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