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Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research

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  • Bent Flyvbjerg

Abstract

This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (1) Theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (2) One cannot generalize from a single case, therefore the single case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (3) The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, while other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (4) The case study contains a bias toward verification; and (5) It is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. The article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and that a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of more good case studies.

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  • Bent Flyvbjerg, 2013. "Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research," Papers 1304.1186, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:1304.1186
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    Cited by:

    1. Sixiao Xu, 2018. "Hedge Fund Activism and Corporate Life Stage: Case Studies of High-technology Companies," Journal of Business, LAR Center Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-12, January.
    2. Natasha Evers, 2010. "Factors influencing the internationalisation of new ventures in the Irish aquaculture industry: An exploratory study," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 392-416, December.
    3. Sarah Schiffling & Claire Hannibal & Matthew Tickle & Yiyi Fan, 2022. "The implications of complexity for humanitarian logistics: a complex adaptive systems perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 319(1), pages 1379-1410, December.
    4. Caitlin McMullin, 2023. "The Persistent Constraints of New Public Management on Sustainable Co-Production between Non-Profit Professionals and Service Users," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    5. Karl Pajo & Louise Lee, 2011. "Corporate-Sponsored Volunteering: A Work Design Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 467-482, March.
    6. Mikel AGIRRE-MASKARIANO, 2019. "Resisting Against Speculative Urban Regeneration In The Shrinking City Of Ferrol," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 5-29, February.

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