IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v51y2020i3p136-152.html

In search of theory? The workplace case study tradition in the 21st century

Author

Listed:
  • Patrick McGovern

Abstract

Workplace case studies have been valued by some for their ability to advance theory while others dismiss them as little more than descriptive stories. This paper presents a detailed content analysis of case study articles to assess the relative balance between theory, conceptual analysis and description. Drawing on a random sample of papers (n = 173) published in leading journals, I find that fewer than one in seven are descriptive papers while only one in ten are theory oriented. Using three criteria, I identify exemplars of theoretical and conceptual analysis and show how these may be used to advance the field.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick McGovern, 2020. "In search of theory? The workplace case study tradition in the 21st century," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 136-152, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:51:y:2020:i:3:p:136-152
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12285
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12285
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12285?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lijphart, Arend, 1971. "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 682-693, September.
    2. Denis Harrisson & Mario Roy & Victor Haines III, 2011. "Union Representatives in Labour–Management Partnerships: Roles and Identities in Flux," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(3), pages 411-435, September.
    3. Peter Nolan, 2012. "Understanding the employment relationship: markets, hierarchies and power," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 359-369, July.
    4. Ian Greer & Marco Hauptmeier, 2008. "Political Entrepreneurs and Co‐Managers: Labour Transnationalism at Four Multinational Auto Companies," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(1), pages 76-97, March.
    5. Paul Blyton & Jean Jenkins, 2013. "Mobilizing Protest: Insights from Two Factory Closures," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 733-753, December.
    6. Shalene Chugh & Philip Hancock, 2009. "Networks of aestheticization: the architecture, artefacts and embodiment of hairdressing salons," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(3), pages 460-476, September.
    7. Gerring, John, 2004. "What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(2), pages 341-354, May.
    8. Kristina Håkansson & Tommy Isidorsson, 2014. "The trade union response to agency labour in Sweden," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 22-38, January.
    9. William Brown & Martyn Wright, 1994. "The Empirical Tradition in Workplace Bargaining Research," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 153-164, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. McGovern, Patrick, 2024. "The new pluralism: interests, identity and social change," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124363, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    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. McGovern, Patrick, 2020. "In search of theory? The workplace case study tradition in the 21st century," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103926, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Gregor Murray & Christian Lévesque & Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2013. "Special Issue. Edited by: Gregor Murray, Christian Lévesque, Christian Dufour and Adelheid Hege," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 340-354, July.
    3. Gustav Lidén, 2013. "What about theory? The consequences on a widened perspective of social theory," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 213-225, January.
    4. Patrick McGovern & Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, 2017. "Who takes workplace case-study methods seriously? The influence of gender, academic rank and PhD training," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 98-114, March.
    5. McGovern, Patrick & Alburez-Gutierrez, Diego, 2017. "Who takes workplace case study seriously? The influence of gender, academic rank and PhD traning," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69806, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Ragnhild Nordås, 2014. "Religious demography and conflict: Lessons from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 146-166, June.
    7. Lawrence Sáez, 2013. "Methods in governance research: a review of research approaches," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-017-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    8. Jessica Weber, 2023. "Coordination Challenges in Wind Energy Development: Lessons from Cross-Case Positive Planning Approaches to Avoid Multi-Level Governance ‘Free-Riding’," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-25, October.
    9. Hugo Consciência Silvestre, 2017. "Themed Issue: Cash Transfers and Microfinance," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(5), pages 703-720, September.
    10. Slawomir Czech & Magdalena Tusinska, 2016. "Economic growth, public debt and social spending. Should welfare state take the blame?," Ekonomia i Prawo, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 15(1), pages 33-45, March.
    11. Paula Alejandra Algarra Saavedra3, 2023. "Escasez de órganos: impacto del uso de opciones predeterminadas para la donación en países en vía de desarrollo," Documentos de trabajo 20775, Escuela de Gobierno - Universidad de los Andes.
    12. Klebolte, Kimberly, 2021. "Employment Protection Legislation, Youth Unemployment and the Role of the Educational System," Junior Management Science (JUMS), Junior Management Science e. V., vol. 6(1), pages 60-80.
    13. Petteri Repo & Kaisa Matschoss, 2019. "Social Innovation for Sustainability Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Denis Harrisson & Mario Roy & Victor Haines III, 2011. "Union Representatives in Labour–Management Partnerships: Roles and Identities in Flux," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(3), pages 411-435, September.
    15. Michael Dougherty & Tricia Olsen, 2014. "Taking Terrain Literally: Grounding Local Adaptation to Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(3), pages 423-434, February.
    16. Peter W. de Langen & Henrik Sornn-Friese & James Hallworth, 2020. "The Role of Port Development Companies in Transitioning the Port Business Ecosystem; The Case of Port of Amsterdam’s Circular Activities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, May.
    17. Andersson Fredrik O. & Ford Michael, 2017. "Entry Barriers and Nonprofit Founding Rates: An Examination of the Milwaukee Voucher School Population," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 71-90, January.
    18. Jennifer Robinson, 2011. "Cities in a World of Cities: The Comparative Gesture," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 1-23, January.
    19. Gisselquist, Rachel M., 2020. "How the cases you choose affect the answers you get, revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    20. Poteete, Amy R. & Ostrom, Elinor, 2008. "Fifteen Years of Empirical Research on Collective Action in Natural Resource Management: Struggling to Build Large-N Databases Based on Qualitative Research," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 176-195, January.

    More about this item

    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:bla:indrel:v:51:y:2020:i:3:p:136-152. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    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.