Qualitative Comparative Case Study Research Articles

Affordances and constraints of the teacher-to-teacher online marketplace of ideas: understanding early career elementary teachers’ perceptions

Recognizing the role that online platforms hold in education, this study explores how three early career elementary teachers perceive the affordances and constraints of online curriculum sharing platforms. Using pedagogical design capacity as a theoretical framework, we engaged in a comparative qualitative case study to examine the ways early career teachers in differing contexts approach platforms like TeachersPayTeachers and Instagram. Findings emphasize the participants’ perceived affordances and constraints of these platforms and the curricular materials found in these spaces. Additionally, we identify three distinct points of interest for the teaching profession and future research to better understand teachers’ use of these platforms and the application of their pedagogical design capacity when working to supplement and design curriculum.

Frames, interests, and incentives – a typology of institutionalizing RRI in the business sector derived from ten pioneering projects

ABSTRACT While in scientific and policy discourse on responsible research and innovation (RRI) the desirability and sustainability of innovations are central, the business sector follows different logics revolving around competitiveness, profits, and growth. They manifest themselves in different discursive frames, indicate potentially conflicting interests, and allow specific incentive mechanisms to be utilized. This paper builds on discursive institutionalism, presents a qualitative comparative case study of ten EU-funded pioneering projects, and derives a generalized typology. It contributes to the theoretical debate on institutionalizing RRI by applying discursive institutionalism and through a nuanced understanding of three leverage points for organizational change in the business sector. We conclude that frames, interests, and incentives are interlinked phenomena and thus should be considered comprehensively. As our typology addresses specific contexts at regional, corporate and process level, it can be further utilized to develop tailored policies and strategies capable of institutionalizing RRI in the business sector.

STRING OF PEARLS AND NECKLACE OF DIAMONDS: SINO-INDIAN GEO-STRATEGIC COMPETITION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

The Indian Ocean holds immense vitality for its strategic trade routes and choke points. China and India are Asia’s two rising powers, who aim to dominate the Indian Ocean to satisfy their regional and global ambitions. This competitiveness for regional influence has resulted in geo-strategic competition in the Indian Ocean. China, through the strategy of ‘String of Pearls’, has increased its naval footprint by building ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. India has similarly responded with an alternative counterbalancing strategy ‘Necklace of Diamonds’ by deepening its relations and partnership with Iran, Oman, Singapore, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and other regional countries. This qualitative exploratory comparative case study finds that: China through its String of Pearls strategy intends to achieve great power status, boost its economy, and address its security concerns, especially those related with the Malacca Dilemma. India, through its Necklace of Diamonds strategy, is trying to counterbalance Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, India intends to enhance its political and economic clout – being the rising power of the region.

Navigating the micro-politics of major system change: The implementation of Sustainability Transformation Partnerships in the English health and care system.

To investigate how health and care leaders navigate the micro-politics of major system change (MSC) as manifest in the formulation and implementation of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) in the English National Health Service (NHS). A comparative qualitative case study of three STPs carried out between 2018-2021. Data collection comprised 72 semi-structured interviews with STP leaders and stakeholders; 49h of observations of STP executive meetings, management teams and thematic committees, and documentary sources. Interpretative analysis involved developing individual and cross case reports to understand the 'disagreements, 'people and interests' and the 'skills, behaviours and practice'. Three linked political fault-lines underpinned the micro-politics of formulating and implementing STPs: differences in meaning and value, perceptions of winners and losers, and structural differences in power and influence. In managing these issues, STP leaders engaged in a range of complementary strategies to understand and reconcile meanings, appraise and manage risks and benefits, and to redress longstanding power imbalances, as well as those related to their own ambiguous position. Given the lack of formal authority and breadth of system change, navigating the micro-politics of MSC requires political skills in listening and engagement, strategic appraisal of the political landscape and effective negotiation and consensus-building.

The "autonomy" of developing countries in the Olympic Movement: Assessing the fate of sports governance transplants in the Global South.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) imposes very specific ideas on sports governance, more precisely on sports autonomy, on countries joining the Olympic Movement. Given that the idea of sports autonomy originated in the Global North, this article introduces the concept of governance transplants to evaluate the impact that being part of the Olympic Movement has on domestic sports governance in Global South developing countries. The article explores the extent to which the IOC is successful in implementing the norms and regulations on sports autonomy as a governance transplant at the national level in countries from the Global South that are part of the Olympic Movement. The article employs a comparative qualitative case study research design that explores the relations of the IOC, National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and national governments in Botswana, Guatemala and Sri Lanka. Research relies on a mix of document analyses and expert semi-structured interviews conducted during field trips to those countries. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed by means of thematic analysis. The analyses focus on domestic policies and contexts, formal and institutional compliance with sports autonomy, provision of public funding, and participation in national sport policy-making. Findings suggest that national structures and legacies have an impact on the way in which the autonomy of sport, as the governance transplant, is translated in those three countries. Although national governments enjoy some agency in "translating" governance transplants, results also suggest that misfits and tensions persist between governmental and sport stakeholders at the national and international level. Such misfits might force the IOC, as a private transnational regulator, to adopt a more pragmatic view on the enforcing of its governance transplants. The results are of relevance to existing discussions on global sports governance and debates as to whether the countries in the Global North might be able to impose their views and their governance transplants if the Global South gets a greater say in transnational sports governance.

Implementing Equity and Equality at the Frontline in Two Contrasting Welfare-To-Work (WTW) Organizations in California

ABSTRACT This study provides a comparative qualitative case study on two welfare-to-work (WTW) offices with a different understanding of equity and equality. By analyzing organizational documents (n = 27), manager interviews (n = 10), observations of worker-client interactions (n = 13) and worker interviews (n = 13), we find cross-case and within-case variation on frontline worker practices. In the equality-oriented organization, workers acknowledge structural differences, but their practices are more focused on gender- and color-blind equality in treatment. In the equity-oriented organization, we find that more workers implement equity practices. Our findings suggest that organizational context interplays with the practices and beliefs of frontline workers; hence, shaping the fairness of client treatment.

Analysis of Coastal Community Development in Makassar City, South Sulawesi Indonesia

This research aims to analyze the level of community development of the coastal areas of Makassar city. The research design used is a qualitative descriptive method with an inductive approach. The data sources in this study are the management of each institution, empowered community members, government officials of Makassar city, and the Non-Government Organizations who implement activities in coastal communities. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques used are qualitative data analysis and comparative case study. The results showed that economic development could be felt by traders and economic actors around the reclamation area, while shellfish-seeking fishing communities are experiencing difficulties because of reclamation. The institutional role in the development of tourism in the city of Makassar is still dominated by government agencies; the role is continually active, especially in programs and policies, while implementing many conducted by private parties. The development of marine tourism in coastal areas and small islands is one of the latest approaches to coastal communities. This is a manifestation of the community’s desire to maintain the existence of coastal and marine natural resources for the fulfillment of their needs to be utilized sustainably.

Open strategizing and accelerated internationalization process in different contexts

PurposeDue to the changes in organizational, social, cultural and technological factors, companies from different contexts are shifting towards open forms of strategy-making with more widened inclusion of internal and external actors and greater transparency regarding their strategic issues, including their internationalization processes. The purpose of this paper is to understand how Open Strategizing occurs in the accelerated process of internationalization considering different contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a qualitative comparative case study in Brazilian and English technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which rapidly internationalized. Furthermore, data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and documental analysis.FindingsThe authors suggest that openness contributes to the accelerated process of internationalization. Additionally, the authors show that the home-country and the national cultural contexts affect openness. The authors also disclose openness as crucial and inherent to the accelerated process of internationalization, while context is relevant but not determinant in the Open Strategizing.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to Open Strategy (OS) literature by presenting how Open Strategizing unfolds daily during the internationalization process and by evidencing the role of home-country and national cultural contexts in the configuration and dynamics of Open Strategizing. The authors also contribute to the international entrepreneurship (IE) literature by advancing the understanding of the strategies and drivers adopted by technology-based SMEs internationalizing in an accelerated way.

Training physicians and residents for the use of Electronic Health Records-A comparative case study between two hospitals.

Despite widespread use of Electronic Health Records (EHR), the promise of benefits has not been clearly realised due, in part, to inadequate physician training. Training for EHR use is a highly complex intervention that occurs in a dynamic socio-technical health system. The purpose of this study was to describe and critically assess the interplay between educational activities and organisational factors that influenced EHR training and implementation across two different hospitals. Based in a socio-technical framework, a comparative qualitative case study was undertaken as well suited to real-world processes. Semi-structured interviews were completed (n = 43), representing administrative leaders, staff physicians, residents and EHR trainers from two Canadian academic hospitals. Thematic analysis was employed for analysis. Similar findings were noted at both hospitals despite different implementation strategies. Despite mandatory training, physicians described limited transferability of training to the workplace. Factors contributing to this included standardised vendor modules (lacking specificity for their clinical context); variable EHR trainer expertise; limited post-launch training; and insufficient preparation for changes to workflow. They described learning while caring for patients and using workarounds. Strong emotional responses were described, including anger, frustration, anxiety and fear of harming patients. Training physicians for effective EHR utilisation requires organisational culture transformation as EHRs impacts all aspects of clinical workflows. Analytic thinking to consider workflows, ongoing post-launch training and the recognition of the interdependency of multiple factors are critical to preparing physicians to provide effective clinical care, and potentially reducing burnout. A list of key considerations is provided for educational leaders.

Bouncing forward or bouncing back? How family firms enact resilience in times of crisis

PurposeThe study aims to develop theoretical understanding about how family-run businesses navigate unexpected and highly disruptive events by examining how family-based resilience capacity is variously transformed into an organizational capability.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on a qualitative comparative case study design to explore how Croatian family-run businesses navigated market and operational disruptions brought on by the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and organizational data, this study compares how family-run businesses operating in different industries experienced and coped with disruptions. Using inductive qualitative coding methods, patterns across codes were identified and aggregated into dimensions that describe two broad approaches for leveraging family social capital in the enactment of organizational resilience.FindingsThe analysis shows that family-run businesses may employ family social capital in retrospective and prospective ways. A retrospective approach involves targeted and conservative uses of family social capital, wherein the aim is to maintain organizational functioning and return to “business as usual”. In contrast, a prospective approach employs these resources in a more strategic and flexible way to adapt to a “new” future. While both approaches can enable firms to successfully navigate crises, these approaches differ in terms of their temporal orientation and implications for marketing flexibility.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a better understanding of how family social capital can be differentially leveraged in times of crises, and how these differences may stem from having temporal orientations that focus on either preserving the past or adapting to new conditions. The study advances theorizing at the intersection of organizational resilience and family business by deepening understanding of the heterogeneity of ways in which family businesses manage change for long-term business continuity. For owners and managers of family-run business, the study provides insights into how unexpected disruptions can be managed and how businesses might respond to fast-changing market conditions.

Loopholes in developing English communicative competence: A comparative case study of Pakistan and China

This study investigates the challenges faced by Pakistani and Chinese English language instructors in developing communicative competence among senior high school students, and highlights the fundamental loopholes. Employing a thematic analysis within a qualitative comparative case study, the findings reveal learners’ substandard prior knowledge as the biggest loophole in both Pakistan and China, which causes instructors to overuse local languages. There exists misalignment in curriculum, instruction, and assessment; consequently, the instructional practices are drastically examination-oriented producing rote-learners, and significantly hamper the development of communicative competence. Pakistani syllabi appear to be outdated. There is unavailability of modern linguistic resources in Pakistan while the Chinese instructors evade using them despite their availability. Chinese teacher-student interaction and Pakistani parental involvement are bleak. Findings suggest that respective governments should pay attention to their junior high school systems for developing students’ prerequisite knowledge and implement leaner-centered instruction. Pakistani senior high school syllabi should be modified.

Higher education peacebuilding in conflict-affected societies: beyond the good/bad binary

PurposeThis comparative case study looks towards the diverse approaches of higher education to support peacebuilding, from policy and philosophy to pedagogical practices, in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings. The achievement of global development goals is dependent on addressing access to quality education in conflict-affected contexts, including higher education. However, in settings affected by conflict, higher education is often perceived to be a luxury, not a necessity. This study, then, explores whether and how higher education might support peace and development through the unique perspective of the “three faces” of higher education in conflict contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is designed as a qualitative comparative case study. The research examines the work of university educators in two institutions in Afghanistan and Somaliland, highlighting the challenges and opportunities they face working in conflict-affected societies and their pedagogical responses to conflict. Data for the research were collected through in-depth interviews, documents, and digital artifacts with 12 university educators across the two institutions. The faculty teach a wide variety of subjects in the social sciences and humanities, subjects including and in addition to those specific to peace and development studies. To strengthen the interpretation of data, multiple coders were involved and intercoder reliability was conducted.FindingsFindings indicate a number of challenges and opportunities that university lecturers and their institutions face in teaching for peace in conflict-affected contexts, particularly as it relates to the “three faces” of higher education to support, impede, or reveal the complicated nuances of peacebuilding in conflict settings. Member-checking was employed with participants to enhance the reliability of the analysis.Originality/valueIn the end, the paper contributes new empirical insights into higher education in conflict-affected contexts, particularly from the standpoint of faculty. Critical perspectives and implications for curriculum, pedagogy and research are offered.

State Higher Education Funding during COVID-19: Exploring State-Level Characteristics Influencing Financing Decisions

Building on research examining state financing for higher education, our qualitative comparative case study investigates state policymakers’ decisions for funding public higher education during the COVID-19 crisis in California and Texas. These states were purposively selected based on the size of their postsecondary sector, state partisanship, and higher education funding responses during the pandemic. Moreover, these states represent two of the largest public postsecondary enrollments nationally and serve a racially and ethnically diverse student population. Guiding our study is the Hearn and Ness (2018) framework investigating the ecology of state higher education policymaking, which offers four contextual categories that influence state policy decisions: socioeconomic context, organizational and policy context, politico-institutional context, and external context. This framework suggests underlying factors influencing the state funding process, while also providing an opportunity to expand on this theory through the unique COVID-19 context. We used deductive and inductive techniques to analyze 28 interviews with a range of actors, including state elected officials, state government staff, and higher education officials. We also examined 69 documents (state budgets, news articles, and state executive orders) to triangulate and verify our interview data. Two areas served as key events that ultimately influenced higher education funding decisions in California and Texas: (1) the preference of certain higher education institutions and (2) the availability and application of federal dollars. Furthermore, the organizational and policy context and the politico-institutional context, as defined by the Hearn and Ness framework, provided additional state-level factors that resulted in distinct responses. This study offers practical and theoretical contributions to higher education policy and practice, including highlighting the decision-making and prioritization processes of state policymakers when facing an unprecedented pandemic and crisis, and discussing common and unique factors influencing higher education policymaking in two different state contexts.

Catching-up in green industries: the role of product architecture

ABSTRACT As latecomers to the industrialization process, developing countries may face barriers to upgrading from the production of mass-produced goods to higher-value technologies. Scholars have suggested that ‘windows of opportunity’ can temporarily lower entry barriers and provide an opportunity for latecomers to catch up to or even leapfrog incumbents. In this paper, we use the literature on product architecture to build on the concept of windows of opportunity. Specifically, we explore how changes in a technology’s use environment can create opportunities for indigenous innovation and upgrading in specific sub-systems or components of complex technologies. Using a comparative qualitative case study focusing on three renewable energy technologies, we develop a typology of catching-up opportunities in green energy industries. Our findings suggest that policymakers should target certain technologies in their industrial strategies based on certain technology characteristics, and should seek opportunities to capitalize on a local niche that creates a need for innovation.

How Technology Characteristics Shape the Attractiveness of Platform Approaches

Using digital platforms can significantly enhance the performance of firms, which has led firms in various industries to invest in platform approaches. Given that previous research has focused on the software industry, however, we know relatively little about how the attractiveness of platform approaches is shaped by the technological characteristics of physical complements. To investigate this question, we use a qualitative comparative case study in the mobility sector. We find that a higher complexity of physical complements reduces the feasibility and attractiveness of platform business models through three distinct mechanisms, namely the capital intensity of complements, the need for centralized planning and control, and the degree of regulation. By showing that these mechanisms in turn shape winner-takes-all dynamics, our study makes important contributions to the literature on platforms and strategic management .

Babel and Gender: The Relationship between Identity, Clusters and Status

This study explores the role of identity attributes that influence an individual’s association with language-based clusters within multinational enterprises (MNEs). Current research on language in international business has shown that language is a core element of one’s social identity and employees in MNEs can form homophily-based clusters with those who share their native language, and such clusters can significantly influence communication and knowledge sharing within MNEs. However, research assumes that clusters are static and does not take into consideration the role of attributes other than language that could influence individual association with these clusters and the resultant dynamics. We conducted a qualitative comparative case study of two MNE headquarters in India and found evidence of language-based meta- clusters in both organizations and discerned that employees’ linguistic identities often intersect with identities related to gender, regional dialects and education. Our data revealed cleavages in language-based meta-cultures based on dialect-based status differences as well as disassociation from clusters by female employees which seems to be driven by gender-based stereotypes and associated in- and out-group biases. Based on these findings, we develop a process model to explain the dynamic processes by which these identity attributes change the composition of language-based clusters over time. These changes have important consequences for communications and group dynamics within organizations, particularly as they relate to power, status and affect. Keywords: Gender; language; language-based clusters; regional dialects; social identity; status; stereotypes.

Fitting national interests with populist opportunities: intervention politics on the European radical right

As European radical right parties grow in influence, and as foreign and security policy becomes more politicised, these parties have increasing potential to shape national debates on international affairs. This paper shows how radical right opposition parties seek to exploit policy dilemmas surrounding military intervention according to the nature of the political opportunity these dilemmas present in specific national settings. Its findings are based on qualitative comparative case studies of Front National, AfD and UKIP responses to intervention debates surrounding the Syrian civil war in France, Germany and the UK. I find that non-intervention is not an absolute value for radical right parties. Whilst liberal-humanitarian interventions are uniformly rejected, interventions on national security grounds, whether to combat Jihadist threats or prevent uncontrolled migration, prompt a range of responses shaped by the domestic political context. Yet even where these parties back intervention in votes, their discourse focuses on fitting the issue to the populist dimensions of their political agenda, especially attacking mainstream rivals for incompetence, duplicity or incoherence, and failing to protect the sovereignty and ethnic integrity of the nation.

Delivering Blue-Green Infrastructure: Innovation Pathways for Integrating Multiple Values

Realizing a multifunctional blue-green infrastructure (BGI) as a nature-based solution for the urban water system and built environment within crowded city areas is seen as a promising route for the process of climate adaptation. BGI projects like rain gardens, green roofs, and water squares can be combined to achieve a variety of technical (drainage), environmental (biodiversity), economic (property development) and social (health and wellbeing) goals and values at a local neighborhood level. As integrating such values within local governments' existing fragmented structures and procedures has proved to be challenging, urban governments are increasingly experimenting with innovative governance approaches at different levels to capitalize on the multiple benefits of BGI. Nevertheless, policy actors who try to justify their choices in the face of value conflicts are both constrained and enabled by the institutions they can call on. Using a qualitative comparative case study, this article therefore aims to gain insight into different ways of, or approaches to, organizing value integration. In particular, we compare: (1) a top-down case of programmatic steering to translate value integration into a neighborhood approach; (2) a market-oriented innovative procurement approach to local public-private partnership projects; and (3) a case of invitational governance for a future-proof neighborhood that is striving for a sense of citizen ownership. Our findings demonstrate the conditions, drivers, and barriers to the value integration of different governance innovations in relation to time-related issues, the types of support available, organizational embedding, and stakeholder involvement. Our specific focus is on understanding how social and sustainability and spatial and technical values are integrated. This paper thus helps us to get to grips with different pathways to value integration in the context of urban infrastructures, as well as their applicability and the conditions for success. These insights will enable the further strengthening of our capacity to build climate-proof cities in a value-driven and integrative manner.

Muslim consumers’ brand-switching behavior in Lahore and Kuala Lumpur: a qualitative comparative case study

PurposeThe purpose of this qualitative comparative study was to explore the brand-switching behavior of Muslim consumers in selected cities from Pakistan and Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through interviews which were conducted with 30 participants including universities (5), shopping malls (5) and restaurant locations (5) of each country. The constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data.FindingsResults revealed that a demonstration of awareness of American brands, their image and perceived quality causes Muslim consumers to switch away from American brands to non-American brands. In addition, this study also showed that the certain reasons compel consumers to stay with American brands.Practical implicationsThe findings are helpful for American brands in reconsidering their strategies while segmenting the Muslim consumers as target market.Originality/valueThis is the first paper of its kind to explore Muslim consumer brand-switching behavior by using a qualitative method.

Perceptions of factors that facilitate and impede learning among twice-exceptional college students with autism spectrum disorder

This qualitative comparative case study explored the personal perceptions and institutional factors that facilitated academic success, as well as challenges, in college among a sample of 40 academically talented students with autism spectrum disorder (2e/ASD) who were enrolled in highly competitive colleges and universities in the United States. Findings from the study included that the majority had excellent reading and writing skills, but struggled with mathematics. The personal trait that most enabled them to be successful in college, described by 26 of the 40 students, was a driving passion for learning. Half of the participants were motivated to succeed academically by the independence college offers, as well the flexibility to take advantage of a range of opportunities, and the development of their personal autonomy. The majority of the participants indicated that faculty members’ instructional practices were their greatest barriers to learning.