Introduction

Case studies play an increasingly important role in management education for a number of reasons:

• Participant-centred teaching requires high-quality, relevant cases.
• Case study research contributes to new knowledge.
• Publicly available case studies serve as an effective marketing tool, as these are being used along with the school’s name at business schools around the world.
• Most teaching cases used today are developed in the West, focusing on Western management practices. They are less relevant in the Chinese context.
• International Business School Suzhou strives to be a first-mover in developing teaching cases about Chinese companies and international companies in China.

Vision

• To create and disseminate world-class case studies
• To nurture teaching, research and visibility pertaining to business operations in the Chinese market.

Goals

The new centre has five goals:

• To provide more relevant and up-to-date teaching materials across all courses
• To expand the existing body of knowledge and increase academic output through research case development
• To support research-led teaching
• To promote IBSS as the go-to business school in China
• To build bridges between the School and participating companies

PURPOSE

• Case development plays an important role in research, education and marketing:
  • Researching cases generates knowledge
  • Teaching cases transfers knowledge
  • Marketing cases increases visibility and builds brand equity
• A certain type of case can be converted to other types relatively easily.
• Teaching cases are the CCD’s primary focus.

SERVICES

• Provision of guidelines and templates
• Training and advice on topics, content, style and design
• Potential external partners’ contacts
• Content review
• Publication support
• Channel management support (E.g. social media, etc.)

ORGANISATION

• The CCD operates as a shared service centre for all IBSS faculty.
• The editorial board comprises key stakeholders responsible for strategic direction and supervision.
• The board plans for operational activities overall.
• The board also provides resources to case developers.
• The review team comprises all authors who are committed to using the centre.

THEMATIC AREAS

PUBLICATION CHANNELS

• • Cases will be published by globally renowned companies, such as:

Harvard Business Publishing
Ivey Publishing
The Case Centre

• Our goal is to reach as large a geographic area as possible, to boost visibility, and to maximise impact.
• Templates and guidelines are adapted according to audience and publisher.
• CCD has also developed a style guide to facilitate publishing through our own channel as well as established ones.

STANDING INVITATIONS TO CORPORATE PARTNERS

Teaching cases are usually based on real-life scenarios. Therefore, corporate partners are pivotal, as they can help co-develop cases with IBSS faculty members. We are looking for particular problems or challenges that your company has faced when operating in China.

In most cases, all we need is a one-hour discussion. By doing so, you can showcase yourself and your company at one of the leading business schools in Asia. You may also access other related cases and use them for training purposes free of charge.

The teaching cases will be used at our school and published by internationally acknowledged publishing companies as shown above. It will be a good opportunity for you to position your company as a “preferred employer” for students.