As the world’s largest collection of cases, including more than 4,400 from independent authors, at The Case Centre we’re often asked how we ensure quality.
With robust submission requirements and a wide-ranging portfolio of learning resources, we take case quality very seriously. But we’re always on the lookout for opportunities to expand on the support we provide.
While actively encouraging case contributions that reflect the diversity of the business community, we also place a heavy focus on quality and consistency. In that vein, we’re delighted to announce a new addition to the support we offer to independent authors.
Cases are an incredibly valuable tool in business education because of their focus on analysing problems and balancing differing perspectives. Put simply, they teach students how to think, rather than what to think.
It follows then that good, quality cases are essential to the student learning experience. And with the growth of artificial intelligence in recent years, many business schools are doubling down on these softer skills of critical thinking and problem solving. Ensuring that students learn crucial skills that no algorithm can replace1.
And so, as we move into this new era, case quality is more important than ever.
As the independent home of the case method, The Case Centre is committed to ensuring quality while making publication accessible for independent authors.
While our collection includes all the major case collections from leading international business schools, we also distribute over 4,400 cases written by individual authors.
Writing your own case can be an excellent way to share learning in the classroom, as well as contributing to the wider business education community. It can also be advantageous to your school’s accreditation bid2 and contribute towards its impact in research rankings3.
At The Case Centre we encourage authors to submit their cases to us where their school does not already have an established case collection, and we have clear submission guidelines to ensure quality. A great case should have a story; a clear protagonist; be topical to management and business education; present a question, problem, decision or opportunity; and ideally have an issue at its centre that’s relevant to its audience and the societal context.
However, we recognise that the support available to authors to write and publish their own cases, varies across business schools. Some schools have their own in-house copy-editing facilities to provide hands on editorial and quality assurance support to their authors. For those who don’t have this resource, there can be considerable work involved between creating an engaging case and getting it to publication.
This can prove to be a barrier to publication for some authors.
Working collaboratively with authors
Launching this month, The Case Centre’s new proofing service will provide hands on support to authors who have all the ingredients of a great case but need help getting it in the best possible shape for publication.
We believe in championing a diverse range of voices and themes from the business education community. That’s why, when working with an author, we won’t suggest changing any of the ingredients of the case or the overall structure. It’s important that the case retains the author’s unique voice and style. Instead, we’ll provide hands on, proofing support to get the author’s words ready for publication in our independent case collection.
Claire White and Nadia Buttice from The Case Centre’s Product Management Team are excited to be working directly with authors.
Claire says, “We’re really excited to be offering this new service, supporting independent authors and increasing diversity in the case community”.
While Nadia says, “This service will make publication more accessible and will allow more independent authors to sit alongside the larger case collections in terms of quality”.
Once added to our collection authors will enjoy the many benefits of their case being distributed by The Case Centre. These include worldwide publicity, receiving royalties for the sales of their work*, and the chance of being recognised in one or more of our annual awards and competitions. Adoptions of their case also contribute towards their organisation’s place in our Impact Index, an annual ranking of organisations based on the global reach and impact of their case writing.
There is no charge for The Case Centre’s proofing service, and copyright for the case remains with the authoring institution. As a not-for-profit organisation, The Case Centre is committed to the values of collaboration, innovation, and support, which includes making publication accessible while ensuring the highest quality.
A range of resources for writing, learning, and teaching
Sometimes, cases submitted to us need more support than we can provide via our proofing service. If that’s the case we’ll always advise an author on the areas that need further work, while providing resources to support them to take the next steps.
The Case Centre also offers a range of workshops to help authors to build, develop and enhance their case teaching and writing skills. Our workshops are led by leading case experts, recognised globally for their contributions to the case method and business education.
In addition, we offer ten Case Writing Scholarships each year which provide authors with financial support of £1,000 ($1,200, €1,150), professional feedback on the draft of their case, and a free place on one of our case writing workshops.
You can also browse our Knowledge Centre for books, articles and guidance for authors, students and teachers.
The Case Centre remains the world’s largest and most diverse collection of cases, and we’re so excited about adding the proofing service to our resource portfolio.
The world of business education always needs more cases, more themes, more voices. So, if you’re an author and you have a great idea for a case, get writing, we’ll support you every step of the way.
* Organisations that are members receive royalties on sales of items authored by their staff or affiliates. Royalties are paid to the copyright holding organisation, not directly to authors.
References
1 Byrne, J. A. (30/10/2024) Poets&Quants’ MBA Program Of The Year: IMD’s Reimagining Of The MBA. [online]. Available from https://poetsandquants.com/2024/10/30/poetsquants-mba-program-of-the-year-imds-reimagining-of-the-mba/?utm_campaign=Fortuna&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9x9-zM9Gf35fB1jbTIOkPbCE5L7tfwtkc109ujKVebHF_HtI3w8IyYb40lCPo2P1FrtOYYmN8vVTXiej5W9uZvz8LzDA&_hsmi=333964189&utm_content=333405381&utm_source=hs_email [Accessed 18/11/2024]
2 Bryant, S. M. (January, 2024) The case method as an intellectual contribution: an AACSB perspective. [online]. Available from: https://www.thecasecentre.org/caseMethod/features/AACSBperspective [Accessed 18/11/2024]
3 Jack, A. and Dalal, A. (November 2024) Business school and the pursuit of rigour, resonance and relevance [online]. Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/7e81e1b6-eb08-43de-ab71-ab6c50181cc3 [Accessed 18/11/2024]
This article was published in Connect, January 2025.
