Content
Prof. Rebecca Piekkari (Aalto University School of Business)
- Date: calender week 11, 2026
- Time: tbc
- Location: tbc
- Title: Case studies – A research strategy to reconcile theory and context
- Abstract: One of the main strengths of the qualitative case study is its ability to address ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. However, it is not possible to answer these questions adequately and explain social phenomena without taking context seriously. In this workshop, I will argue that the case study is a superior research strategy for reconciling theory and context. This can be achieved through contextual theorizing. This style of theorizing aims at building distinctive theories of complex phenomena by turning away from the pursuit of general, universal theories. In case studies, the research context is essential - not a hindrance - to theorizing; it is seen to have explanatory power. Case researchers treat context holistically, rather than extracting out variables and relationships of interest. For them, context is not just description or something external to the study; rather, it is constitutive of the phenomena under study. Case studies are also close to the practitioners’ world and therefore their use reduces the risk of producing theories that are obsolete or irrelevant for explaining the social world – a world that is marked by dynamism, causal complexity as well as the situatedness of social action in time and space. Thus, in this workshop, I intend to cover the following topics: 1) define what contextual theorizing is, 2) explain why context matters for theorizing, and 3) illustrate how your research projects could benefit from case studies as a research strategy. This workshop will prepare you to better defend your own methodological choices and improve your research practice.
Service
