Case Study

A case study is a teaching method based on the analysis of authentic or realistically reconstructed situations drawn from professional practice. Students work with a case description containing organisational context, data, and a problem requiring resolution. Their task is to identify the key challenges, understand their underlying causes, and propose possible courses of action. This method enables students to engage with situations that resemble reallife organisational decision-making. As a result, theory becomes less abstract and begins to serve as an analytical tool for interpreting reality. Case study analysis also enhances motivation to learn, as students can recognise a direct link between academic knowledge and professional practice.

Course: Corporate Finance
Topic: Investment Decision-Making
Students analyse the case of a medium-sized manufacturing company considering investment in a new production line. The investment is expected to increase production capacity and enable entry into a new market segment, but it involves high initial costs and market risk. The aim of the class is to understand how companies make investment decisions and which financial and strategic factors should be considered in such analyses.

Introduction (5-10 min)
The lecturer introduces the company’s situation and presents the basic financial data for the project, including the investment cost, projected revenues, project duration, and level of risk. The lecturer also explains that the students’ task is to assess the viability of the investment and prepare a recommendation for the management board.

Individual Analysis (10–15 min)
Students examine the case description and financial data. They respond to questions such as: Does the project appear financially viable based on the available information? What additional information would be required to make a sound investment decision?

Group Work (20–25 min)
Students work in small teams to analyse the project’s financial data, calculate basic investment appraisal indicators, such as NPV, payback period, and rate of return, identify the main risk factors associated with the project, and develop two possible decision scenarios: proceeding with the investment or rejecting it.

Presentation and Discussion (15–20 min)
The groups present their recommendations. The lecturer records the arguments on the board and organises them into two categories: financial considerations and strategic considerations.

Summary (5–10 min)
The lecturer summarises the key conclusions and emphasises that investment decisions in companies are rarely based solely on financial indicators. Final decisions often also take strategic factors into account, such as the company’s competitive position and the market’s growth potential.

• When analysing complex problems that require interpreting multiple perspectives and understanding the motivations and decisions of social or organisational actors.
• In competency-based education, where it integrates theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and professional attitudes, for example in management, law, or medicine.
• In adult learning contexts, where Kolb’s full learning cycle can be activated: experience → reflection → theory → practice.

• When students do not yet have the basic knowledge needed to formulate meaningful questions and interpret complex source data.
• When the aim of the class is to present a large amount of new information quickly or to master a specific procedure

• The effectiveness of this method depends on the lecturer’s ability to moderate discussion, respond to unexpected issues, balance student contributions, and keep the discussion aligned with the course aims.
• Preparing a good case study — current, realistic, and based on relevant data — takes considerably more time than preparing a lecture. It requires access to authentic materials or a credible reconstruction of them.
• Classes based on case studies may feel less structured and more stressful than lectures, especially for beginner students. An introduction to the method and clear instructions are therefore essential.

Easier → Use short, single-issue cases with a clearly defined problem and a limited amount of data.
More Challenging → Use multi-layered, interdisciplinary cases with information gaps that require students to search for data independently.

• First define the learning outcomes clearly — knowledge, skills, and attitudes — and only then select the case and supporting data.
• Choose real or credibly reconstructed situations drawn from professional practice to increase engagement and facilitate knowledge transfer.
• Use short, single-issue cases with beginners; for more advanced students, use multi-layered cases with information gaps that require independent data collection.
• Clearly communicate the stages of the activity — individual analysis, group work, plenary discussion, and summary — together with the expected outcomes, such as alternative solutions and a final recommendation.

Formative Assessment
During the case analysis, collect brief pieces of evidence of students’ work, such as an initial diagnosis of the problem, selected data, calculations, a list of risks, or a draft recommendation. Based on these, provide feedback by indicating which elements of the analysis are well founded, where additional data or justification is needed, and what should be improved before the final recommendation is prepared.

Summative Assessment
Students prepare a written recommendation or report, such as a memo for senior management, in which they present a decision related to the case under analysis. The assignment should include a diagnosis of the problem, justification of the decision, an analysis of risks, the use of relevant data and calculations, and a final recommendation. Assessment focuses on the accuracy of the analysis, the appropriate use of analytical tools, the logical connection between data and conclusions, the quality of the argumentation, and the practical usefulness of the recommendation.