Learning by doing: Designing case study research for the exploration of strategy formation in hubs

This contribution sets out to develop a valid research design which accommodates the development of a theory in practice (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) about the process of strategy development in evolving territorial forms of organising called hubs. Hubs are thick, polymorph and polycentric networks driven by practitioners, shaped around multiple, wicked and interlinked problems, shared interests, and shared principles (Kamm, Faber, & Jonker, 2016). Throughout Europe we observe an increasing involvement of a broad range of constituents including civilians in these emerging networking forms of organizing, enabling multiple value creation in a cooperative manner while aiming for sustainable transitions on a regional scale. Constituents invest in hubs through various means such as time, energy, money, and other resources that contribute to addressing collaborative solutions for multi-faceted, ‘wicked’ problems (Faber & Jonker, 2015; Weber & Khademian, 2008). They commonly benefit from the results generated by processes of multiple, collective, and shared value creation (Faber & Jonker, 2015). Our objective is to develop a valid methodological framework which accommodates the building of a general explanation (Yin, 2009) about the process of strategy development in hubs. It is argued that multiple longitudinal, retrospective case studies are obligatory in order to understand how the process of crafting a strategy emerges in individual hubs. We will test and adjust our methodological framework by conducting three case studies in the spring of 2017. Preliminary findings on both the methodological framework and the results of the case studies will be presented.