Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti

Research methodology and data
3.3 Case selection strategy and description of the selected
cases
Following the abductive multiple case strategy, the case selection is based
on theoretical sampling (instead of statistical sampling). The basic idea
behind theoretical sampling is that cases are selected because they are
viewed as particularly suitable for illuminating and extending the studied
phenomenon (Eisenhardt, 1989; Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007). To fit with
the purpose of the present study, the selected case programs had to pursue
significant change, include multiple projects, and truly be temporary, i.e.
have a planned closure at some point of time. Yet another criterion was that
the programs had to be internal, i.e. mainly implemented inside one parent
organization, although external consultants, suppliers and other
stakeholder organizations could be involved. A practical criterion for case
selection was reasonable access to the programs. Additionally, case
selection aimed to ensure that the cases would be similar to some extent but
also demonstrate enough differences to provide a rich and multifaceted
view of the research topic (see e.g. Pettigrew, 1990).
Regarding the similarities across the selected cases, all three case
organizations represent large Finnish service sector organizations. At the
time of data gathering, all three studied case programs were still ongoing
and had been initiated 1–5 years earlier. Although the focus on ongoing
programs prevents from analyzing the eventual effects and the ultimate
success of the programs, it ensures that the program still was a topical issue
at the time of data gathering, and program initiation ought to be fresh in
the minds of the program participants.
Regarding the differences between the cases, two of the case programs
were from the public sector and one from the private sector. The type of the
intended change differed. One case program mainly focused on Information
Technology (IT) based change, and the other two focused on renewing
processes and services. Furthermore, the way how the programs were
organized differed. The programs were at different stages during the
beginning of the data gathering: one program was already in early
implementation, whereas the other two were still in initiation. The
perceived success of the programs also differed. Although all the programs
demonstrated some indicators of success and some specific problems or
challenges, one program was actually terminated sometime after the data
gathering and was largely considered a failure. From the researcher’s
perspective, the variation in the programs’ level of perceived success is
useful in analyzing the associations of early boundary activities with
program success.
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