The Value of Case Study Research .doc

The Value of Case Study Research On Rural Entrepreneurship: Useful Method?* David L. Barkley Professor and Co-Director Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory E.D.A. University Center for Economic Development Department of Applied Economics and Statistics Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina dbrkly@ I. Introduction Insights into entrepreneurship and small business development are provided through an extensive research base consisting of the analysis of secondary data, surveys of samples of the populations of interest, and case studies of select individuals, enterprises, or programs. A common perception of these alternative research strategies is that case studies focus on the exploratory and descriptive phases of the research while surveys and the analysis of secondary data are more appropriate for program evaluation and explanatory purposes. Yin (2003) notes, however, that case study methods may be involved in all three roles. (exploratory/descriptive, evaluation, and hypothesis testing). For example, a common use of the case study research methodology is the “evaluation” of businesses and government programs with the goal of identifying potential explanations for their successes or failures. Exploratory and descriptive case studies, on the other hand, examine the development and characteristics of phenomena often with the goal of developing hypotheses of cause – effect relationships. Finally, the use of case study research for hypothesis testing involves tests for causal relationships by comparing generalizations from case studies’ findings with the underlying theory. The purpose of this paper is to review the value of case studies as a useful research methodology for understanding entrepreneurship and small business development in rural areas. First, case studies are defined and the principal types of case studies designs are summarized. Second, examples are provided of the applications of case study methods in exploratory analysis, hy