Case Research Journal Editorial Policy

North American Case Research Association (NACRA)

CASE CONTENT
The Case Research Journal (CRJ) publishes outstanding teaching cases drawn from research in real
organizations, dealing with important issues in all administration-related disciplines. The CRJ specializes in
decision-focused cases based on original primary research – normally interviews with key decision makers in
the organization but substantial quotes from legal proceedings and/or congressional testimony are also
acceptable. Secondary research (e.g., journalist accounts, high quality website content, etc.) can be used to
supplement primary data as needed and appropriate. Exceptional cases that are analytical or descriptive rather
than decision-focused will only be considered when a decision focus is not practical and when there is a clear
and important gap in the case literature that the case would fill. Cases based entirely on secondary sources will
be considered only in unusual circumstances. The Journal also publishes occasional articles concerning case
research, case writing or case teaching. Multi-media cases or case supplements will be accepted for review.
Contact the journal editor for instructions.
Previously published cases or articles (except those appearing in Proceedings or workshop presentations) are
not eligible for consideration. The Journal does not accept fictional works or composite cases synthesized
from author experience.

CASE FORMAT
Cases and articles submitted for review should be single- spaced, with 11.5 point Garamond font and 1"
margins. Published cases are typically 8-10 pages long (before exhibits), though more concise cases are
encouraged and longer cases may be acceptable for complex situations. All cases should be written in the past
tense except for quotations that refer to events contemporaneous with the decision focus.
Figures and tables should be embedded in the text and numbered separately. Exhibits should be grouped at
the end of the case. Figures, tables, and exhibits should have a number and title as well as a source. Necessary
citations of secondary sources (e.g., quotes, data) should be included as endnotes at the end of the case (not at
the end of the IM) in APA format. In the IM, necessary citations (e.g., citations of theoretical work from
which the analysis draws) should be included using parenthetical author/year embedded in the text (similar to
a traditional academic paper) that feeds into a list of references at the end of the IM. Note that the CRJ
approaches citations differently in the case and the IM given the differing audiences for which each document
is developed (i.e., the case is written for the student while the IM is written for the instructor). In some rare
instances, footnotes may be used in the case for short explanations when including these explanations in the
body of the text would significantly disrupt the flow of the case, but generally the use of footnotes in the case
should be avoided if possible.
The following notice should appear at the bottom of the first page of the manuscript: Review copy for use of
the Case Research Journal. Not for reproduction or distribution. Dated (date of submission).
Acknowledgements can be included in a first page footnote after the case is accepted for publication, and
should mention any prior conference presentation of the case.
It is the author(s)'s responsibility to ensure that they have permission to publish material contained in the
case. To verify acceptance of this responsibility, include the following paragraph on a separate page at the
beginning of the submission:
In submitting this case to the Case Research Journal for widespread distribution in print and electronic media, I (we)
certify that it is original work, based on real events in a real organization. It has not been published and is not under
review elsewhere. Copyright holders have given written permission for the use of any material not permitted by the "Fair
Use Doctrine." The host organization(s) or individual informant(s) have provided written authorization allowing
publication of all information contained in the case that was gathered directly from the organization and/or individual.
INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Cases must be accompanied by a comprehensive Instructor’s Manual that includes the following elements:
1. Case Synopsis: A brief (three-quarters of a page maximum) synopsis of the case.
2. Intended Courses: Identification of the intended course(s) that the case was written for, including the
case's position within the course. Please also indicate whether the case was developed for an
undergraduate or graduate student audience.
3. Learning Objectives: The specific learning objectives that the case was designed to achieve. For
more details on learning objectives, see the article titled “Writing Effective Learning Objectives” at the
useful articles link.
4. Research Methods: A Research Methods section that discloses the research basis for gathering the
case information, including any relationship between case authors and the organization, or how access
to case data was obtained. Include a description of any disguises imposed and their extent. Authors
should disclose the relationship between this case and any other cases or articles published about this
organization by these authors without revealing the author’s identity during the review process. If the
case has been test taught and this has influenced the development of the case, this should be noted.
This section should also indicate who in the organization has reviewed the case for content and
presentation and has authorized the authors to publish it (note that this last component is not
necessary for cases based on congressional or legal testimonies).
5. Theoretical Linkages: In this section please provide a brief overview of the theoretical concepts and
frameworks that will ground the analysis/discussion of the case situation in theory and research. Please
include associated readings or theoretical material that instructors might assign to students or draw on
to relate the case to their field or to the course. In developing this section, recognize that business
courses are often taught by adjunct faculty who are business professionals who may not be steeped in
the theory of the discipline the way an active researcher might be. Develop this section with the intent
of helping that type of instructor effectively apply and teach these theories/frameworks.
6. Suggested Teaching Approaches: Suggested teaching approaches or a teaching plan, including the
expected flow of discussion with an accompanying board plan. Include a description of any role plays,
debates, use of audiovisuals or in-class handouts, youtube videos, etc. that might be used to enhance
the teaching of the case. Authors are strongly encouraged to classroom test a case before submission
so that experience in teaching the case can be discussed in the IM. Authors are discouraged from
including websites as integral resources for the teaching plan because websites are not static and the
content of the website link may change between the writing of the case and an instructor’s subsequent
use of the case. This should also include a section on how best to teach the case online / remotely.
7. Discussion Questions: A set of assignment/discussion questions (typically three to ten depending on
discipline) that can be provided to students to organize and guide their preparation of the case. For
most cases, either the final or the penultimate question will ask students for their recommendation on
the overarching decision facing the decision maker in the case along with their rationale for that
recommendation.
8. Analysis & Responses to Discussion Questions: This section of the IM represents the core of the
case analysis. Repeat each assignment/discussion question, and then present a full analysis of that
question that demonstrates application of relevant theory to the case. Note that the analysis in this
section should go beyond what a good student might present as an ‘answer’ to the question. Write to
the instructor with an eye toward helping him or her understand in detail how the theory applies to the
case scenario, how discussion of this particular question might be approached with students, where the
limitations in the theory might be relative to the case scenario, and how the analysis contributes to the
building of an integrated recommendation regarding the decision the case protagonist must make.
9. Epilogue: If appropriate, an epilogue or follow-up information about the decision actually made and
the outcomes that were realized as a result of the decision made.
10. References: Provide full citations (in APA format) for all references that were cited in the Instructor’s
Manual.
REVIEW PROCESS
All manuscripts (both the case and the instructor's manual) are double-blind refereed by Editorial Board
members and ad hoc reviewers in the appropriate discipline. Most submissions require at least one round of
revision before acceptance and it is common for accepted cases to go through two or more rounds of
revisions. The target time frame from submission to author feedback for each version is 60 days.

DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLISHED CASES

The right to reproduce a case in a commercially available textbook, or instructor-created course pack, is
reserved to NACRA and the authors, who share copyright for these purposes. After publication, CRJ cases
are distributed through NACRA's distribution partners according to non-exclusive contracts. NACRA
charges royalty fees for these publication rights and case adoptions in order to fund its operations including
publication of the Case Research Journal. Royalties paid are split 50/50 between NACRA and member authors.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
Submit the case manuscript and Instructor’s Manual in one document via the Case Research Journal ScholarOne
website at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/nacra-crj. This site provides step by step instructions for
uploading your case. You will also be provided the opportunity to upload two case supplements – this is to
allow submission of a spreadsheet supplement for the student and for the instructor if needed. No
identification of authors or their institutions should appear on either the main case/IM document or on the
spreadsheets. All identifying information should be removed from the file properties before submission. If
you have audiovisual content to your case, please contact the editor to determine the best way to make this
content available to reviewers without revealing the authors’ identities.
At least one author must be a member of the North American Case Research Association. Membership dues
are included in annual registration for the NACRA conference, or may be paid separately through the main
NACRA website.
For questions, contact:
Eric Dolansky, Editor
[email protected]
 Adopting Case Research Journal Cases
for use in your classes

Faculty members can adopt cases for use in their classrooms and gain access to Instructor’s Manual
through one of NACRA’s distribution partners.

NACRA currently has agreements with the following distributors.

• Harvard Business School Press (http://hbsp.harvard.edu/)

• Ivey Publishing (https://www.iveycases.com/)
• The Case Centre (http://www.thecasecentre.org/educators/)
• Pearson Collections (https://www.pearsonhighered.com/collections/educator-features.html)
• McGraw Hill Create (http://create.mcgraw-hill.com/createonline/index.html)
• Study.net (www.study.net)
• CCMP [Centrale de Cas et de Médias Pédagogiques] (http://www.ccmp.fr)
• XanEdu (https://www.xanedu.com/)

If you want to use one of these distributors, but cannot find the CRJ case you want, contact the NACRA
VP Case Marketing, Terry McGovern, [email protected], to see if we can have it added for you.

Textbook authors can also adopt CRJ cases for inclusion in their textbooks for a modest fixed royalty
fee. Please contact the NACRA VP of Case Marketing for more information.
 From the Editor

Back when I was an MBA student many years ago, there was a student-faculty get-together that took
place about halfway through the first semester. I recall a conversation between myself, a couple of other
students, and our strategy professor, who had asked us what we thought of the cases we were doing in
class. I commented that one thing I liked about the cases was that I had a chance to learn, in an
incidental way, about different businesses, industries, places, and people, while still getting the key points
about the theories, concepts, and models that the cases were intended to teach. I don’t know how
effectively I communicated that in the moment (given that the other thing I remember about this
conversation was a loud, snide comment by one of my fellow students that I was just trying to curry
favour with the prof), but I still feel that way now. One of the things I love about reading so many cases
is that I gain exposure to a world of business practice, and the place, problems, and people involved.

That’s also one thing I love about the cases in this issue of the Case Research Journal. I will never be a
chocolate maker in Vietnam or have to decide about what kind of leather to use in sunglasses cases. I
think it’s very unlikely that I am going to have the opportunity to adjust a funding model for maximum
economic impact or decide whether to use a genetic algorithm for a footwear manufacturer. And I can
say with confidence that I don’t expect to make decisions about new products at one of the world’s
largest and most influential companies. But I get to read about all of these and immerse myself in those
worlds. In a recent conversation with CRJ’s associate editors, the point came up about great cases being
able to instantly transport you to the world of the decision and decision-maker; the cases in this issue
(and all CRJ issues) do so.

Like many of you, I have a curiosity about the world around me, and now as a professor myself I feel an
obligation to stay current with what is actually happening in the world of business. As I have previously
written, I’m a ‘fundamentals’ guy (i.e. I believe the fundamental concepts are most important, more so
than any technology or tools used to achieve them), but that doesn’t mean I can ignore advancements in
practice. Given the nature of cases and the need for them to be up-to-date and relevant to today’s
students, a big part of what I know about how actual businesses make actual decisions comes from the
work I read. And though I learn a lot in my role as a case teacher, reviewer, and editor, I also learn when
I do my own case research. Yes, many of my cases come from existing interests or industries about
which I already know something, but others are brand new to me, including cases brought to me by
faculty and student co-authors, connections made by my school or other organizations, or work-for-hire.
I suspect that this is the same for you.

This ‘incidental learning’ about companies and industries carries with it other opportunities as well. We
can educate our students about topics like sustainability, business and society, or ethics, without the case
being ‘about’ that. We can offer representation to underrepresented groups through our choice of case
protagonists or where we look for topics for cases. Different perspectives on case problems and
solutions can provide students a wider view of what is possible, and to move beyond the dreaded ‘we do
things this way because we’ve always done things this way.’

All of the cases in this issue of Case Research Journal challenge that statement, and are, in a way, about
doing things a different way. “UnLimited Spain: A Systems Approach to Building the Impact Economy,”
by Suzanne Jenkins and Guillermo Casanovas, is all about maximizing impact, and what approaches are
needed to do so, with the goal of not only improving the organization, but to foster a transformation of
Spain’s economy in general. In “Bajio Sunglasses: The Sustainable Packaging Decision,” by Ram
Subramanian and Michelle DeMoss, CEO Alvin Perkinson must decide on the material used in Bajio’s
sunglasses cases, with considerations ranging from the sustainability of the material to global supply
chains. “Pikolinos: Launching Spanish Footwear Manufacturing into Human Augmentation,” by Josep
Lluis Cano Giner and Maria Ballesteros-Sola, examines an operational decision within a family-owned
footwear company that needed to balance the lead time for manufacturing with the impact on the
organization. Randall D. Harris, Anne T. Lawrence, and W. Scott Sherman contributed “Facebook and
the Future of Instagram Kids,” a case that looks at the decision about whether to press forward with a
version of the social media platform for a younger audience in the face of a whistleblower complaint.
And “Marou Faiseurs De Chocolat: Growing a Sustainability-Focused Bean-to-Bar Brand,” by Michelle
P. Lee and Seshan Ramaswami, brings to the forefront a marketing decision that is about growth, but is
also about maintaining, acting on, and communicating the brand’s commitment to sustainability.

All of these cases provide students with a window onto a different world, whether that difference is
cultural, contextual, geographic, or situational. No, cases are not used primarily to teach about companies
or industries, but that learning still occurs. I urge you to read, use, and recommend the cases in this issue,
as each is well-written and provides tremendous learning opportunities through excellent instructor’s
manuals. I also ask you to consider providing Case Research Journal with your own wonderful worlds
for students to explore and learn about, by submitting your work to the journal for review. As always, I
am available to discuss your work as author, reviewer, or educator, and you can reach me at
[email protected]. Happy learning!

Sincerely
Eric Dolansky, Editor
Case Research Journal