JCRI GUIDELINES FOR CASES
  WWW.JCRI.org

JCRI invites submissions of both Teaching Cases and Consulting Cases. 

(1) TEACHING CASE STUDIES address significant contemporary issues faced by organizations and mangers in the areas of business and public administration, nonprofit management, social entrepreneurship, economics, education, and public policy. Teaching Cases are primarily intended to support classroom instruction, including decision-making and the application of theory and best practices, and may or may not require a managerial decision. Teaching cases are necessarily accompanied by Teaching Instructor Manuals (TIMs) that are not published but may be provided to instructors.

(2) CONSULTING CASES ask the reader to develop solutions to issues faced by managers and organizations, with emphasis on practical solutions; these cases may be appropriate for midterm or final exams or other consulting assignments.  Consulting cases are accompanied by detailed Consulting Instructor Manuals (CIMs), also called “Consulting Reports,” that may be provided to instructors. 

The case may be organized in any number of different ways.  We recommend that authors examine cases published in the JCRI or in other high quality case publications such as the Case Research Journal (www.NACRA.net) for samples of outstanding cases.  Case researchers may also want to consult the following articles:

McGuire, S. & G. Whaley (2017). Guidelines for Writing a Management Teaching Case Study, Journal of Case Research and Inquiry, 3:236-271.

Swiercz, PM. (2000). SWIFT learning: A guide to student-written instructor-facilitated case studies. The George Washington University.

Swiercz (2000) identified four different types of case studies. All four types (and combinations) are acceptable submissions to the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry

a) Profiles. These are descriptive studies that inform the reader about an organization (its history, milestones, approach to business, and policies) or an industry. Sometimes, these types of cases are used to provide "memorable examples" (Swiercz, 2000, p. 3) of well-known organizations. 

b) Decision-making Episodes. These cases require the reader to make a decision or advise a protagonist in the case about what decision to make. 

c) Theoretical Explorations. These cases can be used to test a management theory; is a theory or a conceptual framework a useful and applicable to a given real-life example? 

d) Ethical and Legal Confrontations. These cases are used to explore how a law or regulation
applies in practice to real situations in organizations. Often, the reader is required to juxtapose the demands of a real situation, requirements as indicated in law, and her own personal and cultural values. What is the best "business" solution to the problem in the case? What are the legal requirements? What is the ethical response? What are the tradeoffs between compliance and organizational outcomes?

On the first line of the first page, type either CONSULTING CASE or TEACHING CASE (bold, all capital letters, centered), as appropriate, followed by the title of the case study on the second line (bold, all capital letters, centered), and Submitted on date to the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry (bold, italicized) on the third line. Use Calibri font, size 12, 1 ½ spacing. (If you are not sure whether your case is a teaching or consulting case, simply type CASE.  In an email to the editor, please ask for assistance classifying your submission.)

For example:
TEACHING CASE
WIDGETS-R-US: STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
Submitted Aug. 3, 2023; re-submitted Nov. 2, 2023 to the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry

In this document, do not provide author(s)' names or any identifying information.
Please provide in one WORD file the case study and instructor's manual (IM). Both will be sent to reviewers. Save the document with a file name identifying the short title, type of manuscript, and date (e.g., Widgets_CASE_2Nov2023.docx).

Manuscript

Length. The case study should be between 800 and 8,000 words (including Exhibits and Appendices but excluding references).   Authors should note that students prefer concise cases.

Past Tense.  The case should be written entirely in the past tense.  Authors should imagine the case being read one or two years in the future, after the events have already transpired.

Text.  For the text, use size 12 Calibri font, with 1.5 line spacing.  Paragraphs should be aligned with the left of the page, with a blank line between them.  Never “justify” the text.  Do not indent paragraphs.

Sections and subsections.  Short sections and subsections are much preferred over long sections.  Section titles should be bold, centered and underlined, with one blank space before them and one after.  Subsection titles should be bold and italicized and aligned with the left of the page.  The text should immediately follow the section title without a blank line.

In-text citations.  In-text citations are much preferred to footnotes, which should be avoided or only used when absolutely necessary. Avoid endnotes.  Use APA format for citations and the list of references; however, when using in-text citations, avoid the comma between the author’s name and the year of publication.  For in-text citations, when there are more than 3 authors, please use Author1 et al.

Direct quotes.  Direct quotes from case characters can significantly enhance the case and are encouraged.  Quotes should be put in quotation marks.  If the source of the quote is the author(s)’ primary research, no in-text citation is needed. If the source of the quote is a secondary source, such as a newspaper article, then an in-text citation with the publication name, date, and page number is required.

Example:
The CEO remarked, “Being number 3 in our market just isn’t good enough” (Fortune 2020, May 9: 14).

Exhibits.  For Exhibits (Tables, Graphs, etc.) and Appendices, use size 10 Calibri font, with single line spacing.  Authors should place Exhibits approximately where they believe they would be placed in the final version of a published case.   Center exhibits on the page; align the text and numbers in the center or on the left, as appropriate. Never “justify” the text within an exhibit. 

All Exhibits must have a number, a title, and indication of the source of information.  (Sometimes the source of information is “Author’s notes”).  All Exhibits must be numbered and labeled with an appropriate title (in bold font).

Example:                     Table 1.  Feugiat Nibh Sed Pulvinar Proin Gravida
                                 Source:  Adapted from Author 1, Author2 & Author3 2020

Facilisis Magna

Sapien Eget Mi

Risus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Blandit

Eget gravida cum sociis

Gravida

Eget felis eget nunc lobortis

Quisque

Quis ipsum suspendisse

 

References.  A reference list is required. Use a size 10 Calibri font for references.  Use AP style, but avoid unnecessary commas and unnecessary spaces, such as between the initials of an author’s name.  Format the reference list “Hanging 0.25” for the second line of text.

File Name.  Save the file with a name that indicates the short title, CASE, and date using underscores (but no spaces). For example, Widgets_CASE_2Nov2023.docx

Instructor’s Manual

All case submissions to the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry must include a fully developed instructor’s manual (IM).  The IM should be included in the same WORD file as the case, and be placed immediately after the end the of case.  (See separate Guidelines for Instructor’s Manual at www.jcri.org).

Format Example for Case Study

TEACHING CASE
WIDGETS-R-US: STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
submitted Aug. 3, 2023; re-submitted Nov. 2, 2023 to the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Diam quam nulla porttitor massa. Cursus risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet. Sed cras ornare arcu dui vivamus arcu felis ibendum ut. Dui ut ornare lectus sit amet. Integer enim neque volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis. Et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at in. Varius quam quisque id diam vel quam elementum pulvinar. Suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem ipsum dolor sit. Faucibus in ornare quam viverra orci. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing.

Section One

Porttitor massa id neque aliquam vestibulum morbi blandit cursus risus. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida dictum fusce ut. Porttitor rhoncus dolor purus non enim praesent. Bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque convallis. Tincidunt eget nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna (Author1 et al. 2021). Quam elementum pulvinar etiam non quam lacus suspendisse faucibus. Faucibus turpis (Author1 2019; Author2 & Author 3 2020).

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Fermentum dui faucibus in ornare. Nulla aliquet enim tortor at auctor. Eget felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam (Author4 2017; Author5 & Author6 2016).

First Subsection Heading.  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing. Eget gravida cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis. Adipiscing enim eu turpis egestas pretium aenean pharetra magna ac (Author7, Author8 & Author9 2015). 

Second Subsection Heading.  Fermentum dui faucibus in ornare (Author10 et al. 2014). Diam maecenas sed enim ut sem viverra aliquet eget sit. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida dictum fusce ut placerat orci. Lectus nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis tellus in. Nulla aliquet enim tortor at auctor. Eget felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus.

Section Two

Risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. Est sit amet facilisis magna etiam tempor orci. Blandit libero volutpat sed cras ornare arcu dui vivamus. Sed id semper risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque. Justo nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi (Author11 et al. 2015)

Table 1.  Feugiat Nibh Sed Pulvinar Proin Gravida
Source:  Adapted from Author 1, Author2 & Author3 2020

Facilisis Magna

Sapien Eget Mi

Risus

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Blandit

Eget gravida cum sociis

Gravida

Eget felis eget nunc lobortis

Quisque

Quis ipsum suspendisse

Conclusion

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Diam quam nulla porttitor massa. Cursus risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet. Sed cras ornare arcu dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Dui ut ornare lectus sit amet. Integer enim neque volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis. Et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at in. Varius quam quisque id diam vel quam elementum pulvinar. Suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem ipsum dolor sit. Faucibus in ornare quam viverra orci. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing (Author12 et al. 2019).

Appendix A. Dolor Sit Amet?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Diam quam nulla porttitor massa. Cursus risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet. Sed cras ornare arcu dui vivamus arcu felis ibendum ut. Dui ut ornare lectus sit amet. Integer enim neque volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis.

References

Author1, A. & Author2, BC. (2002). Title of Article. Name of Journal, 41: 110-137.

Author2, D., Author3, E. & Author4, F. (2020). Title of Article.  Name of Journal, 3:  12-29.

etc.