The Influence of Business Case Study Competitions on Students’ Perceptions of Learning

Case Study as an Effective Teaching Tool

In their research,Corner et al. (2006)examined a case study competition for students as a grounded learning experience which involved designing interactive classroom activities and exercises and empowering students to collaborate and cultivate strong peer relationships. The researchers found that grounded learning experiences, like case competitions, expose students to real-world experiences, encourage them to take ownership of their learning, and prompt students to apply theory to practice.Umble et al. (2008)found that similar opportunities for enhanced learning through complex, unstructured team-based projects, such as case study competitions, had significant positive synergistic effect on two dimensions—learning about working in teams and having a valuable learning experience—as well as marginally statistically significant synergistic effect on gaining valuable insights in various functional areas of business. Although the effectiveness and success of case study competitions vary among business schools, the extant business research literature has supported the use of case study methods and case study through cocurricular activities (i.e., competitions) to cultivate competencies desired by employers (Menna, 2010).

Case Study as a Forum for Diverse, Active, and Collaborative Learning

Research has shown that case studies can increase learning aptitudes, collaboration, and leadership for diverse student populations, including students of color and women.Bond, Sankar, and Le (2010)conducted a controlled experiment using multimedia case studies with undergraduate African American students at a historically Black college and university (HBCU) in the United States. This comparative study examined the perceptions of minority engineering students when their instructors used multimedia case studies rather than traditional teaching methods (e.g., lectures, proofs, etc.). A noteworthy finding of the study was that the use of case studies increased learning, teamwork, and communication, which student participants attributed to “the use of real-world examples and the ability to apply concepts learned in class” (Bond et al., 2010, p. 88).

In a study conducted byOrlitzky and Benjamin (2003), the results showed that mixed-sex case study competition groups tended to outperform more homogenous groups. The researchers examined 37 teams and found that sex composition is positively related to team performance. Essentially, through the facilitation of case study competitions that engaged students in direct, functional tasks and social maintenance, small groups were found to be optimal when there was a balance of gender on teams.Price (2008)also investigated gender equity, focusing on how gender influenced graduate students who were accepted into a competitive fellowship program. The author concluded that “both men and women responded in a more positive way to the program when a larger fraction of their group was female” (Price, 2008, p. 332). Although this study focused specifically on graduate students, it prominently illuminates the power of gender diversity within teams through structured processes such as case study competitions.

Finally, case studies present an opportunity for students with diverse characteristics (e.g., academic major, personality, socioeconomic, and ethnic diversity) to engage and enhance their teamwork and collaboration skills. Employers largely value students who gain the experience and ability to function effectively in teams, and hence, such activities should be included in the curriculum or offered as cocurricular activities for students (Jackson, Sibson, & Riebe, 2014;Rhee, Parent, & Basu, 2013).

Research Site

The site for this research study has been named one of the top 50 business schools in the United States (Lambert, 2016). Since 2009, this institution has hosted regional case study competitions for undergraduate business student teams from highly ranked academic institutions. Moreover, students in the business school were also encouraged to voluntarily participate in corporate-sponsored case study competitions. In general, since the students could participate in different case study competitions, the overall goals for case study competition participation, as a teaching tool and a form of collaborative learning, included the following: (a) Participants will be able to demonstrate an enhanced ability to employ evidence/information in conducting a comprehensive analysis of an issue or problem leading to well-reasoned arguments using a team-based approach; (b) participants will be able to demonstrate an enhanced ability to draw logical conclusions and implications from the analysis of an issue or problem; (c) participants will formulate and engage in effective communication, giving appropriate consideration to audience, context, format, and documented evidence; and (d) participants will be able to use discussion to enhance intellectual discovery and unravel complexities of thought. The institution also offers a first-year experience course required for all undergraduate business students in which an in-class case study competition is the primary capstone assignment. Instructors place students in each class section into teams to examine a specific case; there are usually more than 15 sections of the class. The winners from each section then compete and present in front of a panel of alumni from various business fields in the local area.

Participant Selection

A database maintained at the research site contained information on undergraduates who had participated in case study competitions for each academic year from 2010 to 2012, which included 40 students. From the list of students in the database, those invited and selected to participate met the following criteria:

Of the 40 students who met the eligibility criteria, 18 (45%) responded to an email invitation and participated in the study. Seven students participated in a 1-hour individual interview, six students participated in the focus group interviews, and five students responded to the online survey. The students’ majors included international business, economics, accounting, and finance. Of the students who participated, eight were sophomores, seven were juniors, and three were seniors.

Note that the sample size used in qualitative research methods is often smaller than that used in quantitative research methods, because the aim is not to generalize but rather to provide a rich, contextualized, and in-depth understanding and meaning of some aspect of the human experience. Furthermore, studies that use more than one method (i.e., interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires) require fewer participants (Lee, Woo, & Mackenzie, 2002). Pseudonyms were also used to protect the identity of the participants, as indicated in the informed consent.

Data Collection Procedures

Data were collected through a brief online survey, individual interviews, and focus group interviews. The individual interviews afforded opportunities for the researchers to build trust and engage students on a personal level regarding their perceptions. The in-depth interviewing process, via a semistructured format, also allowed participants to have an active part in the study and to share their unique experiences, enabled the researchers to pose a set of predetermined questions and probe additional questions based on the respondents’ answers, and permitted the researchers to document observations from the students. The focus group interviews allowed an exploration of themes as well as other issues that emerged from the individual interviews, the comparison of key themes that emerged in the individual interviews, and a way to discern if any new themes emerged during the focus group interviews. Through the survey, we were able to gain background/foundational information and key information about the participants to enhance our understanding of their educational goals, parental educational background, and the composition of their high schools in terms of diversity. The data from each source were reviewed and coded together. On comparing the themes of the survey, interview, and focus group data in aggregate, the researchers recognized the themes were analogous without conflicts.

The survey, individual interviews, and focus group interviews were employed to ensure the richest data necessary for the coding process. The availability of multiple data sources also enhanced the triangulation process.Connell, Lynch, and Waring (2001)contended that triangulation strengthens the research findings through validity and increases the possibility of generalization and extrapolation. The triangulation process was facilitated by employing three techniques, as recommended by the research literature on this topic: (a) member checking, (b) peer debriefing, and (c) reviewing raw data from all the primary and secondary sources—surveys and individual and focus group interview transcripts.

The coding was conducted for the individual and focus group interviews using NVivo 8, beginning with open coding. A number of key themes emerged evenly and consistently across the individual and focus group interviews. Finally, all transcripts were shared with the participants for member checking and accuracy of their responses. Furthermore, the participants’ responses and experiences were compared with existing literature for any similarities or differences in reported experiences.

Online Survey Questionnaire

Five participants completed a brief online survey prior to the individual interview. The survey comprised 24 open-ended questions ranging from inquiries about the students’ major, classification, and background (i.e., “What is your major?” and “Describe the diversity composition of your high school.”) to what they believed they gained from participating in a case study competition. The information gathered from the surveys assisted in shaping and revising questions for the individual interviews. The information from the survey provided a better understanding of the students’ backgrounds as well as their expectations and experiences with case study competitions.

Individual Student Interviews

Individual, in-depth interviews were an integral data collection point for this study. The format for the individual interviews was semistructured, which is the median between unstructured and structured interviews. This format enabled the researcher to pose a set number of predetermined questions in a specified order but offered the flexibility to probe questions beyond the set questions (Herman & Reynolds, 1994). The format also allowed the researcher to “respond to the situation at hand, to the emerging world view of the respondent, and to new ideas on the topic” (Merriam, 1998, p. 74). Once the stratified purposeful sampling process was completed, eligible students were invited to participate in a 60- to 90-minute interview scheduled at a time and place most convenient for each student on campus.

The information from the individual interviews was essential in obtaining a deeper understanding of each participant’s experience in the case study competition. Most essential was gaining information about what each student believed they gained from their participation and how they approached applying any new gained competencies to other coursework and work experiences (e.g., internships, practicum, etc.).

Focus Group Interviews

Focus groups were a major secondary point of data collection.Berg (2007)suggested that focus group interviewing is an effective mechanism to better understand how participants talk about a particular phenomenon of interest. Additionally, the design of these small groups garners deeper insights into the thinking, motivations, and behaviors of a target audience. They are also ideal to create a forum for group dynamics and enable participants to brainstorm and build off each other’s ideas (Ulin, Robinson, & Tolley, 2005;Watkins, Green, Goodson, Guidry, & Stanley, 2007). In the focus group interviews, because the participants were in the same environment together, new emerging themes became present (e.g., agreeing to disagree, the importance of the diversity of ideas, and accountability of members), all characteristics the students believed would be required and expected in the workplace. Furthermore,Morgan and Spanish (1984)asserted that focus groups are multifaceted and can be used “as a source of data in and of themselves or as an adjunct to other forms of data collection” (p. 253). For this study, the focus group interviews allowed for additional insight into responses and further exploration of themes and concepts revealed collectively from the individual interviews and surveys.

The data from the focus groups were used to identify any key similarities and differences students experienced during the case study competition. This information was compared with key themes drawn from the individual interview data as well.

Data Analysis

The data analysis for this study was an iterative and rigorous process requiring the reading and rereading of transcripts and notes from the surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations followed by coding and recoding of emerging and constant themes. A constant comparative methodology was also employed throughout the process. First, a review of audio recordings assisted in producing notes that identified key words and experiences shared by the students. Listening to raw data prior to transcription is an opportune time to make additional notes and is a critical point of analysis as well (Maxwell, 2005). Once the individual interviews were complete, the verbatim transcribed raw audio recordings, per the professional transcription company Verbal Ink, were uploaded to NVivo 8, which is software that allows researchers to code and identify relationships between themes. Data were then organized and managed for analysis after reviewing the transcripts for accuracy, including member checking. The students’ written reports from online surveys were not uploaded, as the participants’ responses were already typed. The researchers then identified the core themes through a process of collaborative analysis of the data, reflecting on the aim of the study.

During the coding process, the investigators read the transcripts in their entirety. Codes were designated for all content that represented a thought, feeling, or reaction related to case study participation. Next, line-by-line coding and consistent comparative analyses were utilized throughout this process, revealing repetitions in codes and responses. Data were reduced into smaller segments and assigned to categories. Codes that were most robust were revealed, and we identified if the codes could be combined to provide a broader understanding of the experience.

Enhanced Communication Skills

The students spoke in detail about the ways they believed their communication skills strengthened through the case study competition experience, from working together as a team and from participating in a group presentation. An important element of the students’ perceived improved communication was the manner in which they approached organizing themselves for the competition. An additional important factor was the strategies they used to overcome group difficulties during the process. For example, Katrina, a junior hospitality major, suggested that planning prior to the first meeting and throughout is very important. She stated,

We started meeting before we got the case. That helped. Let’s get together to look at our strengths and weaknesses, looking at past cases. We went through the entire case from last year. We developed a framework to solve the case before we even received [it].

Several students shared how they honed their communication skills, including teamwork, for the competition. Gary, a sophomore international business major studying Chinese, conveyed that the case study competition was a great group learning experience:

Case study as a whole is a huge learning curve. The amount I learned from doing the case study reaffirmed a lot of things I already knew. [In particular] I learned how to plan and work with teammates. Planning and preparation are really important to this thing.

Adam, a senior finance major, concurred:

It [case study competition] definitely helped me expound upon my presentation skills. I really learned how to develop and construct [an] effective presentation. Not just the sense of speaking in front of the judges but also telling a story and displaying my knowledge or my logic behind my findings and my research in the presentation was really effective. It gave me a foundation to apply skills in an internship that I had with IBM over the summer.

The students also acknowledged that communication was necessary to enhance the strength of the team, especially when attempting to work through difficult situations. Many mentioned the importance of self-reflection and discovery to assess their respective skill sets and competencies in order to best align with the team, especially in light of challenges. Lisa, a sophomore marketing major, noted how a challenge exists in working with individuals with whom one may or may not be familiar, but they can still achieve the team goal through effective communication. She noted,

It [my internship] was very similar to how the case competition was set up, where we had a business problem that we had to find a solution to. So, working with three other people that I’ve never really worked with before in that type of setting, finding out where my niche was, how to develop synergy, doing the checks and balances, having collaborative moments, having moments where we disagree with each other but then coming back together to compromise, to come up with a better solution to the problem that was presented to us.

Finally, some students also recognized how the case study competition presentations differed from standard course presentations. Specifically, the students shared how, through their participation in the competition, they felt more adept and prepared to present stronger presentations in the classroom setting. Drew, a sophomore international business major, and David, a senior finance major, both expressed how competitions are great practice for public speaking and yield more opportunity for growth than the classroom setting. David maintained,

The classroom setting provides you with the knowledge and context but the case study competition gives you a chance to practice it. The more exposure you can get through the case competition, the less you need to recall simply from classroom.

Drew also attested to its learning benefits:

The case study competition introduced us to the real world, questions you may encounter in the real world. It was very good. We can learn how to incorporate what we learn into real world cases. It’s the real world application we get from it. Like in my human resources classes, you learn information for the class and assignment. For the competition, we had to learn the information for ourselves and decide how to best apply it to the solution.

The students’ perceptions coincided with recent literature and research studies demonstrating that soft skills, such as communication skills, are critical in the workplace.

Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills

The participants deemed their critical thinking and analytical skills as heightened through the case study experience. Some students specifically pointed to the importance of not just researching to identify answers but also to identify resources to solve the problem. David, a senior finance major, believed that research was integral to the case study competition process, but the key point was not always about research, but leveraging resources. Regarding the use of research and resources, he stated there was a benefit in “being resourceful and finding the way to the answer and not necessarily assuming that there is an answer in a paragraph of some textbook somewhere for you to use.”

Keith, a junior marketing major, stressed how his critical thinking skills were enhanced through the experience and he felt challenged to think about complex problems differently. He revealed,

I definitely think it [case study competition] gave me a different way of thinking, more forward thinking than anything else. Not necessarily waiting for a problem to occur but looking for an opportunity to make something better, and that’s basically what consulting is all about.

In addition, Al, a sophomore finance major, discussed how a learning curve for him was analyzing information and learning how to pull together different pieces of information to develop a solution. He noted,

Pulling together fragmented information is very important because this is the way people work in the real world. You are not always given every piece of information. It’s about how you use the information to frame a situation or solution.

Several of the student participants also credited the case competition as a forum for them to work in teams and use their own networks and creativity to identify solutions. David, a senior in finance, pointed to the importance of balancing resources and research associated with the competition process. He remarked,

I felt like our solution, with the exception of maybe one or two miniscule points, was they thought our own creativity and information we gathered from other people, discussing with each other. I mean I don’t remember reading one article and saying here’s our solution.

Most of the members of David’s team emphasized how they had to push themselves beyond the basic parameters of conducting research on a problem to identify evidence from a number of resources to develop an innovative solution. Keith, a junior marketing major who was also on David’s team, reiterated the importance of identifying therightresearch to develop a solution. He also mentioned that an important aspect of research is leveraging your network and resources as well. Specifically, he stated,

A big part of research is actually like leveraging your network kind of and seeing it; and that’s one thing that I learned indirectly through that. It’s kind of like realizing the people aren’t just there to help you get a job or introduce you to people, there’s also knowledge they can contribute to what you’re currently doing.

In general, the participants believed that the case competition aided in honing their critical thinking and analytical skills. The students believed that these were important skills to utilize in the classroom and to assist with their career searches and interviews as well.

Diversity as an Educational Benefit

Participants identified diversity as a critical element of the case study competition experience. Students not only highlighted the importance of the role gender and race played within the teams but also the diverse representation of academic majors, perspectives, and competencies. One case study team also reiterated the impact of diversity on teamwork and as a learning outcome. One student from this team, Simone, conveyed,

I think it [diversity] always has an impact. Even in ways you might not think of. If someone, maybe if Freud (Sigmund, renowned psychologist), would sit down and psychoanalyze all of us, he could trace different things back to our childhoods that could have influenced us, but I always think diversity adds to a group. Whether, it’s on the surface or whether if it’s just ethnicity or race or whether it’s experience, I think any type of diversity adds to the group in a good way.

Keith echoed the benefit of diversity and how it added to the group’s success:

Even speaking specifically, nobody in our group had the same exact major; nobody in the group had the same courses. We all were coming back from different backgrounds, different regions of the world, not even limited to the United States. Everybody brought in their own experiences, and you knew that while we were sitting in the group. It was a very dynamic group. We had very dynamic individuals. Everybody had strong personalities, Type A personalities, but it worked really well where we could come together and flesh out ideas that really allowed us to make a successful presentation.

Similar to participants in studies examining the impact of gender balance and the effectiveness of teams, the student participants believed value was attained in having mixed teams. Brad, a finance major, stressed some of the key differences between men and women on teams and how this balance can impact team performance:

I think that it really adds value in a mixed team. I noticed that like if you look at groups of guys and whether it’s from TV shows I have seen or whatever, when a woman comes in there’s a good amount of partnership and not to say that women are able to execute better than men can, but I think one thing is that women usually create structure, are better organized and they’re able to create pressure that’s necessary to get people to work with a sense of urgency.

Increased Understanding of Business Disciplines and Consulting

Gaining an increased understanding of core principles, foundational knowledge, the role of business in society, and the associated skills needed to consult and be successful in the field are core components of business courses in higher education. Accordingly, participants linked an increased understanding of the business discipline to the case study competition. Brad, a senior sports management major, indicated that while he had some understanding of business consulting, the case study experience was similar to participating in an internship for 3 weeks. He believed that he gained a better understanding of this area of business and would be more successful in securing consulting jobs. Brad asserted,

I had somewhat of an idea of what consulting was, but this gave me a really solid hands-on idea of what consulting was. It was the application that I got from this. So, that was really good to see because especially when you hear “federal consulting,” you’re like, what, but what are they consulting about? And when you see the types of cases we are getting, you realize that these are very important issues that affect people’s lives, like really important topics.

Simone, an international business major, also indicated that the case study competition allowed her to make connections between the work some of her friends do for companies, such as Lockheed Martin, and government agencies, such as the Department of Defense. Furthermore, due to her participation in the case study competition, she was able to make more meaning of what a guest speaker communicated about business consulting in one of her classes. She said,

He [the speaker] was like, “It doesn’t matter when and what he had to do.” They [contractors] were saying when you go to a job, don’t think of yourself as a regular employee, think of yourself as an independent consultant. That’s the main point I took away from his comments. It made me see the real difference from being a regular employee and a contracted consultant.

The case study competition, as a cocurricular, high-impact engagement activity, afforded students the opportunity to make connections with their academic work and real-world professions in the field of business. For example, for many of the students, consulting was a very broad concept infrequently discussed in their degree programs or cocurricular activities that would prepare and inform them for consulting as a profession. The students’ lived experiences through the case study process enabled them to make deeper meaning of consulting and the competencies they might need to be successful in the field.

Overall, the students had a positive experience with the case study competition and avowed their involvement in the competition yielded positive benefits. They also indicated their involvement was an experience that could not be realized in a classroom setting. As undergraduate business programs sustain themselves on college campuses, the skill sets and experiences associated with case study competition participation in our findings will remain important to students’ success as well as to the companies hiring them.