The Role of Case Studies in Informing Systems: Introduction to the Special Series

The purpose of this introductory article is to provide an overview of the contributions that make up this Special Series of Informing Science on The Role of Case Studies in Informing Systems, summarizing the major findings and discussing the key issues. In the first two articles, the founder of a leading consultancy and a veteran Harvard Business School professor offer their unique insights on the multiple dimensions and complexities of the case method, the first highlighting the parallels between business leadership and case teaching as informing systems, and the second revealing the multiple pathways of informing through case research. The next two articles are examples of discussion cases that have opened new informing patterns among researchers, case protagonists, and members of society, having produced impacts that extend to small farmers in Central America and delinquent gangs in Venezuela. The next two articles involve innovations in case development and teaching that open still further informing pathways: the organization of undergraduate students as case writers, interacting with protagonists and leading CEO’s in Croatia, and the new informing patterns in case teaching that take place through the use of online technology. In the final article, four business school professors discuss their attempts to measure improvements in critical thinking skills among MBAs that have come about as a result of case method learning.