The Case of Case Study Research in Europe: Practice and Potential

Abstract

Many empirical studies of European public administration and public management are case studies. In light of a trend towards more quantitative research and the rise of behavioural public administration, this chapter makes an argument for the continuity of case study research, as it is often better equipped to deal with macro-level phenomena and processes. This chapter then ventures into the practice of case study research by European scholars, providing information concerning the nature of 103 case studies published by Governance and Public Administration in 2001, 2006, 2010 and 2015. Based on this review and recent developments in case study methodology, we provide some suggestions for case study designs, including theoretically informed case selection, competitive theory testing and more sensitivity to “time” and its various manifestations.