EXPERIMENTAL ONLINE CASE STUDY FOR A BREAKTHROUGH IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: FOCUS GROUP RESULTS

A new type of case study, called the real-time case (RTC), was produced in the fall of 2001 and distributed via the Internet to business classes at four universities in the US and Canada. The real-time case presented the story of one company's growth and development throughout a 14-week semester. A case writer stationed full-time at the subject company published case installments weekly on the Web, allowing students to view the company-building process as it happened. The 14-week coverage of RTC enabled students to study the subject company in unprecedented depth and detail. RTC's real-time interactivity allowed students to share their analyses and best thinking with the company leadership during the company’s decision-making process. A major objective in producing the case was to heighten student engagement with the case material. To evaluate whether this objective was achieved, a survey and a focus group discussion were conducted with one of the participating MBA classes. Results from the survey and the focus group showed a high degree of engagement, plus many other benefits from the new type of case study.