Abstract
The objective of this paper is to discuss the specificity of multiple case study (MCS) research design using analysis of research description realized according to this strategy in the field of place branding and place marketing published between 1976 and 2016 in scholarly journals. Selecting cases and cases’ context are most frequently explained in place marketing articles where findings are results of MCS research. The choice of a case study as a research strategy and limitations of the studies are less frequently justified in investigated papers. Our analysis shows that the authors should pay more attention to elements characteristic for methodological rigour in their descriptions of the research method. For this purpose, we prepared a checklist. We have discussed in detail key methodological issues for MCS. Moreover, we have formulated guidelines for improving research methodology’s descriptions in scholarly papers. It should lead to an increase in methodological rigour in future research reports. Therefore, researchers will find out suggestions for studying phenomena within place branding domain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acharya, A., and Z. Rahman. 2016. Place branding research: A thematic review and future research agenda. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing 13 (3): 289–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-015-0150-7.
Aitken, R., and A. Campelo. 2011. The four Rs of place branding. Journal of Marketing Management 27 (9–10): 913–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.560718.
Anholt, S. 2007. Competitive identity: The new brand management for countries, regions and cities. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Anholt, S. 2010. Definitions of place branding—Working towards a resolution. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 6 (1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2010.3.
Ashworth, G.J., and M. Kavaratzis (eds.). 2010. Towards effective place brand management: Branding european cities and regions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Atlas.ti. 2018. Rigor in qualitative & quantitative scientfic research. http://atlasti.com/rigor-social-science-research/. Accessed 11 Dec 2017.
Baker, B. 2007. Destination branding for small cities: The essentials for successful place branding. Portland: Creative Leap Books.
Baxter, P., and S. Jack. 2008. Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report 13 (4): 544–559.
BPS. 2018. Statement on qualitative research in journals | BPS. https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/statement-qualitative-research-journals. Accessed 9 May 2018.
Bryman, A., and E. Bell. 2007. Business research methods, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Charmaz, K. 2006. Constructing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Cresswell, T. 2004. Place: a short introduction. Malden: Blackwell Pub.
Cresswell, T. 2009. Place. In International encyclopedia of human geography, 1st ed, ed. R. Kitchin and N.J. Thrift, 169–177. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Dul, J., and T. Hak. 2007. Case study methodology in business research. Boston: Elsevier.
Dumez, H. 2015. What is a case, and what is a case study? Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique 127 (1): 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0759106315582200.
Dyer, W.G., and A.L. Wilkins. 1991. Better stories, not better constructs, to generate better theory: A rejoinder to Eisenhardt. Academy of Management Review 16 (3): 613–619.
Eisenhardt, K.M. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management 14 (4): 532–550.
Eriksson, P., and A. Kovalainen. 2008. Research philosophy. Qualitative methods in business Research. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028044.
Gibbert, M., W. Ruigrok, and B. Wicki. 2008. What passes as a rigorous case study? Strategic Management Journal 29 (13): 1465–1474. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.722.
Given, L., and K. Saumure. 2008. Rigor in qualitative research. In The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative reseach methods, vol. I, ed. L. Given, 795–796. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Greene, D., and J.L. David. 1984. A research design for generalizing from multiple case studies. Evaluation and Program Planning 7 (1): 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-7189(84)90027-2.
Hankinson, G. 2007. The management of destination brands: Five guiding principles based on recent developments in corporate branding theory. Journal of Brand Management 14 (3): 240–254. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bm.2550065.
Hankinson, G. 2009. Managing destination brands: Establishing a theoretical foundation. Journal of Marketing Management 25 (1/2): 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725709X410052.
Hankinson, G. 2010. Place branding theory: A cross-domain literature review from a marketing perspective. In Towards effective place brand management: Branding european cities and regions, ed. G.J. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis, 15–35. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Hanna, S., and J. Rowley. 2011. Towards a strategic place brand-management model. Journal of Marketing Management 27 (5/6): 458–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/02672571003683797.
Hillebrand, B., R.A.W. Kok, and W.G. Biemans. 2001. Theory-testing using case studies. Industrial Marketing Management 30 (8): 651–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(00)00115-2.
Host, M., and P. Runeson. 2007. Checklists for software engineering case study research. In First international symposium on empirical software engineering and measurement (ESEM 2007), pp. 479–481. IEEE.
Johnston, W.J., M.P. Leach, and A.H. Liu. 1999. Theory testing using case studies in business-to-business research. Industrial Marketing Management 28 (3): 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0019-8501(98)00040-6.
Kavaratzis, M. 2004. From city marketing to city branding: Towards a theoretical framework for developing city brands. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 1 (1): 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.pb.5990005.
Kavaratzis, M., and G. Ashworth. 2008. Place marketing: How did we get here and where are we going? Journal of Place Management and Development 1 (2): 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538330810889989.
Lillis, A.M., and J. Mundy. 2005. Cross-sectional field studies in management accounting research—Closing the gaps between surveys and case studies. Journal of Management Accounting Research 17 (1): 119–141. https://doi.org/10.2308/jmar.2005.17.1.119.
Lucarelli, A., and P.O. Berg. 2011. City branding: A state-of-the-art review of the research domain. Journal of Place Management and Development 4 (1): 9–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538331111117133.
Ma, W., D. Schraven, M. de Bruijne, M. de Jong, and H. Lu. 2019. Tracing the origins of place branding research: A bibliometric study of concepts in use (1980–2018). Sustainability 11 (11): 2999. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11112999.
Miles, M.B., and A.M. Huberman. 1994. Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Mills, M.C. 2008. Comparative research. In The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods, vol. I, ed. L.M. Given, 68–71. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Mills, A.J., G. Durepos, and E. Wiebe (eds.). 2010. Encyclopedia of case study research. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Nowell, L.S., J.M. Norris, D.E. White, and N.J. Moules. 2017. Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16 (1): 1609406917733847. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847.
Ritchie, J.B.R., and R.J.B. Ritchie. 1998. The branding of tourism destination: Past achievements and future trends, in Destination marketing—Scope and limitations. In Reports of 48thn Congress, St-Gall: AIEST, 89–116.
Saunders, M.N.K., P. Lewis, and A. Thornhill. 2007. Research methods for business students, 4th ed. New York: Prentice Hall.
Shah, S.K., and K.G. Corley. 2006. Building better theory by bridging the quantitative? Qualitative divide. Journal of Management Studies 43 (8): 1821–1835. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00662.x.
Stake, R.E. 2006. Multiple case study analysis. New York: The Guilford Press.
Stoecker, R. 1991. Evaluating and rethinking the case study. The Sociological Review 39 (1): 88–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1991.tb02970.x.
Tharenou, P., R. Donohue, and B. Cooper. 2007. Management research methods. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Vuignier, R. 2016. Place marketing and place branding: A systematic (and tentatively exhaustive) literature review. Working paper de l’IDHEAP, 5.
Vuignier, R. 2017. Place branding & place marketing 1976–2016: A multidisciplinary literature review. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing 14 (4): 447–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-017-0181-3.
Warnaby, G., and D. Medway. 2013. What about the ‘place’ in place marketing? Marketing Theory 13 (3): 345–363. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593113492992.
Whittemore, R., S.K. Chase, and C.L. Mandle. 2001. Validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research 11 (4): 522–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973201129119299.
Yin, R.K. 1981. The case study crisis: Some answers. Administrative Science Quarterly 26 (1): 58. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392599.
Yin, R.K. 2009. Case study research. Design and methods, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank dr Renaud Vuignier for sharing his journal database and the reviewers of this journal for their insightful and constructive comments towards improving our manuscript.
Funding
Funding was provided by Cracow University of Economics.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ćwiklicki, M., Pilch, K. Multiple case study design: the example of place marketing research. Place Brand Public Dipl 17, 50–62 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-020-00159-2
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-020-00159-2