International Business Education at the Interface: The Raw Case Study Method

ABSTRACT Borrowing from Yale School of Management, we call this new approach the raw case method of learning. Unlike a traditional case study, a raw case is not confined in print or pages of a narrative about a challenging international business situation. It is an open, real-time information space through which case study students may wander. But it also comes with a specific and demanding assignment that requires students to discover, evaluate, analyze, decide, and communicate. This is indeed how managerial decisions are made in the real world of international business. It is more difficult today when the impact of business must be understood and managed against the backdrop of the changing global political, economic, social and technological landscape. It is also, in our view, geared to transformational management education that coincides with the shared aspiration for our profession, as outlined in the new AACSB Vision (www.aacsb.edu/vision/infographic). In this paper, we introduce the raw case method of learning, make a case for its adoption in international business education, and discuss several implementation issues.