Things you didn’t know about case studies

Hello,

And welcome back to the second edition of the Ulysses newsletter! In our previous newsletter you had the chance to meet our partners and discover what Ulysses Contest is about.

Just as a quick reminder, the Ulysses Contest is a digital competition where teams of students will compete in solving family business case studies.

But what is a case study? In the current newsletter, you’ll get a glimpse into this topic, so that you can understand the basis of our competition.

A teaching case study is a snapshot of a management situation that presents a problem, a challenge or an opportunity faced by an organization. The decision-maker, such as an executive, a manager, or an entrepreneur, is the protagonist of the case.
By reading and examining the situation from a particular organization member’s perspective, students will identify with the organization and feel the urge to solve the problem.

The business case studies will touch upon different aspects of the real life in family businesses. But they will all have some common aspects. In particular, they will be specific, general and urgent:

•                Specific, because the decision focus of the case study should be situation-specific and concrete.

•                General, because the decision focus of the case study should also support a deeper and broader discussion and serve as a general lesson on how to approach similar issues.

•                Urgent, because the decision focus of the case study should be of immediate importance.

What is the uniqueness of family firms and their case studies?

Especially in the family business field, case studies allow to provide a deeper understanding of family firms’ specific features and differences in their decision-making process in contrast with non-family counterparts.

The Ulysses consortium has already received the consent of several important family businesses in various sectors – such as tourism, wine and high-tech – to provide information and availability for the development of case studies to be used in the Ulysses competition.

The existing case studies cover some of the main topics of research in the field of family business, such as:

·       Succession planning

·       Family conflicts

·       International entrepreneurship

·       Values, identity and leadership

·       Innovation and dynamic capabilities

·       Resilience in disruptive times (e.g., Covid-19)

… and many other ideas are on the way, so stay tuned!

So, why participating to the competition?

Ulysses contest represents a great opportunity for students to learn about family businesses real-life problems and to leverage their theoretical knowledge into a practical setting. It will allow them to broaden both their horizon and network, by working in international virtual teams. And let’s not forget about the appealing prizes at stake!

Interested to find out more? Then stay tuned to our social media channels and the Ulysses website for regular updates and new content!