talk about how values and perceptions are associated with corporate social responsibility and how businesses view it.

Topic 67: Effects of CSR on the performance of business organisations in transitional economies

Research Aim: This study will examine how CSR impacts businesses’ performance operating in transitional economies.

Topic 68: Investigating performance and strategic plans of UK firms with respect to corporate social responsibility

Research Aim: This research will investigate the performance and strategic plans of UK firms with regard to their respective corporate social responsibility.

Topic 69: To what extent do international certifiable management regulations influence business practices

This research will aim to understand the extent to which international certifiable management regulations impact business practices.

Topic 70: Corporate social responsibility in developing countries – The case of the Chinese construction industry

Research Aim: This research will talk about corporate social responsibility in developing countries and focus on the Chinese construction industry.

Topic 71: Corporate social responsibility and societal expectations – A case of any multinational corporation

Research Aim: This research will understand the expectations associated with corporate social responsibilities. A multinational will be chosen for this study.

Topic 72: How corporate social responsibility affect business practices of the UK energy sector

Research Aim: This research will help understand how corporate social responsibility impacts business practices in the UK energy sector.

Topic 73: The role of CSR on international corporate governance theories and practices

Research Aim: This research will examine the role of CSR in international corporate governance theories and practices.

Topic 74: Financial performance of selected European corporations in light of corporate social responsibility

Research Aim: This research will understand how the financial performance of European businesses is impacted by corporate social responsibility.

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Organisational Behaviour Dissertation Topics

Organisational behaviour can be defined as how individuals interact with larger groups to create more efficient businesses. The theories of organisational behaviour can help to achieve maximum output from individual members of a team. Here are some interesting topics to help you pick an appropriate dissertation topic on organisational behaviour.

Topic 75: Investigating the impact of values and beliefs on employees’ performance and commitment at the workplace

Research Aim: This research will investigate the impact of beliefs and values on employees’ performance and commitment at the workplace.

Topic 76: Studying the impact of culture on organisational behaviour – The case of the Indian telecommunication industry

Research Aim: This research will help study the impact of culture on organisational behaviour. The Indian telecommunication industry will be the focus of this research.

Topic 77: Examining decision-making process in multinational corporations in light of organisational behaviour and choice

Research Aim: This research will help examine the decision making process in multinationals with respect to organisational behaviour and choice.

Topic 78: Organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment, psychological contract and conflict at Oxford University

Research Aim: This research will help understand organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational commitment, and conflict at Oxford University.

Topic 79: Exploring the relationship between a sense of belongingness and development of trust with managerial behaviour in large and diversified organisations

Research Aim: This research will help in understanding the relationship between trust and a sense of belongingness in huge, multicultural organisations.

Topic 80: Investigating causes of unethical actions of individuals in the workplace – Analysing organisational standards, practices, ethical behaviour

Research Aim: This study will explore causes that lead to unethical actions at workplaces. The research will analyse the organisational standards, practices, and ethical behaviour.

Topic 81: Developing organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational culture in the pre-inauguration stages – The case of the UK hotel industry

Research Aim: This research will help develop organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational culture in the early days of businesses. The UK hotel industry will be the main focus of this research.

Topic 82: Comparing employees’ attitudes and organisational cultural values in the Indian agricultural sector

Research Aim: This research will compare employee attitude and organisational cultural values in the Indian agricultural sector.

Topic 83: This study will explore the relationship between employee performance and corporate objectives.

Research Aim: The research will take into consideration the role of shared values and standards.

Topic 84: Introducing, Implementing, and Managing Change in a Multinational – Assessing the Conflicts associated with it

Research Aim: This research will study global change management as to how multinationals introduce, implement and manage change globally.

List of Top Trending Business Dissertation Topics In 2024

• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Decision-Making
• Gig Economy’s Impact on Traditional Employment Structures
• Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management for Efficiency
• The Rise of Social Media Influencers and Their Disruption of Marketing Strategies
• Fostering Innovation in a Remote Work Environment
• The Ethical Implications of Big Data Analytics in Modern Business Practices
• The Growing Power of Customer Experience as a Competitive Differentiator
• Mergers and Acquisitions in the Age of Digital Transformation
• Redefining Leadership in a Multigenerational Workforce
• The Impact of Remote Work on Corporate Culture
• How E-commerce is Changing Consumer Behaviour and Shopping Experiences
• The Influence of Fintech on Traditional Financial Institutions
• Exploring the Potential and Challenges of Sharing Economy for Sustainable Business Models
• How Social Impact is Shaping Consumer Choices
• Protecting Businesses in a Digital World
• The Power of Data-Driven Marketing
• The Gig Economy and its Impact on Employee Benefits and Social Security Systems
• The Increasing Importance of Cybersecurity Awareness Training for Employees
• The Rise of Remote Work and its Implications for Urban Planning and Development
• The Growing Influence of Employee Activism on Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
• The Impact of Automation on Jobs
• The Ethical Considerations of Artificial Intelligence in Business
• Redefining Work-Life Balance in a Technologically Driven World
• Blockchain Technology and its Potential to Transform Business Processes Across Industries
• The Power of Storytelling in Modern Marketing
• The Growing Popularity of Subscription-Based Business Models
• The Impact of Globalisation on Labour Practices
• The Ethical Challenges of Using Social Media Data for Targeted Advertising
• The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Building Brand Reputation and Customer Trust
• The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Mental Health
• The Rise of Remote Collaboration Tools
• The Increasing Importance of Data Privacy Regulations and their Impact on Business Practices
• The Growing Influence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Factors on Investor Decisions
• The Rise of the Creator Economy
• The Future of Work in the Age of Automation
• The Ethical Implications of Facial Recognition Technology in Business Applications
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Customer Service
• The Growing Demand for Sustainable Products and Services
• The Future of Workplace Learning

Important Notes:

As a student of business studies looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing business theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

The field of business is vast and interrelated to so many other academic disciplines like  civil engineering ,  construction ,  law , and even  healthcare . That is why creating a business dissertation topic that is articular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field is imperative.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic; it is the basis of your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in  writing your dissertation , as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the very initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best business dissertation topics that fulfils your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Take a look at some of our sample business dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure Your Business Dissertation

A well-structured   dissertation can help students   to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can  also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review :  This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic in light of the research questions to be addressed. The purpose is to highlight and discuss the relative weaknesses and strengths of the selected research area while identifying any research gaps. Break down of the topic, and key terms can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology: The  data collection  and  analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes  research design, research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and  data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis: Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include  graphs ,  charts, and  tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and  Conclusion: The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is to establish the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References:  Make sure to complete this in accordance with your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices: Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation  but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Our team of writers is highly qualified and is an expert in their respective fields. They have been working for us for a long time. Thus, they are well aware of the issues and the trends of the subject they specialise in.

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• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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Frequently asked questions.

Yes, in fact a case study is a very good option in your dissertation. There are multiple ways to implement a case study in your thesis. For instance, one main study which is in depth and complex or you could feature multiple case studies.

Case studies are a way to research a particular field, group, people and situation. The topic of research is studied deeply and thoroughly in order to solve a problem or uncover information. Case studies are a type of qualitative research.

If you are ready to find a masters course check out Masters Compare.

Prof Martyn Denscombe, author of “ The Good Research Guide, 6th edition ”, gives expert advice on how to use a case study in your masters dissertation. 

There are two main examples for how to use a case study in your masters dissertation, namely quantitative and qualitative case studies.

First, a case study provides a platform that allows you to study a situation in depth and produce the level of academic inquiry that is expected in a master’s degree. In the context of any master’s programme the dissertation operates as something of a showcase for a student’s abilities.

It can easily make the difference between getting a merit and a distinction in the final award of degree. It is important, therefore, to base the work on an approach that allows things to be explored in sufficient depth and detail to warrant a good grade.

Second, case studies can be useful in a practical sense. It is possible to complete a case study in a relatively short period of intense study and so it is the kind of research that is feasible in terms of the kind of time constraints that face master’s students as they enter the final stages of their programme of study.

Added to which a case study can also be a rather convenient form of research, avoiding the time and costs of travel to multiple research sites. The use of case studies, then, would appear to be an attractive proposition. But it is not an approach that should be used naively without consideration of its limitations or potential pitfalls.

To be a good case study the research needs to consider certain key issues. If they are not addressed it will considerably lower the value of the master’s degree. For instance, a good case study needs to:

• Be crystal clear about the purpose for which the research is being conducted
• Justify the selection of the particular case being studied
• Describe how the chosen case compares with others of its type
• Explain the basis on which any generalizations can be made from the findings

This is where The Good Research Guide, 6th edition becomes so valuable. It not only identifies the key points that need to be addressed in order to conduct a competent questionnaire survey.

It gets right to the heart of the matter with plenty of practical guidance on how to deal with issues. Using plain language, this bestselling book covers a range of alternative strategies and methods for conducting small-scale social research projects. It outlines some of the main ways in which the data can be analysed.

Read Prof Martyn Denscombe’s advice on using a questionnaire survey for your postgraduate dissertation

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Home » Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Table of Contents

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth examination and analysis of a particular phenomenon or case, such as an individual, organization, community, event, or situation.

It is a qualitative research approach that aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the case being studied. Case studies typically involve multiple sources of data, including interviews, observations, documents, and artifacts, which are analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, and grounded theory. The findings of a case study are often used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Types of Case Study

Types and Methods of Case Study are as follows:

Single-Case Study

A single-case study is an in-depth analysis of a single case. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand a specific phenomenon in detail.

For Example , A researcher might conduct a single-case study on a particular individual to understand their experiences with a particular health condition or a specific organization to explore their management practices. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a single-case study are often used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Multiple-Case Study

A multiple-case study involves the analysis of several cases that are similar in nature. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to identify similarities and differences between the cases.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a multiple-case study on several companies to explore the factors that contribute to their success or failure. The researcher collects data from each case, compares and contrasts the findings, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as comparative analysis or pattern-matching. The findings of a multiple-case study can be used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Exploratory Case Study

An exploratory case study is used to explore a new or understudied phenomenon. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to generate hypotheses or theories about the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an exploratory case study on a new technology to understand its potential impact on society. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as grounded theory or content analysis. The findings of an exploratory case study can be used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Descriptive Case Study

A descriptive case study is used to describe a particular phenomenon in detail. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to provide a comprehensive account of the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a descriptive case study on a particular community to understand its social and economic characteristics. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a descriptive case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Instrumental Case Study

An instrumental case study is used to understand a particular phenomenon that is instrumental in achieving a particular goal. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand the role of the phenomenon in achieving the goal.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an instrumental case study on a particular policy to understand its impact on achieving a particular goal, such as reducing poverty. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of an instrumental case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Case Study Data Collection Methods

Here are some common data collection methods for case studies:

Interviews involve asking questions to individuals who have knowledge or experience relevant to the case study. Interviews can be structured (where the same questions are asked to all participants) or unstructured (where the interviewer follows up on the responses with further questions). Interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing.

Observations

Observations involve watching and recording the behavior and activities of individuals or groups relevant to the case study. Observations can be participant (where the researcher actively participates in the activities) or non-participant (where the researcher observes from a distance). Observations can be recorded using notes, audio or video recordings, or photographs.

Documents can be used as a source of information for case studies. Documents can include reports, memos, emails, letters, and other written materials related to the case study. Documents can be collected from the case study participants or from public sources.

Surveys involve asking a set of questions to a sample of individuals relevant to the case study. Surveys can be administered in person, over the phone, through mail or email, or online. Surveys can be used to gather information on attitudes, opinions, or behaviors related to the case study.

Artifacts are physical objects relevant to the case study. Artifacts can include tools, equipment, products, or other objects that provide insights into the case study phenomenon.

How to conduct Case Study Research

Conducting a case study research involves several steps that need to be followed to ensure the quality and rigor of the study. Here are the steps to conduct case study research:

• Define the research questions: The first step in conducting a case study research is to define the research questions. The research questions should be specific, measurable, and relevant to the case study phenomenon under investigation.
• Select the case: The next step is to select the case or cases to be studied. The case should be relevant to the research questions and should provide rich and diverse data that can be used to answer the research questions.
• Collect data: Data can be collected using various methods, such as interviews, observations, documents, surveys, and artifacts. The data collection method should be selected based on the research questions and the nature of the case study phenomenon.
• Analyze the data: The data collected from the case study should be analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, or grounded theory. The analysis should be guided by the research questions and should aim to provide insights and conclusions relevant to the research questions.
• Draw conclusions: The conclusions drawn from the case study should be based on the data analysis and should be relevant to the research questions. The conclusions should be supported by evidence and should be clearly stated.
• Validate the findings: The findings of the case study should be validated by reviewing the data and the analysis with participants or other experts in the field. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Write the report: The final step is to write the report of the case study research. The report should provide a clear description of the case study phenomenon, the research questions, the data collection methods, the data analysis, the findings, and the conclusions. The report should be written in a clear and concise manner and should follow the guidelines for academic writing.

Examples of Case Study

Here are some examples of case study research:

• The Hawthorne Studies : Conducted between 1924 and 1932, the Hawthorne Studies were a series of case studies conducted by Elton Mayo and his colleagues to examine the impact of work environment on employee productivity. The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne Works plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago and included interviews, observations, and experiments.
• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Conducted in 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment was a case study conducted by Philip Zimbardo to examine the psychological effects of power and authority. The study involved simulating a prison environment and assigning participants to the role of guards or prisoners. The study was controversial due to the ethical issues it raised.
• The Challenger Disaster: The Challenger Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. The study included interviews, observations, and analysis of data to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.
• The Enron Scandal: The Enron Scandal was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Enron Corporation’s bankruptcy in 2001. The study included interviews, analysis of financial data, and review of documents to identify the accounting practices, corporate culture, and ethical issues that led to the company’s downfall.
• The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster : The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the nuclear accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011. The study included interviews, analysis of data, and review of documents to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.

Application of Case Study

Case studies have a wide range of applications across various fields and industries. Here are some examples:

Business and Management

Case studies are widely used in business and management to examine real-life situations and develop problem-solving skills. Case studies can help students and professionals to develop a deep understanding of business concepts, theories, and best practices.

Case studies are used in healthcare to examine patient care, treatment options, and outcomes. Case studies can help healthcare professionals to develop critical thinking skills, diagnose complex medical conditions, and develop effective treatment plans.

Case studies are used in education to examine teaching and learning practices. Case studies can help educators to develop effective teaching strategies, evaluate student progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Social Sciences

Case studies are widely used in social sciences to examine human behavior, social phenomena, and cultural practices. Case studies can help researchers to develop theories, test hypotheses, and gain insights into complex social issues.

Law and Ethics

Case studies are used in law and ethics to examine legal and ethical dilemmas. Case studies can help lawyers, policymakers, and ethical professionals to develop critical thinking skills, analyze complex cases, and make informed decisions.

Purpose of Case Study

The purpose of a case study is to provide a detailed analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. A case study is a qualitative research method that involves the in-depth exploration and analysis of a particular case, which can be an individual, group, organization, event, or community.

The primary purpose of a case study is to generate a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the case, including its history, context, and dynamics. Case studies can help researchers to identify and examine the underlying factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and detailed understanding of the case, which can inform future research, practice, or policy.

Case studies can also serve other purposes, including:

• Illustrating a theory or concept: Case studies can be used to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and frameworks, providing concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Developing hypotheses: Case studies can help to generate hypotheses about the causal relationships between different factors and outcomes, which can be tested through further research.
• Providing insight into complex issues: Case studies can provide insights into complex and multifaceted issues, which may be difficult to understand through other research methods.
• Informing practice or policy: Case studies can be used to inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.

Advantages of Case Study Research

There are several advantages of case study research, including:

• In-depth exploration: Case study research allows for a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. This can provide a comprehensive understanding of the case and its dynamics, which may not be possible through other research methods.
• Rich data: Case study research can generate rich and detailed data, including qualitative data such as interviews, observations, and documents. This can provide a nuanced understanding of the case and its complexity.
• Holistic perspective: Case study research allows for a holistic perspective of the case, taking into account the various factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the case.
• Theory development: Case study research can help to develop and refine theories and concepts by providing empirical evidence and concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Practical application: Case study research can inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.
• Contextualization: Case study research takes into account the specific context in which the case is situated, which can help to understand how the case is influenced by the social, cultural, and historical factors of its environment.

Limitations of Case Study Research

There are several limitations of case study research, including:

• Limited generalizability : Case studies are typically focused on a single case or a small number of cases, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The unique characteristics of the case may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, which may limit the external validity of the research.
• Biased sampling: Case studies may rely on purposive or convenience sampling, which can introduce bias into the sample selection process. This may limit the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the findings.
• Subjectivity: Case studies rely on the interpretation of the researcher, which can introduce subjectivity into the analysis. The researcher’s own biases, assumptions, and perspectives may influence the findings, which may limit the objectivity of the research.
• Limited control: Case studies are typically conducted in naturalistic settings, which limits the control that the researcher has over the environment and the variables being studied. This may limit the ability to establish causal relationships between variables.
• Time-consuming: Case studies can be time-consuming to conduct, as they typically involve a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific case. This may limit the feasibility of conducting multiple case studies or conducting case studies in a timely manner.
• Resource-intensive: Case studies may require significant resources, including time, funding, and expertise. This may limit the ability of researchers to conduct case studies in resource-constrained settings.

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• Knowledge Base
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• Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on 5 May 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 30 January 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organisation, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating, and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyse the case.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

Unlike quantitative or experimental research, a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

If you find yourself aiming to simultaneously investigate and solve an issue, consider conducting action research . As its name suggests, action research conducts research and takes action at the same time, and is highly iterative and flexible. 

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience, or phenomenon.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews, observations, and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data .

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis, with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results , and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyse its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

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McCombes, S. (2023, January 30). Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods. Scribbr. Retrieved 27 September 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/case-studies/

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The field of qualitative research there are a number of research designs (also referred to as “traditions” or “genres”), including case study, phenomenology, narrative inquiry, action research, ethnography, grounded theory, as well as a number of critical genres including Feminist theory, indigenous research, critical race theory and cultural studies. The choice of research design is directly tied to and must be aligned with your research problem and purpose. As Bloomberg & Volpe (2019) explain:

Choice of research design is directly tied to research problem and purpose. As the researcher, you actively create the link among problem, purpose, and design through a process of reflecting on problem and purpose, focusing on researchable questions, and considering how to best address these questions. Thinking along these lines affords a research study methodological congruence (p. 38).

Case study is an in-depth exploration from multiple perspectives of a bounded social phenomenon, be this a social system such as a program, event, institution, organization, or community (Stake, 1995, 2005; Yin, 2018). Case study is employed across disciplines, including education, health care, social work, sociology, and organizational studies. The purpose is to generate understanding and deep insights to inform professional practice, policy development, and community or social action (Bloomberg 2018).

Yin (2018) and Stake (1995, 2005), two of the key proponents of case study methodology, use different terms to describe case studies. Yin categorizes case studies as exploratory or descriptive . The former is used to explore those situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear single set of outcomes. The latter is used to describe an intervention or phenomenon and the real-life context in which it occurred. Stake identifies case studies as intrinsic or instrumental , and he proposes that a primary distinction in designing case studies is between single and multiple (or collective) case study designs. A single case study may be an instrumental case study (research focuses on an issue or concern in one bounded case) or an intrinsic case study (the focus is on the case itself because the case presents a unique situation). A longitudinal case study design is chosen when the researcher seeks to examine the same single case at two or more different points in time or to capture trends over time. A multiple case study design is used when a researcher seeks to determine the prevalence or frequency of a particular phenomenon. This approach is useful when cases are used for purposes of a cross-case analysis in order to compare, contrast, and synthesize perspectives regarding the same issue. The focus is on the analysis of diverse cases to determine how these confirm the findings within or between cases, or call the findings into question.

Case study affords significant interaction with research participants, providing an in-depth picture of the phenomenon (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2019). Research is extensive, drawing on multiple methods of data collection, and involves multiple data sources. Triangulation is critical in attempting to obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under study and adds rigor, breadth, and depth to the study and provides corroborative evidence of the data obtained. Analysis of data can be holistic or embedded—that is, dealing with the whole or parts of the case (Yin, 2018). With multiple cases the typical analytic strategy is to provide detailed description of themes within each case (within-case analysis), followed by thematic analysis across cases (cross-case analysis), providing insights regarding how individual cases are comparable along important dimensions. Research culminates in the production of a detailed description of a setting and its participants, accompanied by an analysis of the data for themes or patterns (Stake, 1995, 2005; Yin, 2018). In addition to thick, rich description, the researcher’s interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations contribute to the reader’s overall understanding of the case study.

Analysis of findings should show that the researcher has attended to all the data, should address the most significant aspects of the case, and should demonstrate familiarity with the prevailing thinking and discourse about the topic. The goal of case study design (as with all qualitative designs) is not generalizability but rather transferability —that is, how (if at all) and in what ways understanding and knowledge can be applied in similar contexts and settings. The qualitative researcher attempts to address the issue of transferability by way of thick, rich description that will provide the basis for a case or cases to have relevance and potential application across a broader context.

Qualitative research methods ask the questions of "what" and "how" a phenomenon is understood in a real-life context (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2019). In the education field, qualitative research methods uncover educational experiences and practices because qualitative research allows the researcher to reveal new knowledge and understanding. Moreover, qualitative descriptive case studies describe, analyze and interpret events that explain the reasoning behind specific phenomena (Bloomberg, 2018). As such, case study design can be the foundation for a rigorous study within the Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE).

Case study design is an appropriate research design to consider when conceptualizing and conducting a dissertation research study that is based on an applied problem of practice with inherent real-life educational implications. Case study researchers study current, real-life cases that are in progress so that they can gather accurate information that is current. This fits well with the ADE program, as students are typically exploring a problem of practice. Because of the flexibility of the methods used, a descriptive design provides the researcher with the opportunity to choose data collection methods that are best suited to a practice-based research purpose, and can include individual interviews, focus groups, observation, surveys, and critical incident questionnaires. Methods are triangulated to contribute to the study’s trustworthiness. In selecting the set of data collection methods, it is important that the researcher carefully consider the alignment between research questions and the type of data that is needed to address these. Each data source is one piece of the “puzzle,” that contributes to the researcher’s holistic understanding of a phenomenon. The various strands of data are woven together holistically to promote a deeper understanding of the case and its application to an educationally-based problem of practice.

Research studies within the Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE) will be practical in nature and focus on problems and issues that inform educational practice.  Many of the types of studies that fall within the ADE framework are exploratory, and align with case study design. Case study design fits very well with applied problems related to educational practice, as the following set of examples illustrate:

Elementary Bilingual Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Teaching English Language Learners: A Qualitative Case Study

The problem to be addressed in the proposed study is that some elementary bilingual education teachers’ beliefs about their lack of preparedness to teach the English language may negatively impact the language proficiency skills of Hispanic ELLs (Ernst-Slavit & Wenger, 2016; Fuchs et al., 2018; Hoque, 2016). The purpose of the proposed qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of elementary bilingual education teachers regarding their perceived lack of preparedness to teach the English language and how this may impact the language proficiency of Hispanic ELLs.

Exploring Minority Teachers Experiences Pertaining to their Value in Education: A Single Case Study of Teachers in New York City

The problem is that minority K-12 teachers are underrepresented in the United States, with research indicating that school leaders and teachers in schools that are populated mainly by black students, staffed mostly by white teachers who may be unprepared to deal with biases and stereotypes that are ingrained in schools (Egalite, Kisida, & Winters, 2015; Milligan & Howley, 2015). The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to develop a clearer understanding of minority teachers’ experiences concerning the under-representation of minority K-12 teachers in urban school districts in the United States since there are so few of them.

Exploring the Impact of an Urban Teacher Residency Program on Teachers’ Cultural Intelligence: A Qualitative Case Study

The problem to be addressed by this case study is that teacher candidates often report being unprepared and ill-equipped to effectively educate culturally diverse students (Skepple, 2015; Beutel, 2018). The purpose of this study was to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of the perceived impact of an urban teacher residency program in urban Iowa on teachers’ cultural competence using the cultural intelligence (CQ) framework (Earley & Ang, 2003).

Qualitative Case Study that Explores Self-Efficacy and Mentorship on Women in Academic Administrative Leadership Roles

The problem was that female school-level administrators might be less likely to experience mentorship, thereby potentially decreasing their self-efficacy (Bing & Smith, 2019; Brown, 2020; Grant, 2021). The purpose of this case study was to determine to what extent female school-level administrators in the United States who had a mentor have a sense of self-efficacy and to examine the relationship between mentorship and self-efficacy.

Suburban Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Teaching to Promote Connectedness in Students of Color: A Qualitative Case Study

The problem to be addressed in this study is the racial discrimination experienced by students of color in suburban schools and the resulting negative school experience (Jara & Bloomsbury, 2020; Jones, 2019; Kohli et al., 2017; Wandix-White, 2020). The purpose of this case study is to explore how culturally responsive practices can counteract systemic racism and discrimination in suburban schools thereby meeting the needs of students of color by creating positive learning experiences. 

As you can see, all of these studies were well suited to qualitative case study design. In each of these studies, the applied research problem and research purpose were clearly grounded in educational practice as well as directly aligned with qualitative case study methodology. In the Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE), you will be focused on addressing or resolving an educationally relevant research problem of practice. As such, your case study, with clear boundaries, will be one that centers on a real-life authentic problem in your field of practice that you believe is in need of resolution or improvement, and that the outcome thereof will be educationally valuable.

Bloomberg, L. D. (2018). Case study method. In B. B. Frey (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of educational research, measurement, and evaluation (pp. 237–239). SAGE. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/nu.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmethods.sagepub.com%2FReference%2Fthe-sage-encyclopedia-of-educational-research-measurement-and-evaluation%2Fi4294.xml

Bloomberg, L. D. & Volpe, M. (2019). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A road map from beginning to end . (4th Ed.). SAGE.

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. SAGE.

Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466). SAGE.

Yin, R. (2018). Case study research and applications: Designs and methods. SAGE.

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Business Dissertation Topics

2020 was a year of drastic change, with many businesses shut down by the pandemic. However 2021-22 onwards promises rapid economic growth, as business activity sharply expands. So, to help you out we’ve provided a selection of free and original business dissertation topics, suitable for both Master’s and Bachelor’s degree dissertations. These topics cover a large range of subjects within the business discipline, so you are sure to find one suited to your own interests. Each of these topics will allow you to produce an original and ambitious dissertation that will contribute to the existing knowledge of your subject area. So, if you’ve been searching far and wide for a great business dissertation topic, look no further!

Global Politics and Global Business Dissertation Topics

Global strategy for business dissertation topics, technology and innovation management business dissertation topics, corporate social responsibility business dissertation topics, international human resource management dissertation topics, management of international change dissertation topics, leadership and innovation business dissertation topics, globalisation and strategy business dissertation topics.

This is one of the most important aspects of international business as it examines the connection between global politics and global business. It looks at some of the most important factors, institutions, and processes that affect international business and studies the political environment of business, which has been particularly volatile over the last five years.

• Evaluating the performance of global business teams within multinational corporations: the test of an intervening process model.
• How does Corporate Governance affect internationalisation, globalisation and the performance of firms?
• What sorts of themes and images might create trans-cultural resonance and dissonance within an international classroom comprised of diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds?
• Can production for global markets help business groups to mobilise collectively? Under what conditions does globalisation enable the private sector to develop independent organisational bases and create effective relationships with the state?
• How different patterns of business-government relations affect processes of industrial upgrading: A case study of emerging economies.
• How do multinational organisations tackle the growing complexity of managing themselves in light of the rise to significant power of non-governmental organisations?
• A look at the effect that Brexit is likely to have on British businesses, especially the average small and medium enterprise (SME).
• How will Brexit impact on the regulatory burden of large business and corporations in the United Kingdom and Europe?
• Business-Government relations within a contingency theory framework: strategy, structure, fit, and performance.
• What is the meaning and process of globalisation and how does it impact the way in which business teams work together?
• In the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, is globalisation still going to be a key market driver?
• Global strategy and local implementation: Examining how multinational corporations apply Corporate Governance in China.
• How will firms investing in China manage the political undercurrents, as talk increases of a new Cold War between the West and China?
• What factors affect multinational corporations’ choice of corporate political strategy? Examining the influence of perceived regulatory pressure on company’s political strategies.
• Using a legitimacy perspective to examine how firms entering the Chinese market manage political risk.
• A critical examination of the potential implications of Brexit for UK firms’ EU-based supply chain.
• Brexit and foreign direct investment into the UK: An examination of the potential impact on new venture start-ups in the UK.

Global business strategy focuses on understanding the main strategic issues that organisations face when they operate as a global business. Specifically, the issues relate to three areas: understanding global strategic analysis, formulating a global strategy, and developing sources of competitive advantage in a given company.

• What are the risks and benefits of an International Joint Venture?
• How should a business strategy be developed to expand a business in an international market?
• A comparative study of Mergers and Acquisitions within the Aviation sector: Case study of Qatar Airways’ joint venture with the International Airlines Group.
• A research on the exit strategy of foreign venture capital investment in international private business sector.
• What are the business strategies and key success factors of Financial Holding Companies in the international environment?
• How does an organisation benefit from an effective vendor management strategy?
• Why are some vendor relationships more successful than others?
• Developing an effective framework for knowledge sharing and utilisation in global project teams.
• Can entrepreneurship be utilised as an effective management strategy within a business unit?
• What effects will the consumers’ increasing use of the online channel to fashion shopping have on the strategies used by UK clothing retailers?
• An assessment of sustainable competitive advantage within the UK DIY multiple market sector.
• Develop your own definition of logistics, that you think reflects how logistics is evolving and explain why you think it is appropriate for today and the next decade.
• A study of the problems of managing international collaboration in the military aero-engine business.
• New possibilities in logistics and supply chain management provided by Big Data: examining the birth and growth of supply chain analytics.
• Designing a closed-loop supply chain for improving sustainability of global business practices.
• Developing a strategy for winning in the Indian market: A case study of Suzuki Motor Corporation.

These topics consider the ways in which business firms develop and implement technology as a strategy and integrate technological and innovative capabilities in support of their business operations. These topics mainly investigate how technology has revolutionised the business environment causing disruption, new opportunities and challenges for firms to deal with.

• A study of how business operations have improved as a result of innovation: Are they converging towards one universal approach?
• What are the market challenges experienced by new UK mobile telecommunication companies?
• How will 5G technology impact on the growth of digital consumer markets in the UK?
• How does online branding provide competitive advantage in the digital era: a study of the consumer electronics industry?
• A study into how ICT integration has transformed procurement of goods and services.
• Building virtual dominions – A comparative study of mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances in e-commerce: case studies of Amazon.com and eBay.
• What are the technological factors surrounding the relationship between organisational growth and performance?
• A study into the role of online marketing in creating global supply chain networks.
• A study into how organisations suffer the negative effects of modern day technology.
• What are the main factors impacting on the success of online branding for corporations?
• Assessing the role of social media in global branding: cases of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Exploring the impact of technology on CRM operations within call centres in the UK and analyse the factors that affect the well-being of the employee?
• A study into the opportunities of implementing an e-HR system: Case of British Energy.
• A study into how companies influence technology and innovation within suppliers: Case of Apple.
• Assessing technology diffusion models among online shoppers in the UK.
• Business process reengineering and the challenges facing airlines, a critical study of the factors influencing Saudi Airlines’ BPR initiatives.
• What are the barriers to successful/profitable e-commerce deployment in government organisations?
• Comparing and contrasting government e-commerce portals with private ones such as eBay and Amazon: which offers the better user experience and business outcomes?
• How has integration of technology into HR improved organisational efficiency?
• What is the impact of technology on FMCG industry towards meeting consumer demands in the UK market?
• Assessing the role of innovation towards creation of new opportunities for SMEs in the UK.
• What determinant factors influence integration of technology in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) sector.

Governments, activists and the media have become adept at holding companies to account for the social consequences of their actions. In response, corporate social responsibility has emerged as an inescapable priority for business leaders in every country. The fact is many prevailing approaches to CSR are quite disconnected from strategy. Business should treat CSR as something central to their strategy and hence contribute as a core competence for many organisations. These topics evaluate how business can utilise CSR practices to enhance opportunities for organisational success.

• How does Corporate Social Responsibility impact on customer loyalty?
• What is the role of staff training in developing and executing CSR skills?
• What are the key strategic decisions facing companies in order to improve their performance in Corporate Social Responsibility?
• Does Corporate Social Responsibility enhance corporate reputation? A case study of Tesco.
• What are the challenges facing ethical businesses in the UK for moving to the mainstream?
• How can businesses gain advantage from adopting CSR practices with respect to climate change?
• A study into the impact of green and lean practices on organisational performance.
• How have environmental policies transformed CSR practices within organisations: Case of BAT.
• What are the effects of CSR on sustainability: Case of Coca Cola.
• How will multinational organisations deal with the growing emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in large markets like Germany and India?
• To what extent will CSR be sacrificed for greater economic growth in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic?
• How can firms successfully make Corporate Social Responsibility operable in the modern corporate environment?
• Is there a relationship between diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility, what is its contribution to organisational performance?
• What is the impact of CSR on brand equity: Case study of Toyota UK?
• How does CSR impact on organisational performance?
• CSR and societal expectations: A case study of Unilever.

International Human Resource Management refers to activities that are designed to support organisations in managing human resources at an international level so that competitive advantage can be maintained at both the national and international level. The subject area includes understanding of culture factors, both in terms of beliefs and attitudes of international employees and in relation to international employment legislation. Studying the area provides insights into the way that corporate HR functions can contribute to international business strategy and build functional knowledge of the main developments in the management of expatriates and other forms of international management. Changing perspectives are crucial as more and more organisations operate on a global basis and have head offices in a home country and operational sites in host nations. Functionally this can involve expatriates but increasingly includes high usage of virtual technology to create links between home and host country operational sites. The following topics are an indication of key areas of current interest in the field.

• What are the benefits and challenges of inter-cultural team working in virtual environments and how these teams influence competitive advantage.
• Virtual working environments became something of a norm during the pandemic. Will this apply to home countries of international corporations as well?
• What are the bases of employee commitment in terms of affective, normative and calculative commitment in a global multi-national?
• What are the effects of organisational transition on employee commitment in large multinational companies?
• How do mergers impact on employee motivation and commitment, and how can any fallout be managed?
• How can cultural differences in international collaborative projects be managed?
• Can job-swaps between international workers improve inter-cultural working in multi-national organisations?
• What is the relationship between the three components of commitment to organisational change and the perceived success of an organisational change?
• What effect will the UK’s decision to leave the EU have on economic migrants, and how can this be managed by IHRM practices and polices?
• How will Brexit impact on British workers in the EU, and to what extent can this be managed by IHRM practices and policies?
• How does one manage employee commitment in the not-for-profit sector across different national cultures?
• Using models of Strategic Human Resource Management assess and appraise how BAE Systems is achieving strategy through effective people management practices.
• What are the main factors that affect employee retention at international call centres?
• What are the most effective practices for working a unique Human Resource policy across multiple divisions of large diversified companies?
• A study of the constantly changing global business environment and how effective human resource planning enables organisations to achieve their strategic objectives.
• What effect does the Brexit decision and subsequent negotiations have on the management of EU operational sites by UK based companies?
• What is the role and value of effective IHRM strategic thinking to effective negotiation of joint ventures between the UK and BRIC countries?
• Can IHRM be effective in delivering culturally appropriate work-life balance and flexible working patterns for multi-national firms?

Change, at the organisational level is vital for continued innovation and retention of competitive advantage. Therefore, understanding the different aspects of this topic is vital in creating awareness of existing views and practices for implementing and managing successful change, particularly at the international level. This topic area is therefore focused on the what, why and how involving managing change in contemporary organisations and social systems in general, and how they may impact on the effectiveness of change. In particular, it examines the issues and dilemmas facing those managing change, as well as the skills required for successful adaptation and evolution, especially in an international context.

• What internal and external factors have the greatest impact on employees in cross-national mergers and acquisitions?
• Managing change across multi-cultural teams through technology and virtual project management: The impact of social understanding and use of digital media.
• What are the biggest changes in home working practises going to be following Coronavirus, and what impact will they have on employee retention?
• Managing change: Developing a framework that links intended strategies and unanticipated outcomes.
• Employee adjustment during organisational change: The role of organisational level and occupation.
• How can employee motivation levels be sustained during organizational restructuring?
• Success of a Product Lifecycle Management Implementation – an investigation into the electronics manufacturing industry.
• How power works through managing emotion in organisational change: emotion management as power.
• How can the measurement of levels of work stress in individuals employed in an organisation undergoing change benefit it?
• Encouraging gender equality across international firms – what role can change management approaches take in supporting increased female representation in traditionally masculine firms?
• Managing change in Asian business – A comparison between Chinese-educated and English-educated Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore.
• What is the impact of feedback during organisational culture change: a case study of a financial firm?
• Stakeholder Communication and Transformational Change: A case study in the use of a proprietary change management system.
• What effect is there on levels of resistance and conflict when organisational change is lead by a servant or spiritual leader?
• How social media can facilitate acceptance of change in international organisations.
• Soft skills are not enough: Why change management approaches also need strong project management planning to be successful.
• What are the key project management skills needed to execute a major change in the working culture of an organization?

Innovation has become a primary force driving the growth, performance, and valuation of companies. However, sometimes there is a wide gap between the aspirations of executives to innovate and their ability to execute. Many companies make the mistake of trying to spur innovation by turning to unreliable best practices, and to organisational structures and processes. Moreover, executives who focus on stimulating and supporting innovation by their employees can promote and sustain it with the current talent and resources more effectively than they could by using other incentives. This area focuses on innovation at the individual level and at the group level within organisations.

• What are the effects of team innovation and leadership clarity in organisations? A health care case study.
• Does socio-cultural context moderate the relationship of leadership with top-management influence on innovation?
• What are the effects of leadership style and team process on performance and innovation in functionally heterogeneous teams?
• An exploratory study of leadership, organisational culture and organisational innovativeness in a sample of non-profit organisations.
• Is there a difference in leadership style between profit and non-organisations, and what are the reasons for this?
• How do business leaders see their role in enabling innovation in large organisations?
• Transformation or transactional? The role of leadership in supporting individual-level creativity within organisations.
• How exactly do we put leadership and innovation together? How does a company lead in a way that generates innovation?
• What are the key factors required for a creative organisation? How are barriers to implementing these factors overcome?
• Organising for team creativity: Creating an organisational system for harvesting ideas for leadership and innovation.
• What is the nature and role of leadership in three ideal types of public management innovation: politically-led, organisational turnarounds and bottom-up innovations?
• How is leadership different in the engineering function? An assessment of Airbus UK?
• What are the behavioural and personality correlations of transactional and transformational leadership?
• What is the relationship between leadership style and creativity? Systematically reviewing the literature.
• From managing to enabling innovation: Leaders’ facilitating innovation through cultural change.
• The role of leaders in balancing creativity and standardisation in the firm.

Globalisation is a complex trend, encompassing many forces and many effects. Globalisation has revolutionised the global market as Multinational Enterprises renew their strategies to attain competitive edge. These topics evaluate different strategies adopted by business firms to uniquely position themselves in the global market.

• The analysis of suitability and applicability of Porter’s Generic Strategies in the light of emerging business trends and an unpredictable operating environment post-pandemic.
• Does globalisation have a future in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic?
• What is the significance of ICT integration as a business strategy?
• How globalisation has broken trade barriers and its impact on trade tariffs: the case of BRIC countries.
• What current strategies are in place for businesses to meet dynamic consumer demands?
• To what extent is consumer demand shaped by corporate innovation? A comparative study of Apple and Samsung.
• Assessing the impact of globalisation on UK businesses operating on both international and local levels.
• Does Brexit signal a rollback in globalisation in the UK and Europe?
• An examination of empowerment, conflict and corporate vision as factors in developing global business strategies for multinational firms.
• What are the transformational strategies adopted by companies in the globalisation era?
• How have countries changed their trade policies in the face of new global market challenges?
• A study into the FDI strategies used by UK multinational companies: case study of Vodafone.
• Investigating the role of strategic alliances in creating global supply chain networks.
• Assessing the impact of internationalisation strategies on multinational corporations: case study Tullow Oil.

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• Doctor of Business Administration
• Dissertations

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Explore past dissertations from members of the Doctor of Business Administration program at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

2024 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Principles in Organizations: The Role of Leadership and Impacts on Corporate Financial Performance
• Dissertation: African Energy Crisis: Designing Sustainable Solutions
• Dissertation: Predictive Accuracy of Performance in Knowledge Work: Comparison of Human Judgment, Regression and Artificial Intelligence Models
• Dissertation: Individual-Level Factors Affecting the Success of New Product Development Teams
• Dissertation: Thriving Together: The Virtuous Cycle of Business for Good, Positive Leadership, and Employee Well-Being
• Dissertation: The Concept of Awe and Its Role in Idea Creation
• Dissertation: At the Boundary of Risk and Uncertainty: Behavioral Insights Into Enterprise Risk Management
• Dissertation: Telemedicine's Evolutionary Sociotechnical Fit
• Dissertation: What Are the Impacts of Leader Political Skill on Organizational Change?

2023 Dissertations

• Dissertation:  Do Emergency Physicians Treat Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Differently? A Mixed-Methods Integrative Paper
• Dissertation: Reliability and Resilience at U.S. Hospitals During the Global COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study on the Effect of Leader and Team Behavior on Crisis Response 
• Dissertation: The Experience of American Frontline Health Care Workers with Electronic Medical Records Technology During the Time of COVID-19: A Phenomenological Inquiry Following the Systems Approach
• Dissertation: The Impact of Business Unit (BU)-Information Technology (IT)-Relationships on Business Transformations: A Mixed Methods Study
• Dissertation: Cognitive Load, EHR Use, and Psychological Stressors Influence on Decision-Making Performance Within Healthcare
• Dissertation: Are Food Banks Impacting Food Retail? Examining the Relationship Between Hunger Relief Distributions and Retail Transactions in a Local Food Environment 

2022 Dissertations

• Dissertation:  Factors Influencing the Advancement Of African American Women In Banking: “Yet None Have Advanced Into The C-Suite Of The Top Four U.S. Banks”
• Dissertation:  Embodied Awareness, Embodied Practice: A Powerful Path to Practical Wisdom
• Dissertation:  The Dynamics and Impacts of Conference Change in Intercollegiate Athletics: A Strategy Group and Institutional Analysis  
• Dissertation:  Heuristics and Bias in New Venture Valuations
• Dissertation:  Mixed Methods Study Examining Organizational and Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Management of Pet Populations in Shelters
• Dissertation:  Factors Influencing Academic Engagement: A Social Support Perspective
• Dissertation:  Latino Entrepreneurship in the United States: A Fresh Perspective
• Dissertation:  The Effect of Supply Chain Strategies on Direct-to-Consumer Industry Evolution: A Mixed-Methods Study
• Dissertation:  Building Character and Leading Through The "Eyes of Others:" A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of Ethical Decision-Making  
• Dissertation:  Unveiling the Arab Mind: What are the Characteristics of Leaders Who Need to Capture Followers' Hearts and Minds?

2021 Dissertations

• Dissertation: System Influence Framework: IT Project Managers’ Influence to Form Critical Stakeholder Alignments and Promote Value Realization
• Dissertation: A Mixed-Method Study of Investigating the Effects of Organizational Preparedness of Supply Chain Management Performance in the Food and Manufacturing Industry
• Dissertation: Managing Successful Strategic Turnarounds: A Mixed Methods Study of Knowledge-Based Dynamic Capabilities
• Dissertation: Price Wars and Managerial Sensemaking: A Mixed-Methods Study
• Dissertation: Integrative Ecosystem Management: Designing Cities and Co-creating the Flourishing Ecosystem
• Dissertation: Effectiveness of Nonprofits on Factors That Influence the Social Aspects of Well-Being in Food Deserts
• Dissertation: Managing Scholar/Practitioner Tensions in Professional Programs: A Study of Library and Information Science Faculty
• Dissertation: Three Studies of Unexpected Organizational Decisions: Some Commonalities in Decisions to Report Workplace Violence and Decisions of Scope in Audit Testing for Complex IT Environments

2020 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Operational Excellence and Organic Revenue Growth
• Dissertation: Breakthrough Teams & Innovation in Orbit: Entrepreneurial Group Initiatives in Established Organizations
• Dissertation: The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Inquiry Into the Factors Influencing M&A Outcomes
• Dissertation: Coaching and Development as Part of a Manager-Subordinate Relationship: A Mixed-Methods Study of Tools, Dynamics and Outcomes
• Dissertation: Role of a CEO in the Era of Technology Disruption: Influence on Timing of Adoption
• Dissertation: Why Do People Bribe and Is It Worth It? A Mixed Methods Study of Bribing Antecedents and Outcomes in Former Soviet Countries
• Dissertation: Cross-Functional Team Performance: Inquiry, Identity and Shared Reality
• Dissertation: Managing Rational Divergence: Testing the Effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Technique on Collaborative Versus Competitive Behaviors in a Game Theoretic Setting
• Dissertation: Equity and Justice For All: The Absence of Subjective Well-Being for the African American Male
• Dissertation: How Do Professionals Find Life Meaning?
• Dissertation: Do You Have the "S" Factor for Service Innovation? How Stewardship Contributes to Service Innovation Capabilities in Service-Dominant Logic
• Dissertation: Coaching Millennials
• Dissertation: Antecedents Of Radicality And Commercial Success Outcomes In SBIR Projects
• Dissertation: Omni-Brand: The Paradox of Global Acceptance and Local Authenticity
• Dissertation: What drives individual decision-making of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Designing the Framework of Entrepreneurial Relationship Management (ERM) for Strategic Actions and Effective-Decision Making
• Dissertation: Building Big Data Analytics as a Strategic Capability in Industrial Firms: Firm Level Capabilities and Project Level Practices
• Dissertation: The Influence of Individual, Organizational and Contextual Factors on Saudi Women Career Commitment and Satisfaction in Nontraditional Occupations
• Dissertation: The Patient Perspective: Exploring the Influence of Social Interactions on Chronic Disease Outcomes
• Dissertation: Hyperconnectivity Giveth and Taketh Away: Reconciling Being an "Always-On" Empowered Consumer and Privacy in an Era of Pervasive Personal Data Exchanges
• Dissertation: Inspirational Professors, Their Emotional Intelligence and its role on Relational Climate
• Dissertation: Emergent Learning in Digital Product Teams
• Dissertation: Improving Job Satisfaction for Nurses in Acute Healthcare Facilities through Engagement and Teamwork
• Dissertation: Leadership and Practices for Strategic Adaptation in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
• Dissertation: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring How IRS Special Agents Choose Cases for Investigation

2018 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Green Investment and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Nigerian Pulp and Paper Industry
• Dissertation: Antecedents of Managerial Moral Stress: A Mixed Methods Study
• Dissertation: Purposing: How Purpose Develops Self-Organizing Capacities
• Dissertation: The Changing Landscape of Finance in Higher Education:  Bridging the Gap Through Data Analytics
• Dissertation: Barriers and Facilitators of Growth in Black Entrepreneurial Ventures: Thinking Outside the Black Box
• Dissertation: Honorable Mavericks: A Mixed-Method Study of what Influences Subsidiary Managers Compliance with Headquarters Instructions
• Dissertation: Fifteen Minutes of Shame: A Multilevel Approach of the Antecedents and Effects of Corporate Accounting Scandals
• Dissertation: What Really Matters to NFL Fans: The Effects of Team Performance and Self-confidence on Fan Commitment and Purchase Intention
• Dissertation: Crossing the Quality Chasm: A Mixed Methods Study of Physician Decision-Making when Treating Chronic Disease
• Dissertation: The Power of Relationships: Navigating the Dance of Change through Executive Coaching
• Dissertation: Learning Within and During IT/IS Projects: Its Process, Antecedents, and Outcomes
• Dissertation: The Complexity of Change: The Middle Managers’ Emergent Contributions
• Dissertation: STEM Entrepreneurs: Educating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Underrepresented Minorities (URM) and Non-Minorities for Job Satisfaction and Career Success
• Dissertation: Mixed Methods Study of Factors Influencing  Business to Business (b2b) Sales Performance: The Role of Design Attitude
• Dissertation: Making Heads and Tails of Distributional Patterns in Private-Equity-Owned Companies: A Value-Creation-Type and Industry-Based Analysis
• Dissertation: The Professional Development Mindset

2017 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Legislators as Leaders: Investigating and Elucidating the Influence of Gender, Religious Beliefs, and Mindfulness on Legislative Decision Making
• Dissertation: Purpose Matters to Leaders at a Personal and Company Level
• Dissertation: Forecast Revision as an Antecedent to Strategic Change
• Dissertation: An Examination of Followers' Upward Influence
• Dissertation: Empowering the 99%...One ESOP at a Time! A Mixed Method Study of Employee Owned Company Acquisitions
• Dissertation: Factors Contributing to Sustainable Brand Growth
• Dissertation: Looking Beyond Culture: Determining Success Factors for Transnational Multiparty Collaboration
• Dissertation: Bringing Social Innovation to Scale: Leveraging Relational Capital and Risk-Taking Behaviors of Actors in Complex Ecosystems
• Dissertation: Positive Impact: Factors That Drive Businesses Toward Shared Prosperity, Environmental Regeneration and Human Wellbeing
• Dissertation: The Role of an Ethos of Sustainability: The Hidden Value of Intangible Resources
• Dissertation: What is Retirement in the 21st Century?
• Dissertation: The Potency of Informal Learning in Paid and Non-Paid Work: A Mixed Study
• Dissertation: Strategy as Configuration: Recursive Organization of Strategy Implementation Factors and Their Effect on Strategy Execution Effectiveness
• Dissertation: Are we Having Fun Yet?: What is the Relationship Between Mentoring, Fun at Work and Job Satisfaction?
• Dissertation: Senior Information Technology (IT) Leader Credibility: Knowledge Scale, Mediating Knowledge Mechanisms, and Effectiveness

2016 Dissertations

• Dissertation: The Intersection of Auditor Independence, Objectivity, and Integrity in High Risk Audit Conditions
• Dissertation: Characteristics of Effective  Leadership of Community College Presidents - A Mixed Method Analysis
• Dissertation: Cultural Factors:  Entrepreneurial Orientation or Not – Innovation Drivers in Small to Medium Sized Enterprises
• Dissertation: Igniting the Fire: The Impact of Anticipatory Entrepreneurial Passion on Effort and Affect in Nascent Entrepreneurs
• Dissertation: Frontline Employee Role Passion and the Impact on Service Encounters
• Dissertation: An Original Microgrid Business Model Determines Conditions for a New Asset Market
• Dissertation: Sustainable Value And Eco-Communal Management: Systemic Measures For The Outcome Of Renewable Energy Businesses In Developing, Emerging, And Developed Economies
• Dissertation: A Theory of Micro-Level Dynamic Capabilities: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection
• Dissertation: When is Earnings Guidance a Treacherous Servant?
• Dissertation: Routines of New Venture Conceptualization: Evidence and Extension of an Entrepreneurial Dynamic Capability
• Dissertation: Remote and Onsite Knowledge Worker Productivity and Engagement: A Comparative Study of the Effect of Virtual Intensity and Work Location Preference
• Dissertation: Who We Are Matters: The Identity of the Information Technology Organization and Outsourcing Success
• Dissertation: A Theory of Steering Committee Capabilities for Implementing Large Scale Enterprise-Wide Information Systems
• Dissertation: Financial Stress in an Adaptive System: From Empirical Validity to Theoretical Foundations
• Dissertation: Experiential Workplace Design in Knowledge Work Organizations: A Worker-Centered Approach
• Dissertation: Understanding the Journey of Inner-City Communities to a Sense of Community and Well-Being
• Dissertation: Deliberate Disruption: How Corporate Leaders' Break the Liability of Expertise
• Dissertation: The Role of Mentorship in Developing Leadership Ready Gen X and Gen Y Females
• Dissertation: Antecedents and Outcomes of Perceived Creepiness in Online Personalized Communications
• Dissertation: The Effects of Visual Analytic Strategies on Organizational Decision Making

2015 Dissertations

• Dissertation: What Influences the Economic Model In the Private and Public Sectors In the Two Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai? A Comparative Study 
• Dissertation: Design Attitude and Social Innovation: Empirical Studies of the Return on Design
• Dissertation: Attentional Change Decisions: Exploring the Role of Attention in Shaping Change Decisions: A Mixed Methods Approach
• Dissertation: Interprofessional Teams in Healthcare: A Mixed-Methods Study
• Dissertation: Helping Top Talent To Thrive: The Significance of Relational Capacity, Teamwork and Organizational Support
• Dissertation: Narrative Shock: Helping North Korean Defectors Narrate Their Lives Fully in South Korea
• Dissertation: Team Adaptation and Mindful Boundary Management: The Dynamics of Internal and External Balancing
• Dissertation: The Collaboration Blueprint: Designing and Building Effective Strategies for Innovation and Rejuvenative Collaboration
• Dissertation: Developing the Next-Generation Leadership Talent in Family Business: The Family Effect
• Dissertation: Creating Customer Love: How Organizations Can Engender Positive Affect in Online Product-Centered Communities
• Dissertation: Playing to Win: Dynamics of Teams That Innovate
• Dissertation: Organizational Commitment - A Requisite for Quality of Life in Assisted Living.
• Dissertation: Promethean Framework and Measurement Instrument: Career Development, Maintenance and Transitions in Convulsive Economic Cycles
• Dissertation: Cohesion, Flexibility, and the Mediating Effects of Shared Vision and Comparison on Engagement in Army Acquisition Teams
• Dissertation: Title How Hackers Think: A Mixed Method Study of Mental Models and Cognitive Patterns of High-Tech Wizards
• Dissertation: Procedural Rationality as a Means for Evidence-Based Management in Conflicted Decision-Making:  A Mixed-Methods Study
• Dissertation: Disempowering the "Robin Hood" Fraudster: Empathetic Pathways Weaken Regulators and Enable Fraudulent Behavior – A Framework For Redesigining Controls
• Dissertation: Organizational Adoption of Social Media Technologies: A Mixed-Methods, Multi-Level Study of Effects on Productivity and Work-Home Life Balance
• Dissertation: Trust by Design: The Affective and Cognitive Antecedents Among African Americans, Building Long-Term Business Relationships
• Dissertation: Thriving in Transition: Cognitive, Social & Behavioral Resources For Times of Change

2014 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Towards Flourishing: How Sellers Can Forge Stronger B2B Relations and Increase Buyer Loyalty
• Dissertation: Improving the Capacity for Strategic Anticipation: How Upstream, Downstream and Lateral Immersion Contribute to the Capacity to Anticipate Strategic Moves
• Dissertation: Does Upper Echelons Team Dynamic Matter? The Criticality of Executive Team Behavior in Economic Value Creation
• Dissertation: Facilitating Radical Innovation in Consumer Electronics and Information Technology Industries
• Dissertation: Staying Alive: The Experience of In Extremis Leadership
• Dissertation: The Significance of Influence in Our Current Work Environment: Understanding and Exploring the Shift and Emergent Domains
• Dissertation: Understanding Managerial Influences:  A Mixed Methods Study of employee engagement, well-being, and performance
• Dissertation: Factors That Influence Firms' Environmental Performance: An Examination of Large Companies
• Dissertation: Title A Theoretical, Empirical and Practical Approach to Academic Knowledge Production and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Academic Alignment
• Dissertation: Equine-Assisted Experiential Learning: Implications for Management Development and Education
• Dissertation: Bridging the Medical Knowledge and Practice Gap: Antecedents of Successful Scientist Physician Collaboration
• Dissertation: Supply Chain Management Performance: Factors Contributing to Successful Risk Mitigation & Resiliency
• Dissertation: A Theory of Overload and Equivocality Effects on Learning during Knowledge Transfer within Policy Making Dyads

2013 Dissertations

• Dissertation: A Theory of Viral Growth of Social Networking Sites
• Dissertation: Socio-Cognitive Foundations of Entrepreneurial Venturing
• Dissertation: The Belief System and Behavior of Financial Advisors After a Market Disruption
• Dissertation: Relationships Matter, Even for CPAs
• Dissertation: Designing Successful Social Ventures: Hands-On Feedback-Seeking Engagement with Stakeholders to Unravel What to Do Next
• Dissertation: Pricing Capabilities and Firm Performance: A Socio-Technical Framework for the Adoption of Pricing as a Transformational Innovation
• Dissertation: Coming Out and Being Out in the C-Suite: The Experiences of Openly Gay and Lesbian Executives
• Dissertation: The Impact of Social Competencies and Role Factors on the Relational Construction of Identity and Participation of Physician Leaders
• Dissertation: Credibility: A Foundation for All Leaders
• Dissertation: Why We Care: The Mediating Effect of Positive and Negative Emotional Attractors on Social Responsibility
• Dissertation: Systemic Corruption: A Multi-Theoretic, Multi-Level and Mixed Methods Analysis of the Interplay among Institutional Logics, Strategic Agency and Reward Expectancy

2012 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Tenure, Charisma and Conflict in Venture Backed Teams
• Dissertation: Decision Making in the Corporate Boardroom: Designing the Conditions for Effectiveness
• Dissertation: How and To What Extent Does Collaboration Affect Employee and Cross-Functional Team Performance?
• Dissertation: Women Persisting in the Engineering Profession: A Paradoxical Explanation Adapting Intentional Change Theory
• Dissertation: Organizational Agility and Complex Enterprise System Innovations: A Mixed Methods Study of the Effects of Enterprise Systems on Organizational Agility
• Dissertation: How a Learning Orientation, Modern Portfolio Theory and Absorptive Capacity Contribute to University Endowment Performance
• Dissertation: A Multi-Level Investigation into the Antecedents of Enterprise Architecture (EA) Assimilation in the U.S. Federal Government: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Research Study
• Dissertation: The Impact IT Professionals Have On Performance: What Differentiates Superior from Average Performers and Understanding How to Keep Them Engaged

2011 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Pluralistic Diversity in Voluntary Associations on College Campuses: A Multi-Method study
• Dissertation: Managing the Unexpected: Detecting, Preventing and Mitigating Surprises in the Banking Industry
• Dissertation: The Strategic Decision-Making Process of the Board and Its Impact on Decision Outcomes
• Dissertation: Worlds Connected and Worlds Apart: Postures and Dependencies Influencing Government - Agency Relations
• Dissertation: A Multi-Method Exploration of the Role of Legitimacy in Cross-Sector Partnerships for the Natural Environment
• Dissertation: Knowledge Sharing in Bioscience Clusters: Nature, Utilization and Effects
• Dissertation: Impact of School Leadership on Academic Achievement in Kenyan Secondary Schools
• Dissertation: Non-Financial Perspectives on Family Firm Performance
• Dissertation: The Great Recession and Nonprofit Endurance: Framing the Mission-Defensive Paradox
• Dissertation: The Global Financial Crisis: Bankers Shaken, But Some Awaken

2010 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Causal Ambiguity and Its Impacts on Firm Performance
• Dissertation: Exploring Sustained Collaborations: Activities and Behaviors That Make a Difference
• Dissertation: Adoption of High Trust-High Risk Technologies: The Case of of Computer Assisted Surgery
• Dissertation: Bridging Structure-Agency Divide: A Structurational Approach to Institutional Adaptation and Innovation
• Dissertation: The Effect of Social Factors on Project Success Within Enterprise-Class System Development
• Dissertation: Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations: Routes to and Repertoires for Effectiveness
• Dissertation: Drivers of Employee Engagement and Teamwork Performance
• Dissertation: Payoffs of Championing "Tough Issues": Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions at the Board and Within Senior Management Teams
• Dissertation: Improving the Effectiveness of Microfinance in Reducing Household Poverty
• Dissertation: How Many Hands Does a Team Have? Developing Ambidextrous Teams in Academic Medical Centers
• Dissertation: The Delicate Balance of Organizational Leadership: Encouraging Learning and Driving Successful Innovation
• Dissertation: Dare to Restore Trust and Drive Loyalty in Distrust-Dominated Environments: A Stakeholder Perspective
• Dissertation: The Impact of Charisma on Employee Volunteer Programs

2009 Dissertations

• Dissertation: A Study of the Impact of Informational Complexity, Transparency and Stewardship on Decision Usefulness: The Users' Perspective
• Dissertation: Generative Characteristics as Antecedents to Engagement
• Dissertation: Managing Commitment as Antecedents to Engagement in Faith-based Organizations: Chinese Protestant Churches in the United States
• Dissertation: When Practice and Theory Conflict: Do Performance Incentives Drive Management Behaviors in Mergers and Acquisitions?
• Dissertation: Ethical Ideologies and Decision Making Among College Student Athletes
• Dissertation: The Role of Human Capital in Predicting Business Outcomes
• Dissertation: Inside the Outsourcing of Innovation
• Dissertation: The Role of Organizational Learning in Renewing Competitive Advantage
• Dissertation: The Private Sector and Anti-Terrorism Spending for Physical Security
• Dissertation: Unraveling Adaptive Selling: An Empirical Analysis of Underlying Relational Behavior
• Dissertation: Design and Discovery: The Structure and Function of a Research Network
• Dissertation: Into the Family and Business Nexus: Succession and Daughters in Family Owned Businesses
• Dissertation: Executive Leader Development: Mentoring in U.S. Government and Commercial Organizations
• Dissertation: An Examination of the Antecedents and Consequences of Accreditation in the Nonprofit Sector
• Dissertation: Beyond Financial Transparency and Institutional Structure: Emergent Forms of Accountability in the New Era of Responsibility

2008 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Developing a Regional High Tech Environment: What Factors Matter
• Dissertation: The Impact of the Internet on Airline Fares
• Dissertation: Managing Multiple and Interacting Congregations Within the Same Church: The Case of Chinese Protestant Immigrant Churches in North America
• Dissertation: Heaven, Hell and Everything In Between: How Do Authentic Leaders' Values Contribute to Organizations in Which Followers Flourish?
• Dissertation: They're Making All the Wrong Decisions: Managing Cognitive and Emotive Balance
• Dissertation: The Pathfinder Leader and Complex Decision Making: The Role in Collective Action Governance
• Dissertation: College Environments as Enablers and Barriers to Youth Entrepreneurship
• Dissertation: The Role of Learning and Care Giving Style in Practitioner-Patient Co-Production of Therapeutic Outcomes
• Dissertation: Effective Leadership of Financial Service Firms: A Study in Resonance and Emotional Intelligence
• Dissertation: Selling Money: Success Factors for Financial Advisors
• Dissertation: Role Engagement in Co-operative Organizations: A Relational Framework for Understanding Board Commitment
• Dissertation: Virtual Teams: Can They Be More Effective
• Dissertation: Commitment to Change as Dynamic Push-Pull Alignment of Messages
• Dissertation: The Impact of Organizational Destruction in Social Capital
• Dissertation: The Duplicity Effect: Professional Investment Decisions for Others Versus Self
• Dissertation: You Can Change Strategies in a Conversation: Decision Making in Innovation in the Durable Goods Industry

2007 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Disconnected: A Consumer Study of Mobile Telephone Technology Rejection in the United States
• Dissertation: The Social-Technical Project Manager Practices That Motivate Knowledge Sharing and Learning in Information Technology Project Team Environments
• Dissertation: Social Change – Making the Improbable Possible through Collaboration: A Series of Studies on NGO Collaboration in South Africa
• Dissertation: Employee Reactions to Mergers and Acquisitions - The ‘ME-I Syndrome’; Avoiding ‘Merger-Enabled-Individualism’
• Dissertation: Service Feature Considerations for Developing Consumer Satisfaction in Online Environments
• Dissertation: Studies in Workplace Behaviors and Organizations
• Dissertation: Transitioning from Staff Nurse to Nurse Manager-A Change in Identity
• Dissertation: Resilience in Action: Exploring Constructive Transitions Among Mid-Career Leaders
• Dissertation: Change Leader Retention and Career Development: The Role of Social Capital and Balancing Commitments
• Dissertation: Venture “TERROIR” Can We Define It ? VC Decision Processes for Investing in Genesis/ Pre-seed ICT Entrepreneurial Teams
• Dissertation: The Effects of Ownership, Control Rights and Experience on Joint Venture Success
• Dissertation: Social Entrepreneurship: Creating Impact in the Social Sector
• Dissertation: An Investigation of Electronic Medical Record Technology Adoption by Family Practice Physicians

2006 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Three Aspects of Social Change Management: Project Ownership, Ethical Project Transfer and Economic Correlate
• Dissertation: Corporate Governance in the Era of Sarbanes-Oxley
• Dissertation: The Practice of Medical Error Reporting
• Dissertation: The Social Construction of the Interactive Practices of Multicultural Professionals
• Dissertation: Practicing Pragmatic Collaboration: The Challenge of Recognizing and Managing Rational Divergence
• Dissertation: Focusing on the End User: Promoting the Successful Deployment of Workplace Programs and Initiatives
• Dissertation: Exploration of Social Capital in the Context of Elected Public School Officials
• Dissertation: A Journey with the End in Mind: An Examination of How Advance Planning May Influence End-of-Life Decisions
• Dissertation: Innovative or Expendable Human Capital: The Effect of Labor Market Choices, Career System Practices and Self-Directed Career Orientation on Organization Outcomes
• Dissertation: Immigrants Transnational Activities for Home Community Development: The Nigerian Immigrants in the United States
• Dissertation: Factors that Facilitate Entrepreneurship Among Students and Nascent Entrepreneurs
• Dissertation: An investigation of Customer Perceived Value, Exchange Partner Trustworthiness and Service Perceptions in e-Commerce
• Dissertation: Impact of Knowledge on Electricity Markets

2005 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Corporate Responses to Accounting Regulation
• Dissertation: Information Technology Adoption by Middle Managers: The Case of Trial Court Judges
• Dissertation: Strangers in the Commons: Understanding and Measuring Successful Aging for Low-Income Seniors in Affordable Housing
• Dissertation: Adolescent Leadership Development: The Role of Authoritative Parenting and the Mediating Effect of Psychological Autonomy and Mastery Orientation
• Dissertation: Trust, Education and Development in Jamaica, 1950-2000
• Dissertation: The Link Between Governance Responsibilities and Performance in Healthcare Organizations: A Trustees Perspective
• Dissertation: Nonprofit Intrapreneurship: How Nonprofit Managers Facilitate and Balance Entrepreneurial Activity
• Dissertation: All Cake and No Icing: An Exploration of Female Executive Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector
• Dissertation: A Framework for Maximizing Board Member Outcomes in Nonprofit Organizations
• Dissertation: The Impact of Electronic Medical Records on the Doctor-Patient Relationship in Hospitals in Japan, Korea and the United States: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

2004 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Sparks of Innovation: Observing the Elements that Lead to Creative and Innovative Success
• Dissertation: Pastoral Leadership and Parish Vibrancy
• Dissertation: A Tale of Two Colleges: The Fiscal Crisis of the 1990's Strategies for Managing in Uncertainty
• Dissertation: Converting Highly Legitimized Structural Barriers into Vehicles of Change: A Case for Transformational Leadership in Liberal Arts Colleges
• Dissertation: The Social Capital of Nonprofit Leaders
• Dissertation: Synthesizing Managerial Agency and Institutionalism in Manufacturing Facilities
• Dissertation: The Evolving Nonprofit Board: Relational Practices and Effective Governance
• Dissertation: Entrepreneurial Emergence: The Challenge of Growth in Urban Contexts
• Dissertation: Change On the Frontlines: A Perspective from the Trenches
• Dissertation: Perspectives on Life Insurance Selling, Retirement Savings among African Americans and Precautionary Saving of Blacks compared to Whites
• Dissertation: Managers, Micro-entrepreneurs and Performance Outcomes: Lessons from Two Worlds
• Dissertation: Trust in Project Management Relationships
• Dissertation: Free at Last? Culturally Rooted Differences in the Workplace Experience
• Dissertation: Organization and Empowerment: Policy, Practice and Outcome - The Study of Development Organizations in St. Lucia, West Indies

2003 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Individual Behavioral Competencies & Organizational Constraints: Some Insights From Health Care
• Dissertation: From Sitting on Top of the World to Crunched in the Back of the Bus: The Transformation of the U.S. Domestic Airline Industry From 2000 Through 2003
• Dissertation: Stakeholders and Organizations: A Three Part Approach to Better Understandings of Who and What Counts
• Dissertation: Research Reports: Strength of Strong Ties: Two Studies on EVA in Cyclic Markets
• Dissertation: Beyond the Requirements: Using Technology and Implementing Service Learning
• Dissertation: What Tangled Webs We Weave: A Comparative Study of Cooperation, Coping, and Networking Strategies of Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs
• Dissertation: Customer Service Satisfaction in Inter-Cultural Service Encounters
• Dissertation: Research Into the Effectiveness of an Alternatives to Violence Program in a Prison System
• Dissertation: A Qualitative Analysis of the Historical and Social Significance of the African American Male Oral Tradition: A Study in Linguistic Anthropology
• Dissertation: Leadership Pathways: How Leaders Communicate, Network, and Find Success in Diverse Environments
• Dissertation: Reciprocal Learning in Teams: Relational Practices for Securing the Best From Leadership Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations

2002 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Workforce Development in a Small Manufacturing Organization
• Dissertation: Forces Shaping the Extent of Markets: An Exploration of Wholesale Distributors in Latin America
• Dissertation: The Meaning of Decision and Choice to a Leader in a Nonprofit Organization
• Dissertation: Another Thrice-Told Tale: Strategy Formation, Accountability, and Competent Governance in a Nonprofit Organization
• Dissertation: Study of Direct Internet Selling by Airlines in the U.S. Air Travel Distribution Industry
• Dissertation: The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Work Team Cohesiveness and Performance
• Dissertation: Political Economy and Price Ratio Changes: Electric Industry Under Transition
• Dissertation: Understanding the Characteristics of an Effective Physician-Hospital Contractual Arrangement from a Dyadic Perspective
• Dissertation: The Connected Celebrity and Nonprofit Advertising

2001 Dissertations

• Dissertation: A Study of the Impact of Ohio’s Instructional Support Funding Process On Institutional Behavior At Two-Year Colleges
• Dissertation: The Contributions and Status of Women Inside Directors in Fortune 1000 Companies
• Dissertation: The Influence of Self-Development, Experimental Learning and Networking on the Career Satisfaction of EMBA Graduates
• Dissertation: Toward A Theory of Technical Change
• Dissertation: More Than Directing Money: Theories in Use for Helping Distressed Communities as Practiced by Independent Foundations

2000 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Money and Theology - It's Not an Oxymoron!!
• Dissertation: Parental Choice of Elementary Schools Within the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and Its Implications for the Financial Policies of Diocesan Schools
• Dissertation: Business Is War: An Investigation Into Metaphor Use in Internet and Non-Internet IPOs
• Dissertation: Theoretical Aspects of the Japanese Institutional Relations Model and Its Effectiveness for Corporate Governance in the Context of Globalization
• Dissertation: Sensemaking in a Hospital Strategic Planning Process
• Dissertation: Strategic Alliance Decisions: The Interpersonal Experience of Alliance Building

1999 Dissertations

• Dissertation: Environomics: Managing Environmental Change from Rio de Janiero to Buenos Aires (Via Berlin and Kyoto
• Dissertation: Habitus Wars and Field(s) of Dreams: Using Bourdieu to Reframe the Sense of a Crisis
• Dissertation: Managers in the Middle: A Study of Long Term Care Regional Managers Dealing With Organizational Stress
• Dissertation: The Relationship of Error-Based Experimental Learning to Organizational Change: How and Why What We Learn May or May Not Change How We Behave
• Dissertation: Back to the Future: A Search for Economic Progress or Roots? A Comparison of Experiences Between African American Entrepreneurs in the United States
• Dissertation: The Quest for Sustainable Leadership: The Importance of Connecting Leadership Principles to Concepts Of Organizational Sustainability
• Dissertation: Achieving Potential in Hospital Mergers
• Dissertation: Mill Creek: A Case Study Applying Actor Network and Transformational Leadership Theories to Urban Housing Development

1998 Dissertations

• Dissertation: America in the 21st Century: Finding Harmony Between Economic and Social Goals
• Dissertation: The Social Construction of Workforce Development Organizations in Singapore and Penang, Malaysia
• Dissertation: The Marketplace of Management Ideas
• Dissertation: The Changing Face Of Money: Will Electronic Money Be Adopted in the United States?
• Dissertation: Ordinary Canadians: Identity of Time and Place
• Dissertation: Straight to the Heart: Cleveland Leaders Shaping the Next Millennium
• Dissertation: Capacity Building: An Appreciative Approach
• Dissertation: The Structure of Management Practices and the Formation of Coping Habitus

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5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

• 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

Learn more about HBS Online's approach to the case method in the video below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span eight subject areas, including:

• Business essentials
• Leadership and management
• Entrepreneurship and innovation
• Digital transformation
• Finance and accounting
• Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

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Home > Business > Doctoral Dissertations

Doctoral Dissertations

Submissions from 2024 2024.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on Organizations Cybersecurity , Mustafa Abdulhussein

High Workload Effects on Patient Satisfaction and Profitability of Nursing Homes , Richard RA Alrayes

Retention as a Challenge for Healthcare Managers: A Look into the Field of Applied Behavior Analysis , Gertrude Asante

Risk Management in Human Resource Development and Talent Management , Kumba Bayoh

Possible Under Utilization of Agile Management in Curriculum Change Process of Aviation Degree Programs , Samantha Bowyer

Exploration of the Financial Impact of the Pandemic Among Filipino Asian Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Duval County Florida , Thomas N. Cannistra

Crowdsourcing Strategizing: A View From the Top , Priscilla L. Eddings

Marketing Management of Online Negative Reviews of Medical Services , Christopher Edward Feltes

Developing and Retaining High-Potential Non-Academic Employees in Private Higher Education Institutions to Create Sustainable Non-Academic Leadership Pipelines , Sheraine D. Gilliam

The Perpetual Challenges of Nonprofit Board Governance and Its' Impact on Operations , Gala U. Harvell

Artificial Intelligence and Its Need in Healthcare , Michael Haskins

The Impact of a Project Management Approach on Micro-Businesses in Achieving Strategic Goals , Karen M. Lowe

Formalized Succession Planning: A Need in East Tennessee Health Departments , Elizabeth A. Maples

Millennial Turnover: An Implication for Human Resource Management , Folake Titilola Olumide

Impact of the Increased Use of Telehealth on Health Care Management and Administration: The Case of New Care Management Practices , Immacula Pierre

A Multiple Case Studies Review of Collaboration in Rural Nonprofits , Jacob T. Ratliff

A Case Study of Using Social Media Influencers for Sponsored Posts , Meagen Rockenbach

Revenue Cycle Management , Mary Scalf

A Study of Leadership's Role in Building Relationships Among Virtual Team Members , Danna V. Smith

Corporate Social Responsibility Programs in Supply Chain Strategies , Craig A. Standridge

Does Deviating from Agile Principles Have an Impact on Project Success in North Carolina Higher Education Institutions? , Douglas A. Stanley

Mental Health Provider Shortage in Rural Communities , Barrow N. Tabe

Credit History Controls the Ability of Small Businesses to Obtain Working Capital: A Case Study , Tiffany Leeona Thompson

Best Practices Associated with Medical Device Regulatory Strategy Success: A Case Study , Jonathan P. Ward

Submissions from 2023 2023

The Use of Multidisciplinary Care Teams in Diagnosing and Managing Care of Cancer Patients in Eastern Kentucky , Terry Lee Adams

Impact of Leadership for Startup Companies , Emem Okon Akpanekong

Assessing the Lack of Project Management Soft Skills Toward Project Completion Rates , Rene Orlando Aleman

Effective Strategies for Midsized Nonprofit Human Service Organizations in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area to Maintain Financial Sustainability , Ivy Ann Beckham

Financial Capability – Examining the Impact of Financial Education on U.S. Military Members , Philip Mason Chapman

High Health Care Cost in the U.S. and Its Impact on an African American Church Community in East Orange, New Jersey , William Charles

Exploring Target Marketing at Private Universities Directed to the Nontraditional Student Population , Connie Chester Christian

Current Management Issues in Health Information Technology , Gladys Dadson

Strategic Leadership for Managing Diversity , Amdy Diene

Cultivating Employee Relationships , Kimberly Lynn England

Leadership Support as an Influence on Frontline Healthcare Employee Retention in the Washington Metropolitan Area (DMV) , Tamika Fair

Exploring the Impacts of Funding Models on Business as Mission Organizations in Asia: A Multiple-case Study , Jeremiah Joel Finch

Organizational Cultures Effect on Productivity in Manufacturing , Jonathan Karl Foley

Air Force Support for the Joint Military Environment: A NATO Allied Command Operations Headquarters Case Study , James R. Hamilton

Biblical Leadership: Combatting Authoritarianism , Katherine M. Inman

A Quantitative Examination of the Relationships Between Work-Life Balance, Burnout, and Turnover Intentions Among Texas Public Accounting Professionals , Vicky Ruth Johnson

Unlocking the Talent Puzzle: Examining the Impact of Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Career Development on Talent Attraction and Retention , Angela Denise Lamar

Weak Organizational Culture in Higher Education Leads to Unmet Organizational Goals , Jennifer Willard Matthews

Impact of Audit Time Pressure on Audit Quality , Janae Monet McClam

Organizational Preparedness Required for System Implementation , Kaitlyn Marie McCollum

An Assessment of Hospice Patients’ Experience from Cancer Care Services in the United States Hospitals: A Mixed-Method Study , Femi Obasun

A Qualitative Analysis of Corporate Responsibility for the Education of U.S. Citizens , Heidi Leslie O'Donnell

The Impact and Inability of Leaders to Address Employee Grievances , Esther Ayomide Osayi

Redesigning an Effective Pathway to Consumer Loyalty for Sustainable Competitive Advantage , Stephen P. Panczak

A Multiple Case Study: Male Correctional Officers’ Experiences and Attitudes Regarding “Gender Quota” Human Resource Management Strategies in Corrections , Rebecca Jo Patterson

Quantifying the Value of Renewable Energy as a Hedge Against the Volatility of Natural Gas Prices in Wisconsin , Miodrag Petrovic

Understanding Workplace Conditions Contributing to Physician Burnout Prevalence in Maryland State , Fatima Adefunke Queen

TeamSTEPPS and Organizational Culture , Amelia Arca Quinto

Succession Planning in the Federal Government , Christine Noel Roberts

The Impact of Project Management on the Adoption of Emerging Media to Non-commercial Broadcasting Media Businesses in Hispanic Markets , Jonathan Rosado

Sustainable Activity-Based Costing in a Small Flexible Manufacturing Environment , John Edward Schlaack

Effectiveness of Government Leadership to Maintain Productivity in a Virtual Environment , Crystal J. Showell

Remote Leadership: Assessing Productive Work Environments in a Post-Pandemic Future , Kimberly Diane Snodgrass

The Middle Management Leader and the Matrixed Organization , Donald Keith Stephens

Improving Strategic Management Planning in Non-Profit Organizations: Federally Qualified Health Centers , Esther Taylor

Managing Cyber Defense as a Business Threat for Small and Medium Enterprises , Binh Quang Vo

Attracting and Sustaining Volunteers: Leadership Impact on the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations, and Differences Observed when Organizations are Predicated on Faith , Lascel A. Webley Jr.

Organizational Behavior , Molly Xiong

Submissions from 2022 2022

An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Organizational Commitment, Employee Voice Behavior, and Psychological Well-Being Among Employees Within Mid-Size Service , Katelin Barron

Government Contract Re-compete Impacts on Employees , John James Bergmann

Fraud Risk Management to Detect and Prevent Employee Fraud in Small Rural Businesses , Daphne Yuying Bishop

Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Hawai'ian Small Businesses , Farrel Anthony Blake

The Effects of Leadership Organizational Culture on Employee Performance Resulting in High Turnover, Low Morale, and Decreased Productivity , Damon Brown-Crawford

Pandemics and United States Pharmaceutical Stocks’ Rates of Return , Ronald Franklin Burnette Jr

Effect of Supervisor Bias on Performance Motivation During Incentive-Based Performance Reviews , Jessica Lace Burrell

Just-In-Time/Just-In-Case Inventory Management as an Influence on Supply Chain Disruption in Medical Systems Based in the Southeastern United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic , Brooke Gibson Coslett

Internal Controls in Small City Government , M. Wade Cothran

Empowering Healthcare Workers through Transformational Leadership , Angela Nicole Craig

Big Bath Earnings Management in Accounting , Shannon Danysh-Hashemi

Distribution Center ERP Utilization , Andrew B. Davidson

Exploring Succession Planning for Executive Leadership Positions within Ohio's Faith-based Organizations: A Multiple-Case Study , Gilda Drammeh

Exploring Financial Literacy and Overconfident Investor Behavior , Ryan J. Drews

Communicating the Value Contributions of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PaLM) to Healthcare Administrators, Evidence of Value from a Multiple Cases Study , Susan K. Edralin

The EMS Deficit: A Study on the Excessive Staffing Shortages of Paramedics and its Impact on EMS Performance in the States of South Carolina and North Carolina and Interventions for Organizational Improvements. , James Boyd Eubanks

Mental Health Experiences in the Workplace , Laura L. Goff

Certified Nursing Assistant Turnover in the Long-Term Care Facility Industry , Michael Leroy Gregory

Employment Branding for University Graduates in Jamaica , Caroline Harvey

The Lack of Communication in Leadership , Wendy Webb Hicks

Project Management Skills for Highly Successful Virtual Project Teams , Andrea Hogge

Substance Abuse's Impact on Public Accounting , William Dennis Holmes

The Impact of Strategic Planning in Small Business: Empirical Evidence From East Tennessee , Sara Howe

Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Levels and Employee Performance , Omotola Idowu

Enhancing Success Through Leadership , Wendy T. Jewell

Going Virtual: Addressing the Challenges Faced by Organizational Leaders When Employees Transition to Virtual Environments in Times of Crisis , Mary Susan Johnson

Telework in Times of Crisis , Samantha Jones

Distributed Leadership in West Virginia Higher Education , Jennie Lee Khun

Mitigating Supply Chain Disruptions, Risks, and Vulnerabilities , John Jeong Kim

Human Resource Strategy in Times of Disruption , April R. Kinchen

Decision Usefulness of Goodwill in Financial Statement Reporting , B. Mechelle Lafon

Overcoming Barriers to Social Enterprise Expansion, Growth, and Financial Sustainability: The Leadership Challenges , Elizabeth A. Lee

Evaluating the Impact of Diversity Training in the Workplace. , Vilmarie Lopez

Stronger: Can Financial Adversity Faced by Small Business Enterprises Lead to Small Business Success & Resilience , Jeffery R. McDurmont

Adapting North American Selling Methods to Cross-Cultural Technology Sales Engagements in the Borderless Global Economy , Zachary Paul McKinley

Organizational Change in the Workplace during the COVID-19 Pandemic , Takeisha Shante Miles

Strategies and Internal Control Procedures for Decreasing Fraud in Faith-Based Nonprofit Organizations , Shawn Thomas Miller

Local Food in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Destination Marketing – The Case of Trinidad & Tobago , Winston Mohammed

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35+ Business Dissertation Topics and Ideas to Get You Stared

by  Antony W

June 27, 2024

With the world almost putting Covid-19 on its knees, economic growth will see an upward trend as it used to right before the global pandemic hit the human race hard. So far, statistics point to a potential growth that will see an expansion in business activities, making this an interesting area to study.

For business students taking their Master’s degree, the requirement to write a dissertation raises the need to select the best business dissertation topic for the assignment. To help you make the topic research process easier, we’ve put together a list of interesting topics for inspiration.

Keep in mind that business is a wide field, and therefore the topics provided in this guide cover various disciplines in the sector. As such, it should be easy for you to find a topic that’s not only interesting but also worth exploring.

Business Dissertation Topics: 25+ Examples for Inspiration

The following are examples of dissertation topics that you can improve and explore in your research assignment:

Dissertation Topics on Corporate Social Responsibility in Business

Corporate social responsibility is a serious issue in the business world, especially since activists and governments hold enterprise responsible for their actions. If anything, businesses have to take corporate social responsibility seriously because it’s part of what contributes to the competence of companies and organizations.  

Some topics you can cover in this area include:

• What are the important strategic decisions that businesses must make in order to enhance their performance in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility?
• How can firms benefit from implementing CSR practices in relation to climate change?
• In the aftermath of the Coronavirus epidemic, how much CSR will be lost in order to achieve higher economic growth?
• Is there a link between diversity and corporate social responsibility, and what role does it play in organizational performance?
• What are the obstacles to the mainstreaming of ethical firms in the United Kingdom?

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Dissertation Topics on Global Strategy in Business

This area focuses on examining the key strategic issues that companies and organizations have to deal with when doing business in the global space. More often than not, researchers seek to understand strategic analysis, strategy formulation, and the way businesses identify sources of competitive advantages.

Here are some topic ideas that you may find interesting to cover in this area:

• How should a corporate plan for expanding into an international market be developed?
• An investigation on the exit strategy of foreign venture capital investment in the worldwide private sector.
• Is it possible to use entrepreneurship as a successful management technique inside a company unit?
• A study of the issues associated with managing international collaboration in the military aero-engine industry.
• Creating a closed-loop supply chain to improve global business practices’ sustainability.
• Creating an efficient structure for knowledge exchange and use in international project teams.

Global Business and Politics Dissertation Topics

The dissertation topic ideas in this category often examine the connection between global business and global politics. As an area that has been volatile for years, this sector evaluates institutions, processes and factors that influence businesses and politics.

Here are some topic ideas to consider:

• Evaluating the effectiveness of multinational businesses’ global business teams: a test of an intervening process model
• How diverse patterns of business-government ties influence industrial upgrading processes: A case study of developing economies
• Strategy, structure, fit, and performance in business-government relations within a contingency theory framework.
• Is globalization still going to be a significant market driver in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis?
• What impact does Corporate Governance have on internationalization, globalization, and company performance?
• Examining how enterprises entering the Chinese market manage political risk from a legitimacy standpoint.

Technology Business Topics for Dissertation

Your dissertation will focus on the strategies that businesses use to identify, develop, and implement technology to support their day-to-day operations. You may have to investigate the evolution of technology, new opportunities that technology presents, and the possible challenges that businesses have to deal with.

Some topics to consider in this area are as follows: 

• How will 5G technology affect the expansion of digital consumer markets in the United Kingdom?
• How ICT integration has changed the way people buy products and services.
• An investigation on the influence of internet marketing in the development of global supply chain networks.
• Evaluating technology diffusion models among UK online customers.
• How has the incorporation of technology into human resources benefited organizational efficiency?
• Considering the role of innovation in the emergence of new prospects for SMEs in the United Kingdom.
• What are the primary variables influencing the effectiveness of corporate internet branding?
• An examination of how corporate operations have improved as a result of innovation: Are they convergent on a single universal approach?

International HR Management Dissertation Topics

The focus in this business segment is on how organizations handle human resources at an international level to maintain a competitive advantage. Notably, the area focuses on understanding culture factors that give insights on how human resource functions can contribute to building functional knowledge to national and international business.

Here are some dissertation topics that are likely to suit this area of business:

• What are the foundations of employee commitment in a global multi-national in terms of emotive, normative, and calculative commitment?
• How can cultural differences be managed in multinational collaborative projects?
• How do you manage employee commitment in the non-profit sector across national cultures?
• What are the most important elements influencing staff retention in international contact centers?
• Can IHRM offer culturally acceptable work-life balance and flexible working patterns for multinational corporations?
• What influence does organizational transformation have on employee engagement in major multinational corporations?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of intercultural teams operating in virtual settings, and how do these teams impact competitive advantage?

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Home > Robinson College of Business > Robinson College of Business Executive Programs > Business Administration > BUS_ADMIN_DISS

Business Administration Dissertations

Dissertations from 2024 2024.

The Relationship Between Race, Gender, and Age Diversity in the C-Suite and Firm Performance , Paquel H. Austin

How Corporate Social Responsibility and Leadership Style Motivate Employees to Go Above and Beyond , Dominique Bergere

Diversity In Clinical Trials: The Case of Drug Development for Rare Diseases , Allison Bowen

Exploring the Impact of Transformational Leadership on Job Turnover Intention: A Study of Plant Operations , Christopher Bernard Edwards

The Role of Distributed Trust in the Design and Diffusion of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): An Institutional Trust Perspective , Prince Egyir Biney

The influence of founder age in early-stage new venture funding: A configuration perspective , Michael A. Hakimian

Framing Central Bank Digital Currency: Design and Diffusion for Cross-Border Payments , Andrew C. Haskell

Public Health Practitioners’ Adoption of Artificial Intelligence: The Role of Health Equity Perceptions and Technology Readiness , Angela Hernandez

Linked Decisions: A Data Standard for Distributed Decision Support Systems , Jaroslav Klc

Tour Product Development: Reasons And Methods Tour Operators Use To Incorporate Secondary Destinations In Tour Itineraries , Fanny Lawren

Twitter Sentiments and Stock Prices: An Event Study on the Role of Influencers , Denys Wincel Lu

Exploring the Impact of Leadership styles on Work Force Dynamics in the Healthcare Industry , Derek Marbell

Authentic Leadership Between Control and Drift: An Investigation of African Americans Executives in Nonprofit Organizations , Ronald McNeill

Entrepreneurial Success: Exploring the Interplay of Personality Traits and Co-Founder Team Dynamics , Sudhir Mehta

Implementation of A Mandated Technology in A Highly Distributed Organization: A Case Study , Teresa Janel M. Paulk

Navigating New Frontiers: An Integrated Approach to Managing and Leading Remote and Hybrid Employees , Lorry Rome Perkins

Determinants of Generative Artificial Intelligence Large Language Model Exploration Intent for Software Development , Nicole A. Pirone

Outsourcing Auxiliary Services in Higher Education: An Integrated Risk Management Model , Alfonso Quinones

Examining the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patient Experience Rating and Recommendation: A Longitudinal Study , Emoy Reid

The Impact of Technology-Driven Supply Chain Systems on Market Penetration of SMES In Developing Economies: A Study of Nigerian SMES , Olawale Temowo

Purpose-Led Performance: The Strategic Role of Consumer-Centricity in Brand Activism , Brenda R. Turner

Dissertations from 2023 2023

Smart Technology Adoption’s Impact on the Value of Logistics Service Providers’ Firms , Raziel Bravo

Unintended Consequences of Organizational Error Culture: Does the Strive for Perfection Cause Employees to Put on a Façade and Consider Leaving? , Scott Crumpton

Vanishing Without a Trace: Measuring Job Applicant Ghosting Attitudes Across the Stages of Job Pursuit , Christine Davis

Leader Emotional Exhaustion: The Moderating Role of Leadership Style , James Davis

Path Constitution in Family Business Succession: Evidence from A Longitudinal Case Study , Toney L. Duckworth-Chambless

Organizational Resilience: An Exploratory Study on Eldercare and Support Responses to COVID-19 , Darren G. Franklin

The Power of Reflection: Understanding The Impacts Made Upon Employees Who Have Managers Who Reflect On Their Professional Development , Ryan Heath Jordan

An Empirical Study on the Influence of ICT-Based Tools on Team Effectiveness in Virtual Software Teams Operating Remotely During the COVID-19 Lockdown , Uday Kumar Kanike

The Role of Spirituality for Successful Established Women Entrepreneurs , Valaurie Bridges Lee

Increasing the Awareness of Black Women to Promote Medical Research Engagement , Stephanie M. Malone

The Impact of Social Media Sentiment on Market Share for Higher Education Institutions , Brandi Nicole Newkirk

How Safety Leadership Styles Impact Employee Safety Behaviors , Michelle McRae Payne

Dissertations from 2022 2022

The Impact of the Financial System and its Channels on SMES' Access to Financing: A Nigerian Perspective , Akinwande Ademosu

Sense of Place and Customer Experience: Cast Study in the State of Alaska , Maryam Al Ali

Healthcare Innovation Absenteeism: The Rise of Physician Entrepreneurs & Medical Startups , Charleata Battle

The Impact of Personality Traits and Emotional Intelligence on Emergent Leadership , Shinika Byrd

How Does the Infrastructure and Support of Two Progressive Startup Communities Compare for African American Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses? A Comparative Study of Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina , Leroy Carson Jr.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Esports Viewership Trends , James P. Crone

The Impact of Values Congruence on Sales Personnel Performance and Retention: A Person-Organization Fit Analysis , Jason Duke

Using Consumer-Generated Social Media Posts to Improve Forecasts of Television Premiere Viewership: Extending Diffusion of Innovation Theory , Robert Casey Goodman

Sustainable Investing: Navigating the Inefficiencies of an Inefficient Market , Dale Herndon

Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas: Examining the Influence of Postsecondary Education , Cathy Hill

Reestablishing Organizational Stability Through Leading Resilience: Avoiding the Maelstrom of Personal Distress Caused by an Organizational Disruption , Wallace Andrew Huey Jr

Management Perceptions of the Value of Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery and Development , Scott P. Murray

Innovative Investment and Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities and Barriers for State Governments in a Disruptive Global Environment , Nkiruka Catherine Ohaegbu

Assessing B2G Customer/Contractor Relationships Using Social Exchange Theory During the Search and Selection Stage , Mitchell Lee Reed

The Concept of Digital Twins and its Impact on Organizational Performance , Deepa Vivekanandan

Transforming Leader Selection in the U.S. Army--the Battalion Command Assessment Program , Joseph Williams

Dissertations from 2021 2021

The ESG Behaviors of Multinational Enterprises: An Exploration of Emerging and Developed Market Norms , Julie A. Anderson

Balancing Focal and Client Firm Employee Identification and Acculturation Tensions: A Case Study Approach at a BPO Firm , Jonna B. Blount

Technology Usage to Manage Client Growth: Understanding Robo-Advisor Adoption Among Registered Investment Firms , Kevin Chalk

Consumer Preferences Towards Book Formats: How to Address Technological Disruption in the Publishing Industry , Gustavo Cotrino

An Examination of the Role of vCISO in SMBs: An Information Security Governance Exploration , William Dicker

Phenomenological Assessment of Integrative Medicine Decision-making and the Utility of Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics Tools , Osie Gaines

Industry 4.0 Technology: A Cross-Industry View of Adoption, Usage and COVID-19 Effects , Dawn Gregory

Do Age and On-screen Reading vs. On-paper Reading Affect Reader’s Trust and Risk in Reading Financial Content? , John Harrison

Social Entrepreneurship Within A Capitalist Economy , Audria King

The Impact of Deliberation Time on Ethical Decision Quality: A Study of Early-Career Professional Accountants , Ricki Livingston

Time-Varying Style Rotation by Small-Cap Mutual Fund Managers: Incentives and Implications , Peter McGaffigan

Reconciling External Clinical Data: Providers’ Friend Or Foe? , Mindy Oberg

Growing The Pie: How Supplier Diversity Can Enable Minority Businesses to Create Stakeholder Value , Ashok Kasi Vairavan

Analyzing the Budget and Strategic Plan Relationship: A Case Study Approach , Tina Wilson

Dissertations from 2020 2020

What Community and Organizational Factors Affect Care and Financial Performance of U.S. Hospitals? , Esther Chance

Identity Work in Career Transition: Lessons for Human Resources Development in the Verification of Identity in Career Transition , Jennifer Crenshaw

Organizational Innovativeness Among Employees in an IT Operations Organization: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective , Darrell D. Crull

An Analysis of Generational Differences in the Selection and Pursuit of Professional Certification , Dania El-Eter

Does Board Connectedness Contribute to Firms Performance During A Financial Crisis? , Rajendra Prasad Gangavarapu

Leadership Style and Organizational Structure Alignment: Impact on Innovativeness and Business Performance , Charles Ifedi

Don’t Be Left out in the Cold: An Examination of Organizational Innovativeness and Its Influence on the Capacity to Innovate in Cold Chain Third Party Logistics Firms , Anna Johnson

Dynamic Capabilities in Microfinance Innovation: A Case Study of The Grameen Foundation , Sarah Kayongo

Digital Innovation towards a Service-Dominant Business: A Clinical Inquiry into Georgia Pacific's Connected Restroom Initiative , Jung Hwan Kim

An Exploratory Study of The Factors Affecting Hospital Performance: Safety, Clinic Care, Patient Experience, Efficiency and Cost , Shevon Lewis

Factors Affecting the Financial Performance of US Children’s Hospitals: An Exploratory Study , Jimmy Mahgoub

Role of Social Capital in Crowd Funding Campaigns: Exploring Factors That Fuel Success in Crowd Funding Campaigns , Babu V. Manikandan

Reinvigorating Maneuver Warfare: An Organizational Learning Analysis of A Failed Strategic Initiative , Bryan P. McCoy

The Role of Collaborative Governance in Blockchain-Enabled Supply Chains: A Proposed Framework , Denise McCurdy

A Phenomenological Analysis of Information Security Reporting: A Paradoxical Perspective , Robin L. Moore

The Future of the AICPA Peer Review Program: The Impact of Age , Henry Okwuchukwu Onwumbiko

Influence Of Developer Sentiment And Stack Overflow Developers On Open Source Project Success: An Empirical Examination , Johnson Rajakumar

Factors Influencing Surgeon Adoption of Technology in the Medical Device Industry , Sean Reynolds

Career Transitions in the Digital Age: Mastering the Art of Communicating Career Direction Clarity , Daphne J. Schechter

Sustainable Organization of a Lean Six Sigma Program: A Competing Values Perspective , Marilyn J. Tom

Dissertations from 2019 2019

Enterprise Implementations: The Impact of Systems Implementations Using Professional Services Consultants vs. Internal Resources and the Downstream Impact Post Implementations , Yves Belmont

Hybrid Entrepreneurs’ Intention to Transition to Full Entrepreneurship: A Career Approach , Simoon Cannon

The Changing Economics of Attaining Post-Secondary Education in the U.S.: An Analysis by Stakeholder: Employer, Student, and Government , Sheila Cappel

Partnering People with Deep Learning Systems: Human Cognitive Effects of Explanations , Sean Dougherty

Real-Time Push Mobile Marketing Strategy: To What Extent Do Time and Relevance Matter? , Alvin Glay

Corporate Sustainability: The Impact of Corporate Leadership Gender On Year-Over-Year Performance , Jennoa R. Graham

Job Aid or Job Slayed? The Perceived Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Medical and Legal Work , Jessica Louise Helsten

Organizational Learning Through Disruptive Digital Innovation. A Blockchain Implementation , Veneetia Johnson

Drivers of Success to Effective Entrepreneurship: A Comparison of Immigrant and Native-born Perceptions , Irina Kozlovski

Improving the Employee Transition Experience: A Practical Business Application for Design Thinking , Aleta W. Richards

A Study of Permanent Residency Intentions and Behaviors by Highly Skilled Temporary Chinese Migrants in the United States , Chloe Shay

Healthcare Group Purchasing Organizations: Who’s Really Saving? An Empirical Investigation of Hospital Characteristics That Influence Supply Expense for Healthcare GPO Members , Kenneth Stinson

Does Market Visioning Competence Mediate or Moderate the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Product Innovativeness? , John Stowell

Digital Member Network Implementation and Coproduction: An Investigation of an Alumni Association Network , Derrick Warren

Dissertations from 2018 2018

Microfinance Performance: The Dynamics Between Performance and Funding Sources Across Microfinance Institution Legal Charters and Age Groups , Anthony Annan

Why do Low R2 Hedge Funds have Low R2? An Empirical Study of the Performance and Risk of Low R2 Funds , Arnab Banerjee

Organizational Readiness for the disruptive technology of autonomous commercial vehicles (ACV): What is the readiness of the trucking carriers? , Melvin Dukes

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A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

• The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
• The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
• The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
• The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
• The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

• What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
• Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
• How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

• Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
• Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
• Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

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