Illuminating a methodological pathway for doctor of business administration researchers: Utilizing case studies and mixed methods for applied research

Abstract

There has been a significant growth in Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs and applied business research in recent times. Whilst a range of approaches and methods can be used in DBA and applied business research, this paper seeks to add depth of understanding to the use of the mixed methods approach within case study research designs. These can be used in a complementary fashion with a mixed methods approach being used to collect data within a case study design. However, the adoption of a mixed method case study research design has failed to keep pace with the growth of DBA research in the UK and commentary as to the value, application, and implications of adopting a case study research design and mixed methods is currently lacking. Therefore, building and presenting a robust justification and rationale as to their adoption in applied business research has been cited as a major challenge for DBA and novice researchers. This paper addresses this lacuna by providing commentary as to the value, key decisions, and implications of adopting a case study research design and mixed methods to conduct applied business research and reviews current application in practice, to support DBA candidates and novice researchers to make informed research decisions.

Keywords

• Research design
• Case study research
• Mixed methods
• Business research
• Applied research
• DBA