Top 50 Bestselling Case Authors 2020/21: No. 1

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No. 1 - Debapratim Purkayastha

Debapratim Purkayastha (dec.)
Latterly, Director
ICFAI Business School (IBS)

Debapratim was the Director of the world-class ICFAI Case Research Center where he taught business strategy at ICFAI Business School (IBS). He was an award-winning and bestselling case author and an experienced case method workshop tutor. He won numerous prizes for his cases from the AESE Case Writing Competition, Dark Side Case Writing competition, EFMD Case Writing Competition, John Molson MBA International Case Writing Competition and oikos Case Writing Competition.

Debapratim was the recipient of The Case Centre's Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method Award in 2015, Outstanding Case Writer Competition in 2018, and Outstanding Compact Case Competition in 2019. The latter is an example of his pioneering creation of highly original ‘comic book’ cases, with Siddharth Ghosh. He also won a variety of other management categories at the Awards: Human Resource Management / Organisational Behaviour in 2015 and 2019; Knowledge, Information and Communication Systems Management in 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021; and Production and Operations Management in 2020.

He led over 70 inspirational case method workshops for research scholars, faculty members, and business executives; and his work as Consulting Editor of Case Folio, a refereed journal dedicated to management cases. He was also an Editorial Board Member of Case Focus, The Case Centre's peer reviewed journal for teaching cases set across the Middle East and Africa, the Case Research Journal published by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA), and The CASE Journal, the official journal of The CASE Association, published by the Emerald Group, UK. Debapratim was frequently asked to help judge international case writing and teaching competitions and was a much sought-after speaker on the case method.

It is with great sadness that he passed away on 7 May 2021 and our tribute to him can be read here.

Debapratim's top bestselling cases

Browse Debapratim's top three bestselling cases during the last year.

BP: Putting Profits Before Safety?

Reference no. 707-014-1

This case is about the safety problems faced by BP, the third-largest oil and gas producer in the world. On 23 March 2005, an explosion at BP's Texas City refinery resulted in one of the most serious workplace accidents in the US. An investigation by The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) uncovered many safety lapses at the Texas City refinery. BP was accused of endangering its workers by compromising on process safety due to its high emphasis on cost cutting.

Netflix: Leveraging Big Data to Predict Entertainment Hits

Reference no. 913-006-1

This case is about the big data capabilities developed by Netflix. Big data is not just a new digital buzzword; it’s here to stay. It’s imperative that today’s managers understand how to effectively leverage this explosive growth in the volume of data in meaningful ways that can be used to drive business decision-making.

Big Data Strategy of Procter & Gamble: Turning Big Data into Big Value

Reference no. 917-0009-1

This case is about the challenges faced by the new CIO of P&G, Linda W. Clement-Holmes, in taking the big data strategy of the leading consumer packaged goods company forward. The case elucidates the benefits that the company had derived from big data, including cost savings and the speedier roll-out of new products. The case also explores the potential downside of an excessive focus on big data and digitization, including diluting the human touch in the company's interactions with its customers, and other potential risks of employing big data.

View all Debapratim's cases

Bestselling case author in...

1 - 2020/21 1 - 2019/20 1 - 2018/19 1 - 2017/18 1 - 2016/17 1 - 2015/16

“I believe that one can be a good teacher without being a good case writer, but it’s not possible to be a good case writer without being a good teacher.

"However, I have also found that regularly writing cases can greatly improve classroom teaching. So, I feel that, case teaching and case writing should follow each other as the left foot follows the right. Case writing can be a lonely activity and even hard work, but if you have the passion it’s worth it! There are few joys that can compare to the joy of teaching your own case. And it means you can also have a positive impact in classrooms around the world where your case is taught."

~ Debapratim Purkayastha