IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/rvmgts/v17y2023i2d10.1007_s11846-023-00628-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Necessary condition analysis (NCA): review of research topics and guidelines for good practice

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Dul

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Sven Hauff

    (Helmut Schmidt University)

  • Ricarda B. Bouncken

    (University of Bayreuth)

Abstract

Necessary condition analysis (NCA) is an increasingly used or suggested method in many business and management disciplines including, for example, entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business, marketing, operations, public and nonprofit management, strategic management, and tourism. In the light of this development, our work delivers a review of the topics analyzed with NCA or in which NCA is proposed as a method. The review highlights the tremendous possibilities of using NCA, which hopefully encourages other researchers to try the method. To support researchers in future NCA studies, this article also provides detailed guidelines about how to best use NCA. These cover eight topics: theoretical justification, meaningful data, scatter plot, ceiling line, effect size, statistical test, bottleneck analysis, and further descriptions of NCA.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Dul & Sven Hauff & Ricarda B. Bouncken, 2023. "Necessary condition analysis (NCA): review of research topics and guidelines for good practice," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 683-714, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:17:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11846-023-00628-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11846-023-00628-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11846-023-00628-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11846-023-00628-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naval Garg, 2020. "Promoting Organizational Performance in Indian Insurance Industry: The Roles of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(3), pages 834-849, June.
    2. Richter, Nicole Franziska & Martin, Jonathan & Hansen, Sofie V. & Taras, Vasyl & Alon, Ilan, 2021. "Motivational configurations of cultural intelligence, social integration, and performance in global virtual teams," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 351-367.
    3. Du, Yunzhou & Kim, Phillip H., 2021. "One size does not fit all: Strategy configurations, complex environments, and new venture performance in emerging economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 272-285.
    4. Hayat, Naeem & Salameh, Anas A. & Malik, Haider Ali & Yaacob, Mohd Rafi, 2022. "Exploring the adoption of wearable healthcare devices among the Pakistani adults with dual analysis techniques," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Alice Schmuck & Katarina Lagerström & James Sallis, 2022. "Turning the Tables: The Relationship Between Performance and Multinationality," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 3-26, February.
    6. Mohammad Soltani Delgosha & Tahereh Saheb & Nastaran Hajiheydari, 2021. "Correction to: Modelling the Asymmetrical Relationships between Digitalisation and Sustainable Competitiveness: A Cross-Country Configurational Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1339-1339, September.
    7. Kopplin, Cristopher Siegfried & Rösch, Stella Franca, 2021. "Equifinal causes of sustainable clothing purchase behavior: An fsQCA analysis among generation Y," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Xuan Wei & Wei Chen, 2019. "How Does A Firm’s Previous Social Network Position Affect Innovation? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Fredrich, Viktor & Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Tiberius, Victor, 2022. "Dyadic business model convergence or divergence in alliances? – A configurational approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 300-308.
    10. Dabić, Marina & Marzi, Giacomo & Vlačić, Božidar & Daim, Tugrul U. & Vanhaverbeke, Wim, 2021. "40 years of excellence: An overview of Technovation and a roadmap for future research," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    11. Sharma, Anshuman & Dwivedi, Rohita & Mariani, Marcello M. & Islam, Tahir, 2022. "Investigating the effect of advertising irritation on digital advertising effectiveness: A moderated mediation model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    12. Bokhorst, Jos A.C. & Knol, Wilfred & Slomp, Jannes & Bortolotti, Thomas, 2022. "Assessing to what extent smart manufacturing builds on lean principles," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    13. Lankoski, Jussi & Lankoski, Leena, 2023. "Environmental sustainability in agriculture: Identification of bottlenecks," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    14. Richter, Nicole Franziska & Hauff, Sven, 2022. "Necessary conditions in international business research–Advancing the field with a new perspective on causality and data analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    15. Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin & Theresa Maria Rausch, 2022. "Above and beyond meat: the role of consumers’ dietary behavior for the purchase of plant-based food substitutes," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1335-1364, July.
    16. Guoyuan Han & Zhilin Zhang, 2022. "Regional innovation paths selection in complex environments of China: A configurational perspective," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2598-2606, September.
    17. Mohammad Soltani Delgosha & Tahereh Saheb & Nastaran Hajiheydari, 2021. "Modelling the Asymmetrical Relationships between Digitalisation and Sustainable Competitiveness: A Cross-Country Configurational Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1317-1337, September.
    18. Wangoo Lee & Chul Jeong, 2020. "Beyond the correlation between tourist eudaimonic and hedonic experiences: necessary condition analysis," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(17), pages 2182-2194, September.
    19. Zahoor, Nadia & Khan, Zaheer & Shenkar, Oded, 2023. "International vertical alliances within the international business field: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(1).
    20. Kumar, Satish & Sahoo, Saumyaranjan & Lim, Weng Marc & Kraus, Sascha & Bamel, Umesh, 2022. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    21. Bhattacharyya, Jishnu & Balaji, M.S. & Jiang, Yangyang, 2023. "Causal complexity of sustainable consumption: Unveiling the equifinal causes of purchase intentions of plant-based meat alternatives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    22. Gantert, Till M. & Fredrich, Viktor & Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Kraus, Sascha, 2022. "The moral foundations of makerspaces as unconventional sources of innovation: A study of narratives and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1564-1574.
    23. Fredrich, Viktor & Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Kraus, Sascha, 2019. "The race is on: Configurations of absorptive capacity, interdependence and slack resources for interorganizational learning in coopetition alliances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 862-868.
    24. Dul, J. & Hak, A. & Goertz, G. & Voss, C., 2010. "Necessary Condition Hypotheses in Operations Management," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2010-019-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    25. Tóth, Zsófia & Dul, Jan & Li, Chunxiao (Spring), 2019. "Necessary condition analysis in tourism research," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    26. Sukhov, Alexandre & Olsson, Lars E. & Friman, Margareta, 2022. "Necessary and sufficient conditions for attractive public Transport: Combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 239-250.
    27. Pedro Torres & Pedro Godinho, 2022. "Levels of necessity of entrepreneurial ecosystems elements," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 29-45, June.
    28. Jon Bokrantz & Jan Dul, 2023. "Building and testing necessity theories in supply chain management," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 59(1), pages 48-65, January.
    29. Sascha Kraus & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano & Miriam Schüssler, 2018. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in entrepreneurship and innovation research – the rise of a method," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 15-33, March.
    30. Sebastian Kobarg & Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim & Christopher Schlägel & Isabell M. Welpe, 2020. "Green together? The effects of companies’ innovation collaboration with different partner types on ecological process and product innovation," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(9), pages 953-990, October.
    31. Yang, Jialei & Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, Pia, 2022. "Evolving appropriability – Variation in the relevance of appropriability mechanisms across industries," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    32. Eggers, Fabian & Risselada, Hans & Niemand, Thomas & Robledo, Sebastian, 2022. "Referral campaigns for software startups: The impact of network characteristics on product adoption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 309-324.
    33. Barbara Vis & Jan Dul, 2018. "Analyzing Relationships of Necessity Not Just in Kind But Also in Degree," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 47(4), pages 872-899, November.
    34. Frommeyer, Britta & Wagner, Elisa & Hossiep, C. Richard & Schewe, Gerhard, 2022. "The utility of intention as a proxy for sustainable buying behavior – A necessary condition analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 201-213.
    35. Farzin Arbabi & Seyed Mohammad Khansari & Aidin Salamzadeh & Abbas Gholampour & Pejman Ebrahimi & Maria Fekete-Farkas, 2022. "Social Networks Marketing, Value Co-Creation, and Consumer Purchase Behavior: Combining PLS-SEM and NCA," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-21, September.
    36. Stav Fainshmidt & Michael A Witt & Ruth V Aguilera & Alain Verbeke, 2020. "The contributions of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 455-466, June.
    37. Luis Miguel Bolívar & José Luis Roldán & Ignacio Castro-Abancéns & Cristóbal Casanueva, 2022. "Speed of International Expansion: The Mediating Role of Network Resources Mobilisation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 541-568, August.
    38. Battistoni, Elisa & Gitto, Simone & Murgia, Gianluca & Campisi, Domenico, 2023. "Adoption paths of digital transformation in manufacturing SME," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    39. Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin & Till Marius Gantert & Julia Verena Maier, 2022. "Acceptance of matchmaking tools in coworking spaces: an extended perspective," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(6), pages 1911-1943, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hong Huo & Quanxi Li, 2022. "Influencing Factors of the Continuous Use of a Knowledge Payment Platform—Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Based on Triadic Reciprocal Determinism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Kumar, Satish & Sahoo, Saumyaranjan & Lim, Weng Marc & Kraus, Sascha & Bamel, Umesh, 2022. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Richter, Nicole Franziska & Hauff, Sven, 2022. "Necessary conditions in international business research–Advancing the field with a new perspective on causality and data analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    4. Jon Bokrantz & Jan Dul, 2023. "Building and testing necessity theories in supply chain management," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 59(1), pages 48-65, January.
    5. Nicole F. Richter & Sven Hauff & Christian M. Ringle & Siegfried P. Gudergan, 2022. "The Use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and Complementary Methods in International Management Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 449-470, August.
    6. Gkillas, Konstantinos & Manickavasagam, Jeevananthan & Visalakshmi, S., 2022. "Effects of fundamentals, geopolitical risk and expectations factors on crude oil prices," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Deist, Maximilian K. & McDowell, William C. & Bouncken, Ricarda B., 2023. "Digital units and digital innovation: Balancing fluidity and stability for the Creation, Conversion, and Dissemination of sticky knowledge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Baihui Jin & Wei Li, 2023. "External Factors Impacting Residents’ Participation in Waste Sorting Using NCA and fsQCA Methods on Pilot Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Anh Thi Nguyen & Alrence S. Halibas & Robert McClelland & Nguyen Hoang Thuan, 2024. "Configurational analysis of conditions influencing customers’ channel switching intention in omnichannel retailing: a fuzzy-set analysis," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 141-178, February.
    10. Xiaomiao Yin & Lirong Xing & Chunxiao Cui, 2023. "The Impact of Multi-Dimensional Vectors on China’s Agricultural Products Export: Based on fsQCA," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Peng, Benhong & Zhao, Yinyin & Elahi, Ehsan & Wan, Anxia, 2022. "Pathway and key factor identification of third-party market cooperation of China's overseas energy investment projects," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    12. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Aslam, Muhammad Mahmood & Gantert, Till Marius & Kallmuenzer, Andreas, 2023. "New work design for knowledge creation and sustainability: An empirical study of coworking-spaces," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    13. René Vásquez-Ordóñez, Luis & Lassala, Carlos & Ulrich, Klaus & Ribeiro-Navarrete, Samuel, 2023. "Efficiency factors in the financing of renewable energy projects through crowdlending," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    14. Bacon, Emily & Williams, Michael D. & Davies, Gareth, 2020. "Coopetition in innovation ecosystems: A comparative analysis of knowledge transfer configurations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 307-316.
    15. Sukhov, Alexandre & Friman, Margareta & Olsson, Lars E., 2023. "Unlocking potential: An integrated approach using PLS-SEM, NCA, and fsQCA for informed decision making," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Espeche, José Francisco Tragant & Sacristán-Navarro, María & Zúñiga-Vicente, José Ángel & Crespo, Nuno Fernandes, 2023. "Innovation and internationalisation during times of economic growth, crisis, and recovery prior to Covid-19: A configurational approach comparing Spanish manufacturing family and non-family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1).
    17. Romero-Castro, N. & López-Cabarcos, M.A. & Piñeiro-Chousa, J., 2023. "Finance, technology, and values: A configurational approach to the analysis of rural entrepreneurship," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    18. Du, Yunzhou & Kim, Phillip H., 2021. "One size does not fit all: Strategy configurations, complex environments, and new venture performance in emerging economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 272-285.
    19. Anna Kwiotkowska & Magdalena Gębczyńska, 2022. "Job Satisfaction and Work Characteristics Combinations in Industry 4.0 Environment—Insight from the Polish SMEs in the Post–Pandemic Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-18, October.
    20. Gorgijevski, Alexander N. & Andrews, Daniel S., 2022. "Getting the seal of approval: Pathways to subsidiary initiative acceptance," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Necessary condition analysis; NCA; Review of topics in NCA; Method review; Guidelines;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C80 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - General
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:17:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s11846-023-00628-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.