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Case Study Research in Supply Chains — An Outline and Three Examples

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Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management

Summary

Supply chain management implies that companies cooperate in delivering products and services to customers. As a consequence, related empirical research should collect data from more than one stage of the supply chain. This has rarely been the case so far, as often only one company is approached, implicitly carrying the problem that statements on the supply chain cannot be validated by a view from other participants. Therefore, it is important to select appropriate supply chains and companies for empirical research on supply chain management. One research method that can be applied in such a setting is case study research. This method allows a flexible data collection, which is appropriate for analyzing supply chains and managerial issues therein. While research in supply chain management imposes further difficulties, it also carries the chance to validate collected data by triangulating information obtained at different stages of the supply chain. This paper will outline some basic issues on case study research, and also portray three examples of how such research has been conducted.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Supply Chain Management Center, Institute for Business Administration, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    PD Dr. Stefan Seuring Dipl.-Bw., M. Sc. Chem., M. Sc. Env. M.

Authors
  1. PD Dr. Stefan Seuring Dipl.-Bw., M. Sc. Chem., M. Sc. Env. M.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Operations Management SCM-Group, Copenhagen Business School, Solbjerg Plads 3, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Herbert Kotzab

  2. Supply Chain Management Center, Institute of Business Adaministration, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Stefan Seuring  & Martin Müller  & 

  3. Department of Production Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Nordbergstraße 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Gerald Reiner

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Seuring, S. (2005). Case Study Research in Supply Chains — An Outline and Three Examples. In: Kotzab, H., Seuring, S., Müller, M., Reiner, G. (eds) Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-7908-1636-1_16

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