Theory Testing Using Case Studies

The appropriateness of case studies as a tool for theory testing is still a controversial issue, and discussions about the weaknesses of such research designs have previously taken precedence over those about its strengths. The purpose of the paper is to examine and revive the approach of theory testing using case studies, including the associated research goal, analysis, and generalisability. We argue that research designs for theory testing using case studies differ from theorybuilding case study research designs because different research projects serve different purposes and follow different research paths.