Why Teaching Case Research Writing Conventions Need to Change

What is it about?

We discuss how writing conventions in the teaching case genre are preventing publication of pedagogically valuable cases. We describe how the mainstream case publishing process works, including the case conventions researchers must follow, and explain how the strict adherence to these conventions can conflict with the trustworthiness of case data, as well as with pedagogical objectives. We recommend that the case publishing community should allow more flexibility in how cases are written in recognition of their scholarly purpose, and we provide concrete suggestions for how to accomplish this cultural shift.

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Photo by GoodNotes 5 on Unsplash

Photo by GoodNotes 5 on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Teaching cases are a signature pedagogy in management education, yet it is challenging to address many contemporary concerns using teaching cases, because case writing conventions limit what can be published.