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  • 2019
  • Chapter
  • The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management

The Case Method

By: Joseph L. Bower
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

The case method was developed concurrently with the emergence of business schools as a way of teaching future executives evidence-based problem solving in the classroom. Harvard Business School faculty led in developing the method. A particular challenge in the writing of cases is finding the balance between enough complexity, so that the problem posed reflects reality and supports alternative approaches to resolution, and too much complexity, which makes it impossible for the student to prepare. A great virtue of the method is that it replicates the managerial work involved in solving a problem within a group.

Keywords

Case Method; Case Studies; Case Teaching; Problem-based Learning; Cases; Learning; Teaching

Citation

Bower, Joseph L. "The Case Method." In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Continuously updated edition, edited by Mie Augier and David J. Teece. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Electronic. (Pre-published, June 2016.)
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About The Author

Joseph L. Bower

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More from the Author
  • JPMorgan Chase's Path Forward By: Joseph L. Bower, Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael Norris
  • Capitalism at Risk: How Business Can Lead By: Joseph L. Bower, Dutch Leonard and Lynn S. Paine
  • Minneapolis <i>Star Tribune</i> By: Joseph L. Bower, Elizabeth Hansen and Michael Norris
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