BACKGROUND AND NEEDS: The European CAse Study Alliance (ECASA) project is initiated by a consortium of four European HEIs (all of them focusing on applied sciences and management studies) and their relevant ecosystem partners dedicated to the vision of an innovative case-based approach in business education. ECASA recognises the challenges of the “innovation gap” identified in the renewed EU Agenda for the Modernisation of Higher Education, ECASA intends to become a strategic alliance between economic faculties, business and management schools as well as research centres of European universities. All of which share the philosophy of interactive, practice-oriented and problem-solving teaching in applied management education. Modern teaching in that domain requires a focus on innovation-driven SMEs following a growth strategy with a strong international orientation. The project specifically addresses the challenges and opportunities of these companies (representing the backbone of economic growth) while they are exposed to future challenges in business and society such as artificial intelligence, modern growth strategies, industry 4.0, sustainability, and digitisation and its managerial implications. The project aims to develop HEIs quality and authenticity of teaching, reducing educational costs for universities and fostering the knowledge transfer between universities and companies. Currently, there is a significant lack of authentic high-quality European business case studies (identified in the survey of ECASA members, ‘ECASA Survey Report 2019’, as well as sufficient understanding about the potential of case-based education in the renewal of business and management education. As a result, US-American and UK-based business cases are widely used in European business study programmes. The application of the case method in teaching has not been professionalised so far and universities hardly have case-based curricula. OBJECTIVE: ECASA is strongly committed to develop the case method as a – regional-based but international-oriented – integrated approach in research, teaching, and practice and to promote a systematic, professional and guided approach for case lecturers in European HEIs. TARGET GROUPS: The main target groups are students and staff members of partner universities and other European HEIs, particularly business and management related studies that are interested in the Integrated Case Method and their relevant stakeholders in their respective local context esp. SMEs and business development agencies. IMPACT: At local, regional and national level, the project will have an impact on renewing business education curricula with the Integrated Case Method (ICM), professionalising their teaching force, strengthening their international collaborations with other European HEIs. By applying ICM an intensive cooperation between HEIs and companies in their region are stimulated, this in turn will enhance their regional social / economic development by co-creating innovation-driven growth strategies, developing international network for business expansion. At European level, the project will contribute to the learning and networking process between important European economic regions, particularly improving SMEs market responsiveness and competitiveness through innovations and internationalisation. RESULTS: In addition, this project develops an online “European Case Library” on its ECASA Online Platform for both teaching and business practices that truly reflect the European business style and culture. Through this Platform, ECASA will enable more HEIs to adopt up-to-date cases in their teaching, to design case-based curricula based on true European business case studies, and to equip our students with creative and innovative thinking, strategic thinking, problem solving skills. Eventually, students, HEIs and companies can better cope with the challenges of increasingly digitalised, globalised and interlinked world.
The European CAse Study Alliance wanted to share and shape best practices in researching, writing and teaching case studies. To this end, ECASA aimed at developing the case method in management education towards an integrated research and teaching approach in the context of regional innovation ecosystems of higher education institutions. On this basis the project should promote a systematic, professional and guided approach of knowledge transfer in latest management practices for the main target groups, i.e. students, case companies, professors and case teachers, thereby intensifying the exchange within ecosystem of higher education institutions on a regional level and enabling transfer on a European level between higher education institutions embedded in their respective ecosystems to foster mutual learning and transfer in a domain of underrepresented management studies: European small and midsized companies in the age of transformation.
The partner institutions of the European CAse Study Alliance (ECASA) addressed the challenges of the “innovation gap” identified in the renewed EU Agenda for the Modernisation of Higher Education. ECASA intended to become a strategic alliance between faculties of business studies at European universities and management schools, research institutes and small and mid-sized case companies embedded in regional innovation ecosystems. Sharing a philosophy of interactive, practice-oriented and problem-solving teaching in applied management education, partners focused especially on the European dimension of transformation challenges for business and society. The project specifically addressed the challenges and opportunities of the small and mid-sized European companies (representing the backbone of economic growth). As they are exposed to fundamental changes in operating by artificial intelligence and digitization, industry 4.0 and circular economy, sustainability and modern growth strategies, they are required to invest significantly in the age of transformation while being restricted by a meager resource basis at the same time. Tough managerial decision-making and trade-offs require clear analysis, witty argumentation and sound logic from future European management leaders. The project filled exactly the gaps and needs of higher education institutions in offering such a modern, interactive and problem-solving approach of up-to-date issues in business and society on the basis of authentic European case studies provided as OER. Thereby, the project showcased universities and companies a replicable approach to boost their regional innovation ecosystems with the help of the integrated case method to the end of establishing a European approach to the case method.