Using the Case Survey Method for Synthesizing Case Study Evidence in Information Systems Research

摘要

A common characteristic of the IS discipline is that the bulk of the empirical evidence is embodied in case studies. However, the ever-growing body of case based evidence also constitutes a major challenge to the IS discipline. Although each case study may provide rich insights into specific phenomena, it is difficult to generalize on the basis of single-N or small-N case studies. What IS research would benefit from is a method that allows for the quantitative inquiry of the vast amount of primarily qualitative case studies. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the case survey method as new mode of inquiry to supplement the rich repertoire of IS review methods. Therefore, we show how the case survey method is embedded in the landscape of review methods used in IS research and what its principal stages, techniques, limitations and potentials are.