Application of qualitative case study methodology to supply chain management research – a reflective narrative

As supply chain management (SCM) concept has become more relevant to contemporary business, and its application to the industry grown rapidly since the start of year 2000, quite a large number of academic studies (both qualitative and quantitative methods) had been conducted in the field. The use of qualitative research methodology has been well established for data generation withing the field of business and management generally, and particularly, in supply chain management research. In social research, there have been the age long contending positions between both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Whereas the positivists’ school argued that the social world exists through objective research methods, the naturalists believe that reality exists inside the minds of the people, and qualitative method is the useful technique to explore their minds in other to understand them in their own real cultural and natural contexts. This paper reflects on how qualitative method was applied in a supply chain management research. Extensive literature on qualitative research approaches were reviewed and a detailed explanation of how the techniques were applied in a multiple case studies context was presented. The paper concludes with a view that the qualitative research approach, is a rigorous and reliable methodology that is compatible with the study of supply chain management which can lead to reliable and credible data that can produce a robust research outcome.