example of introduction about case study

Blog about Writing Case Study and Coursework

dudestudy.com

How to Write an Introduction for a Case Study Report

If you’re looking for examples of how to write an introduction for a case-study report, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find a sample, guidelines for writing a case-study introduction, and tips on how to make it clear. In five minutes or less, recruiters will read your case study and decide whether you’re a good fit for the job.

Example of a case study introduction

An example of a case study introduction should be written to provide a roadmap for the reader. It should briefly summarize the topic, identify the problem, and discuss its significance. It should include previous case studies and summarize the literature review. In addition, it should include the purpose of the study, and the issues that it addresses. Using this example as a guideline, writers can make their case study introductions. Here are some tips:

The first paragraph of the introduction should summarize the entire article, and should include the following sections: the case presentation, the examinations performed, and the working diagnosis, the management of the case, and the outcome. The final section, the discussion, should summarize the previous subsections, explain any apparent inconsistencies, and describe the lessons learned. The body of the paper should also summarize the introduction and include any notes for the instructor.

The last section of a case study introduction should summarize the findings and limitations of the study, as well as suggestions for further research. The conclusion section should restate the thesis and main findings of the case study. The conclusion should summarize previous case studies, summarize the findings, and highlight the possibilities for future study. It is important to note that not all educational institutions require the case study analysis format, so it is important to check ahead of time.

The introductory paragraph should outline the overall strategy for the study. It should also describe the short-term and long-term goals of the case study. Using this method will ensure clarity and reduce misunderstandings. However, it is important to consider the end goal. After all, the objective is to communicate the benefits of the product. And, the solution should be measurable. This can be done by highlighting the benefits and minimizing the negatives.

Structure of a case study introduction

The structure of a case study introduction is different from the general introduction of a research paper. The main purpose of the introduction is to set the stage for the rest of the case study. The problem statement must be short and precise to convey the main point of the study. Then, the introduction should summarize the literature review and present the previous case studies that have dealt with the topic. The introduction should end with a thesis statement.

The thesis statement should contain facts and evidence related to the topic. Include the method used, the findings, and discussion. The solution section should describe specific strategies for solving the problem. It should conclude with a call to action for the reader. When using quotations, be sure to cite them properly. The thesis statement must include the problem statement, the methods used, and the expected outcome of the study. The conclusion section should state the case study’s importance.

In the discussion section, state the limitations of the study and explain why they are not significant. In addition, mention any questions unanswered and issues that the study was unable to address. For more information, check out the APA, Harvard, Chicago, and MLA citation styles. Once you know how to structure a case study introduction, you’ll be ready to write it! And remember, there’s always a right and wrong way to write a case study introduction.

During the writing process, you’ll need to make notes on the problems and issues of the case. Write down any ideas and directions that come to mind. Avoid writing neatly. It may impede your creative process, so write down a rough draft first, and then draw it up for your educational instructor. The introduction is an overview of the case study. Include the thesis statement. If you’re writing a case study for an assignment, you’ll also need to provide an overview of the assignment.

Guidelines for writing a case study introduction

A case study is not a formal scientific research report, but it is written for a lay audience. It should be readable and follow the general narrative that was determined in the first step. The introduction should provide background information about the case and its main topic. It should be short, but should introduce the topic and explain its context in just one or two paragraphs. An ideal case study introduction is between three and five sentences.

The case study must be well-designed and logical. It cannot contain opinions or assumptions. The research question must be a logical conclusion based on the findings. This can be done through a spreadsheet program or by consulting a linguistics expert. Once you have identified the major issues, you need to revise the paper. Once you have revised it twice, it should be well-written, concise, and logical.

The conclusion should state the findings, explain their significance, and summarize the main points. The conclusion should move from the detailed to the general level of consideration. The conclusion should also briefly state the limitations of the case study and point out the need for further research in order to fully address the problem. This should be done in a manner that will keep the reader interested in reading the paper. It should be clear about what the case study found and what it means for the research community.

The case study begins with a cover page and an executive summary, depending on your professor’s instructions. It’s important to remember that this is not a mandatory element of the case study. Instead, the executive summary should be brief and include the key points of the study’s analysis. It should be written as if an executive would read it on the run. Ultimately, the executive summary should include all the key points of the case study.

Clarity in a case study introduction

Clarity in a case study introduction should be at the heart of the paper. This section should explain why the case was chosen and how you decided to use it. The case study introduction varies according to the type of subject you are studying and the goals of the study. Here are some examples of clear and effective case study introductions. Read on to find out how to write a successful one. Clarity in a case study introduction begins with a strong thesis statement and ends with a compelling conclusion.

The conclusion of the case study should restate the research question and emphasize its importance. Identify and restate the key findings and describe how they address the research question. If the case study has limitations, discuss the potential for further research. In addition, document the limitations of the case study. Include any limitations of the case study in the conclusion. This will allow readers to make informed decisions about whether or not the findings are relevant to their own practices.

A case study introduction should include a brief discussion of the topic and selected case. It should explain how the study fits into current knowledge. A reader may question the validity of the analysis if it fails to consider all possible outcomes. For example, a case study on railroad crossings may fail to document the obvious outcome of improving the signage at these intersections. Another example would be a study that failed to document the impact of warning signs and speed limits on railroad crossings.

As a conclusion, the case study should also contain a discussion of how the research was conducted. While it may be a case study, the results are not necessarily applicable to other situations. In addition to describing how a solution has solved the problem, a case study should also discuss the causes of the problem. A case study should be based on real data and information. If the case study is not valid, it will not be a good fit for the audience.

Sample of a case study introduction

A good case study introduction serves as a map for the reader to follow. It should identify the research problem and discuss its significance. It should be based on extensive research and should incorporate relevant issues and facts. For example, it may include a short but precise problem statement. The next section of the introduction should include a description of the solution. The final part of the introduction should conclude with the recommended action. Once the reader has a sense of the direction the study will take, they will feel confident in pursuing the study further.

In the case of social sciences, case studies cannot be purely empirical. The results of a case study can be compared with those of other studies, so that the case study’s findings can be assessed against previous research. A case study’s results can help support general conclusions and build theories, while their practical value lies in generating hypotheses. Despite their utility, case studies often contain a bias toward verification and tend to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions.

In the case of case studies, the conclusions section should state the significance of the findings, stating how the findings of the study differ from other previous studies. Likewise, the conclusion section should summarize the key findings, and make the reader understand how they address the research problem. In the case of a case study, it is crucial to document any limitations that have been identified. After all, a case study is not complete without further research.

After the introduction, the main body of the paper is the case presentation. It should provide information about the case, such as the history, examination results, working diagnosis, management, and outcome. It should conclude with a discussion, explaining the correlations, apparent inconsistencies, and lessons learned. Finally, the conclusion should state whether the case study presented the results in the desired way. The findings should not be overgeneralized, and the conclusions must be derived from this information.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

How to write a case study — examples, templates, and tools

It’s a marketer’s job to communicate the effectiveness of a product or service to potential and current customers to convince them to buy and keep business moving. One of the best methods for doing this is to share success stories that are relatable to prospects and customers based on their pain points, experiences, and overall needs.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are an essential part of a content marketing plan. These in-depth stories of customer experiences are some of the most effective at demonstrating the value of a product or service. Yet many marketers don’t use them, whether because of their regimented formats or the process of customer involvement and approval.

A case study is a powerful tool for showcasing your hard work and the success your customer achieved. But writing a great case study can be difficult if you’ve never done it before or if it’s been a while. This guide will show you how to write an effective case study and provide real-world examples and templates that will keep readers engaged and support your business.

In this article, you’ll learn:

What is a case study?

How to write a case study, case study templates, case study examples, case study tools.

A case study is the detailed story of a customer’s experience with a product or service that demonstrates their success and often includes measurable outcomes. Case studies are used in a range of fields and for various reasons, from business to academic research. They’re especially impactful in marketing as brands work to convince and convert consumers with relatable, real-world stories of actual customer experiences.

The best case studies tell the story of a customer’s success, including the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the support they received from a brand along the way. To write a great case study, you need to:

• Celebrate the customer and make them — not a product or service — the star of the story.
• Craft the story with specific audiences or target segments in mind so that the story of one customer will be viewed as relatable and actionable for another customer.
• Write copy that is easy to read and engaging so that readers will gain the insights and messages intended.
• Follow a standardized format that includes all of the essentials a potential customer would find interesting and useful.
• Support all of the claims for success made in the story with data in the forms of hard numbers and customer statements.

Case studies are a type of review but more in depth, aiming to show — rather than just tell — the positive experiences that customers have with a brand. Notably, 89% of consumers read reviews before deciding to buy, and 79% view case study content as part of their purchasing process. When it comes to B2B sales, 52% of buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.

Telling a brand story through the experience of a tried-and-true customer matters. The story is relatable to potential new customers as they imagine themselves in the shoes of the company or individual featured in the case study. Showcasing previous customers can help new ones see themselves engaging with your brand in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

Besides sharing the perspective of another customer, case studies stand out from other content marketing forms because they are based on evidence. Whether pulling from client testimonials or data-driven results, case studies tend to have more impact on new business because the story contains information that is both objective (data) and subjective (customer experience) — and the brand doesn’t sound too self-promotional.

Case studies are unique in that there’s a fairly standardized format for telling a customer’s story. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. It’s all about making sure that teams are clear on the goals for the case study — along with strategies for supporting content and channels — and understanding how the story fits within the framework of the company’s overall marketing goals.

Here are the basic steps to writing a good case study.

1. Identify your goal

Start by defining exactly who your case study will be designed to help. Case studies are about specific instances where a company works with a customer to achieve a goal. Identify which customers are likely to have these goals, as well as other needs the story should cover to appeal to them.

The answer is often found in one of the buyer personas that have been constructed as part of your larger marketing strategy. This can include anything from new leads generated by the marketing team to long-term customers that are being pressed for cross-sell opportunities. In all of these cases, demonstrating value through a relatable customer success story can be part of the solution to conversion.

2. Choose your client or subject

Who you highlight matters. Case studies tie brands together that might otherwise not cross paths. A writer will want to ensure that the highlighted customer aligns with their own company’s brand identity and offerings. Look for a customer with positive name recognition who has had great success with a product or service and is willing to be an advocate.

The client should also match up with the identified target audience. Whichever company or individual is selected should be a reflection of other potential customers who can see themselves in similar circumstances, having the same problems and possible solutions.

Some of the most compelling case studies feature customers who:

• Switch from one product or service to another while naming competitors that missed the mark.
• Experience measurable results that are relatable to others in a specific industry.
• Represent well-known brands and recognizable names that are likely to compel action.
• Advocate for a product or service as a champion and are well-versed in its advantages.

Whoever or whatever customer is selected, marketers must ensure they have the permission of the company involved before getting started. Some brands have strict review and approval procedures for any official marketing or promotional materials that include their name. Acquiring those approvals in advance will prevent any miscommunication or wasted effort if there is an issue with their legal or compliance teams.

3. Conduct research and compile data

Substantiating the claims made in a case study — either by the marketing team or customers themselves — adds validity to the story. To do this, include data and feedback from the client that defines what success looks like. This can be anything from demonstrating return on investment (ROI) to a specific metric the customer was striving to improve. Case studies should prove how an outcome was achieved and show tangible results that indicate to the customer that your solution is the right one.

This step could also include customer interviews. Make sure that the people being interviewed are key stakeholders in the purchase decision or deployment and use of the product or service that is being highlighted. Content writers should work off a set list of questions prepared in advance. It can be helpful to share these with the interviewees beforehand so they have time to consider and craft their responses. One of the best interview tactics to keep in mind is to ask questions where yes and no are not natural answers. This way, your subject will provide more open-ended responses that produce more meaningful content.

4. Choose the right format

There are a number of different ways to format a case study. Depending on what you hope to achieve, one style will be better than another. However, there are some common elements to include, such as:

• An engaging headline
• A subject and customer introduction
• The unique challenge or challenges the customer faced
• The solution the customer used to solve the problem
• The results achieved
• Data and statistics to back up claims of success
• A strong call to action (CTA) to engage with the vendor

It’s also important to note that while case studies are traditionally written as stories, they don’t have to be in a written format. Some companies choose to get more creative with their case studies and produce multimedia content, depending on their audience and objectives. Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more.

5. Write your case study

We’ll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing your case study.

• Be clear and concise. Readers want to get to the point of the story quickly and easily, and they’ll be looking to see themselves reflected in the story right from the start.
• Provide a big picture. Always make sure to explain who the client is, their goals, and how they achieved success in a short introduction to engage the reader.
• Construct a clear narrative. Stick to the story from the perspective of the customer and what they needed to solve instead of just listing product features or benefits.
• Leverage graphics. Incorporating infographics, charts, and sidebars can be a more engaging and eye-catching way to share key statistics and data in readable ways.
• Offer the right amount of detail. Most case studies are one or two pages with clear sections that a reader can skim to find the information most important to them.
• Include data to support claims. Show real results — both facts and figures and customer quotes — to demonstrate credibility and prove the solution works.

6. Promote your story

Marketers have a number of options for distribution of a freshly minted case study. Many brands choose to publish case studies on their website and post them on social media. This can help support SEO and organic content strategies while also boosting company credibility and trust as visitors see that other businesses have used the product or service.

Marketers are always looking for quality content they can use for lead generation. Consider offering a case study as gated content behind a form on a landing page or as an offer in an email message. One great way to do this is to summarize the content and tease the full story available for download after the user takes an action.

Sales teams can also leverage case studies, so be sure they are aware that the assets exist once they’re published. Especially when it comes to larger B2B sales, companies often ask for examples of similar customer challenges that have been solved.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about case studies and what they should include, you may be wondering how to start creating great customer story content. Here are a couple of templates you can use to structure your case study.

Template 1 — Challenge-solution-result format

• Start with an engaging title. This should be fewer than 70 characters long for SEO best practices. One of the best ways to approach the title is to include the customer’s name and a hint at the challenge they overcame in the end.
• Create an introduction. Lead with an explanation as to who the customer is, the need they had, and the opportunity they found with a specific product or solution. Writers can also suggest the success the customer experienced with the solution they chose.
• Present the challenge. This should be several paragraphs long and explain the problem the customer faced and the issues they were trying to solve. Details should tie into the company’s products and services naturally. This section needs to be the most relatable to the reader so they can picture themselves in a similar situation.
• Share the solution. Explain which product or service offered was the ideal fit for the customer and why. Feel free to delve into their experience setting up, purchasing, and onboarding the solution.
• Explain the results. Demonstrate the impact of the solution they chose by backing up their positive experience with data. Fill in with customer quotes and tangible, measurable results that show the effect of their choice.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that invites readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to nurture them further in the marketing pipeline. What you ask of the reader should tie directly into the goals that were established for the case study in the first place.

Template 2 — Data-driven format

• Start with an engaging title. Be sure to include a statistic or data point in the first 70 characters. Again, it’s best to include the customer’s name as part of the title.
• Create an overview. Share the customer’s background and a short version of the challenge they faced. Present the reason a particular product or service was chosen, and feel free to include quotes from the customer about their selection process.
• Present data point 1. Isolate the first metric that the customer used to define success and explain how the product or solution helped to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 2. Isolate the second metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 3. Isolate the final metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Summarize the results. Reiterate the fact that the customer was able to achieve success thanks to a specific product or service. Include quotes and statements that reflect customer satisfaction and suggest they plan to continue using the solution.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that asks readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to further nurture them in the marketing pipeline. Again, remember that this is where marketers can look to convert their content into action with the customer.

While templates are helpful, seeing a case study in action can also be a great way to learn. Here are some examples of how Adobe customers have experienced success.

Juniper Networks

One example is the Adobe and Juniper Networks case study , which puts the reader in the customer’s shoes. The beginning of the story quickly orients the reader so that they know exactly who the article is about and what they were trying to achieve. Solutions are outlined in a way that shows Adobe Experience Manager is the best choice and a natural fit for the customer. Along the way, quotes from the client are incorporated to help add validity to the statements. The results in the case study are conveyed with clear evidence of scale and volume using tangible data.

The story of Lenovo’s journey with Adobe is one that spans years of planning, implementation, and rollout. The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content.

Tata Consulting

When it comes to using data to show customer results, this case study does an excellent job of conveying details and numbers in an easy-to-digest manner. Bullet points at the start break up the content while also helping the reader understand exactly what the case study will be about. Tata Consulting used Adobe to deliver elevated, engaging content experiences for a large telecommunications client of its own — an objective that’s relatable for a lot of companies.

Case studies are a vital tool for any marketing team as they enable you to demonstrate the value of your company’s products and services to others. They help marketers do their job and add credibility to a brand trying to promote its solutions by using the experiences and stories of real customers.

When you’re ready to get started with a case study:

• Think about a few goals you’d like to accomplish with your content.
• Make a list of successful clients that would be strong candidates for a case study.
• Reach out to the client to get their approval and conduct an interview.
• Gather the data to present an engaging and effective customer story.

Adobe can help

There are several Adobe products that can help you craft compelling case studies. Adobe Experience Platform helps you collect data and deliver great customer experiences across every channel. Once you’ve created your case studies, Experience Platform will help you deliver the right information to the right customer at the right time for maximum impact.

To learn more, watch the Adobe Experience Platform story .

Keep in mind that the best case studies are backed by data. That’s where Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Analytics come into play. With Real-Time CDP, you can gather the data you need to build a great case study and target specific customers to deliver the content to the right audience at the perfect moment.

Watch the Real-Time CDP overview video to learn more.

Finally, Adobe Analytics turns real-time data into real-time insights. It helps your business collect and synthesize data from multiple platforms to make more informed decisions and create the best case study possible.

Request a demo to learn more about Adobe Analytics.

https://business.adobe.com/blog/perspectives/b2b-ecommerce-10-case-studies-inspire-you

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/business-case

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-real-time-analytics

All You Wanted to Know About How to Write a Case Study

What do you study in your college? If you are a psychology, sociology, or anthropology student, we bet you might be familiar with what a case study is. This research method is used to study a certain person, group, or situation. In this guide from our dissertation writing service , you will learn how to write a case study professionally, from researching to citing sources properly. Also, we will explore different types of case studies and show you examples — so that you won’t have any other questions left.

What Is a Case Study?

A case study is a subcategory of research design which investigates problems and offers solutions. Case studies can range from academic research studies to corporate promotional tools trying to sell an idea—their scope is quite vast.

What Is the Difference Between a Research Paper and a Case Study?

While research papers turn the reader’s attention to a certain problem, case studies go even further. Case study guidelines require students to pay attention to details, examining issues closely and in-depth using different research methods. For example, case studies may be used to examine court cases if you study Law, or a patient's health history if you study Medicine. Case studies are also used in Marketing, which are thorough, empirically supported analysis of a good or service's performance. Well-designed case studies can be valuable for prospective customers as they can identify and solve the potential customers pain point.

Case studies involve a lot of storytelling – they usually examine particular cases for a person or a group of people. This method of research is very helpful, as it is very practical and can give a lot of hands-on information. Most commonly, the length of the case study is about 500-900 words, which is much less than the length of an average research paper.

The structure of a case study is very similar to storytelling. It has a protagonist or main character, which in your case is actually a problem you are trying to solve. You can use the system of 3 Acts to make it a compelling story. It should have an introduction, rising action, a climax where transformation occurs, falling action, and a solution.

Here is a rough formula for you to use in your case study:

Problem (Act I): > Solution (Act II) > Result (Act III) > Conclusion.

Types of Case Studies

The purpose of a case study is to provide detailed reports on an event, an institution, a place, future customers, or pretty much anything. There are a few common types of case study, but the type depends on the topic. The following are the most common domains where case studies are needed:

• Historical case studies are great to learn from. Historical events have a multitude of source info offering different perspectives. There are always modern parallels where these perspectives can be applied, compared, and thoroughly analyzed.
• Problem-oriented case studies are usually used for solving problems. These are often assigned as theoretical situations where you need to immerse yourself in the situation to examine it. Imagine you’re working for a startup and you’ve just noticed a significant flaw in your product’s design. Before taking it to the senior manager, you want to do a comprehensive study on the issue and provide solutions. On a greater scale, problem-oriented case studies are a vital part of relevant socio-economic discussions.
• Cumulative case studies collect information and offer comparisons. In business, case studies are often used to tell people about the value of a product.
• Critical case studies explore the causes and effects of a certain case.
• Illustrative case studies describe certain events, investigating outcomes and lessons learned.

Need a compelling case study? EssayPro has got you covered. Our experts are ready to provide you with detailed, insightful case studies that capture the essence of real-world scenarios. Elevate your academic work with our professional assistance.

Case Study Format

The case study format is typically made up of eight parts:

• Executive Summary. Explain what you will examine in the case study. Write an overview of the field you’re researching. Make a thesis statement and sum up the results of your observation in a maximum of 2 sentences.
• Background. Provide background information and the most relevant facts. Isolate the issues.
• Case Evaluation. Isolate the sections of the study you want to focus on. In it, explain why something is working or is not working.
• Proposed Solutions. Offer realistic ways to solve what isn’t working or how to improve its current condition. Explain why these solutions work by offering testable evidence.
• Conclusion. Summarize the main points from the case evaluations and proposed solutions. 6. Recommendations. Talk about the strategy that you should choose. Explain why this choice is the most appropriate.
• Implementation. Explain how to put the specific strategies into action.
• References. Provide all the citations.

How to Write a Case Study

Let's discover how to write a case study.

Setting Up the Research

When writing a case study, remember that research should always come first. Reading many different sources and analyzing other points of view will help you come up with more creative solutions. You can also conduct an actual interview to thoroughly investigate the customer story that you'll need for your case study. Including all of the necessary research, writing a case study may take some time. The research process involves doing the following:

• Define your objective. Explain the reason why you’re presenting your subject. Figure out where you will feature your case study; whether it is written, on video, shown as an infographic, streamed as a podcast, etc.
• Determine who will be the right candidate for your case study. Get permission, quotes, and other features that will make your case study effective. Get in touch with your candidate to see if they approve of being part of your work. Study that candidate’s situation and note down what caused it.
• Identify which various consequences could result from the situation. Follow these guidelines on how to start a case study: surf the net to find some general information you might find useful.
• Make a list of credible sources and examine them. Seek out important facts and highlight problems. Always write down your ideas and make sure to brainstorm.
• Focus on several key issues – why they exist, and how they impact your research subject. Think of several unique solutions. Draw from class discussions, readings, and personal experience. When writing a case study, focus on the best solution and explore it in depth. After having all your research in place, writing a case study will be easy. You may first want to check the rubric and criteria of your assignment for the correct case study structure.

Read Also: ' WHAT IS A CREDIBLE SOURCES ?'

Although your instructor might be looking at slightly different criteria, every case study rubric essentially has the same standards. Your professor will want you to exhibit 8 different outcomes:

• Correctly identify the concepts, theories, and practices in the discipline.
• Identify the relevant theories and principles associated with the particular study.
• Evaluate legal and ethical principles and apply them to your decision-making.
• Recognize the global importance and contribution of your case.
• Construct a coherent summary and explanation of the study.
• Demonstrate analytical and critical-thinking skills.
• Explain the interrelationships between the environment and nature.
• Integrate theory and practice of the discipline within the analysis.

Need Case Study DONE FAST?

Pick a topic, tell us your requirements and get your paper on time.

Case Study Outline

Let's look at the structure of an outline based on the issue of the alcoholic addiction of 30 people.

Introduction

• Statement of the issue: Alcoholism is a disease rather than a weakness of character.
• Presentation of the problem: Alcoholism is affecting more than 14 million people in the USA, which makes it the third most common mental illness there.
• Explanation of the terms: In the past, alcoholism was commonly referred to as alcohol dependence or alcohol addiction. Alcoholism is now the more severe stage of this addiction in the disorder spectrum.
• Hypotheses: Drinking in excess can lead to the use of other drugs.
• Importance of your story: How the information you present can help people with their addictions.
• Background of the story: Include an explanation of why you chose this topic.
• Presentation of analysis and data: Describe the criteria for choosing 30 candidates, the structure of the interview, and the outcomes.
• Strong argument 1: ex. X% of candidates dealing with anxiety and depression...
• Strong argument 2: ex. X amount of people started drinking by their mid-teens.
• Strong argument 3: ex. X% of respondents’ parents had issues with alcohol.
• Concluding statement: I have researched if alcoholism is a disease and found out that…
• Recommendations: Ways and actions for preventing alcohol use.

Writing a Case Study Draft

After you’ve done your case study research and written the outline, it’s time to focus on the draft. In a draft, you have to develop and write your case study by using: the data which you collected throughout the research, interviews, and the analysis processes that were undertaken. Follow these rules for the draft:

• Your draft should contain at least 4 sections: an introduction; a body where you should include background information, an explanation of why you decided to do this case study, and a presentation of your main findings; a conclusion where you present data; and references.
• In the introduction, you should set the pace very clearly. You can even raise a question or quote someone you interviewed in the research phase. It must provide adequate background information on the topic. The background may include analyses of previous studies on your topic. Include the aim of your case here as well. Think of it as a thesis statement. The aim must describe the purpose of your work—presenting the issues that you want to tackle. Include background information, such as photos or videos you used when doing the research.
• Describe your unique research process, whether it was through interviews, observations, academic journals, etc. The next point includes providing the results of your research. Tell the audience what you found out. Why is this important, and what could be learned from it? Discuss the real implications of the problem and its significance in the world.
• Include quotes and data (such as findings, percentages, and awards). This will add a personal touch and better credibility to the case you present. Explain what results you find during your interviews in regards to the problem and how it developed. Also, write about solutions which have already been proposed by other people who have already written about this case.
• At the end of your case study, you should offer possible solutions, but don’t worry about solving them yourself.

Use Data to Illustrate Key Points in Your Case Study

Even though your case study is a story, it should be based on evidence. Use as much data as possible to illustrate your point. Without the right data, your case study may appear weak and the readers may not be able to relate to your issue as much as they should. Let's see the examples from essay writing service :

‍ With data: Alcoholism is affecting more than 14 million people in the USA, which makes it the third most common mental illness there. Without data: A lot of people suffer from alcoholism in the United States.

Try to include as many credible sources as possible. You may have terms or sources that could be hard for other cultures to understand. If this is the case, you should include them in the appendix or Notes for the Instructor or Professor.

Finalizing the Draft: Checklist

After you finish drafting your case study, polish it up by answering these ‘ask yourself’ questions and think about how to end your case study:

• Check that you follow the correct case study format, also in regards to text formatting.
• Check that your work is consistent with its referencing and citation style.
• Micro-editing — check for grammar and spelling issues.
• Macro-editing — does ‘the big picture’ come across to the reader? Is there enough raw data, such as real-life examples or personal experiences? Have you made your data collection process completely transparent? Does your analysis provide a clear conclusion, allowing for further research and practice?

Problems to avoid:

• Overgeneralization – Do not go into further research that deviates from the main problem.
• Failure to Document Limitations – Just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study, you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis.
• Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications – Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings.

How to Create a Title Page and Cite a Case Study

Let's see how to create an awesome title page.

Your title page depends on the prescribed citation format. The title page should include:

• A title that attracts some attention and describes your study
• The title should have the words “case study” in it
• The title should range between 5-9 words in length
• Your name and contact information
• Your finished paper should be only 500 to 1,500 words in length.With this type of assignment, write effectively and avoid fluff

Here is a template for the APA and MLA format title page:

There are some cases when you need to cite someone else's study in your own one – therefore, you need to master how to cite a case study. A case study is like a research paper when it comes to citations. You can cite it like you cite a book, depending on what style you need.

Citation Example in MLA ‍ Hill, Linda, Tarun Khanna, and Emily A. Stecker. HCL Technologies. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing, 2008. Print.

Citation Example in APA ‍ Hill, L., Khanna, T., & Stecker, E. A. (2008). HCL Technologies. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing.

Citation Example in Chicago Hill, Linda, Tarun Khanna, and Emily A. Stecker. HCL Technologies.

Case Study Examples

To give you an idea of a professional case study example, we gathered and linked some below.

Eastman Kodak Case Study

Case Study Example: Audi Trains Mexican Autoworkers in Germany

To conclude, a case study is one of the best methods of getting an overview of what happened to a person, a group, or a situation in practice. It allows you to have an in-depth glance at the real-life problems that businesses, healthcare industry, criminal justice, etc. may face. This insight helps us look at such situations in a different light. This is because we see scenarios that we otherwise would not, without necessarily being there. If you need custom essays , try our research paper writing services .

Get Help Form Qualified Writers

Crafting a case study is not easy. You might want to write one of high quality, but you don’t have the time or expertise. If you’re having trouble with your case study, help with essay request - we'll help. EssayPro writers have read and written countless case studies and are experts in endless disciplines. Request essay writing, editing, or proofreading assistance from our custom case study writing service , and all of your worries will be gone.

Don't Know Where to Start?

Crafting a case study is not easy. You might want to write one of high quality, but you don’t have the time or expertise. Request ' write my case study ' assistance from our service.

What Is A Case Study?

How to cite a case study in apa, how to write a case study, related articles.

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

• The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
• The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
• The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
• The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
• The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

• What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
• Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
• What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
• How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

• Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
• Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
• Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

• If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
• If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
• Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

• << Previous: Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Next: Writing a Field Report >>
• Last Updated: May 7, 2024 9:45 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Guided Meditations
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2024 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

What Is a Case Study?

Weighing the pros and cons of this method of research

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

Verywell / Colleen Tighe

• Pros and Cons

What Types of Case Studies Are Out There?

Where do you find data for a case study, how do i write a psychology case study.

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

The point of a case study is to learn as much as possible about an individual or group so that the information can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective, and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, we got you—here are some rules of APA format to reference.  

At a Glance

A case study, or an in-depth study of a person, group, or event, can be a useful research tool when used wisely. In many cases, case studies are best used in situations where it would be difficult or impossible for you to conduct an experiment. They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a lot of˜ information about a specific individual or group of people. However, it's important to be cautious of any bias we draw from them as they are highly subjective.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies?

A case study can have its strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are often difficult or impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:

• Allows researchers to capture information on the 'how,' 'what,' and 'why,' of something that's implemented
• Gives researchers the chance to collect information on why one strategy might be chosen over another
• Permits researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the other hand, a case study can have some drawbacks:

• It cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population
• Cannot demonstrate cause and effect
• It may not be scientifically rigorous
• It can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they want to explore a unique or recently discovered phenomenon. Through their insights, researchers develop additional ideas and study questions that might be explored in future studies.

It's important to remember that the insights from case studies cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. However, case studies may be used to develop hypotheses that can then be addressed in experimental research.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of  Freud's work and theories were developed through individual case studies. Some great examples of case studies in psychology include:

• Anna O : Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms. Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental health treatment.
• Phineas Gage : Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain. Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and behavior.
• Genie : Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie allowed researchers to study whether language learning was possible, even after missing critical periods for language development. Her case also served as an example of how scientific research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse denied her the opportunity to learn a language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on Genie allowed researchers to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might use:

• Collective case studies : These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community. For example, psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there.
• Descriptive case studies : These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed, and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
• Explanatory case studies : These   are often used to do causal investigations. In other words, researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have caused certain things to occur.
• Exploratory case studies : These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research questions and hypotheses .
• Instrumental case studies : These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.
• Intrinsic case studies : This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic case study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The three main case study types often used are intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Intrinsic case studies are useful for learning about unique cases. Instrumental case studies help look at an individual to learn more about a broader issue. A collective case study can be useful for looking at several cases simultaneously.

The type of case study that psychology researchers use depends on the unique characteristics of the situation and the case itself.

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

• Archival records : Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival records.
• Direct observation : This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting . While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
• Documents : Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of documents often used as sources.
• Interviews : Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.
• Participant observation : When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.
• Physical artifacts : Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a direct observation of the subject.

If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines you need to follow. If you are writing your case study for a professional publication, check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.

Here is a general outline of what should be included in a case study.

Section 1: A Case History

This section will have the following structure and content:

Background information : The first section of your paper will present your client's background. Include factors such as age, gender, work, health status, family mental health history, family and social relationships, drug and alcohol history, life difficulties, goals, and coping skills and weaknesses.

Description of the presenting problem : In the next section of your case study, you will describe the problem or symptoms that the client presented with.

Describe any physical, emotional, or sensory symptoms reported by the client. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions related to the symptoms should also be noted. Any screening or diagnostic assessments that are used should also be described in detail and all scores reported.

Your diagnosis : Provide your diagnosis and give the appropriate Diagnostic and Statistical Manual code. Explain how you reached your diagnosis, how the client's symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s), or any possible difficulties in reaching a diagnosis.

Section 2: Treatment Plan

This portion of the paper will address the chosen treatment for the condition. This might also include the theoretical basis for the chosen treatment or any other evidence that might exist to support why this approach was chosen.

• Cognitive behavioral approach : Explain how a cognitive behavioral therapist would approach treatment. Offer background information on cognitive behavioral therapy and describe the treatment sessions, client response, and outcome of this type of treatment. Make note of any difficulties or successes encountered by your client during treatment.
• Humanistic approach : Describe a humanistic approach that could be used to treat your client, such as client-centered therapy . Provide information on the type of treatment you chose, the client's reaction to the treatment, and the end result of this approach. Explain why the treatment was successful or unsuccessful.
• Psychoanalytic approach : Describe how a psychoanalytic therapist would view the client's problem. Provide some background on the psychoanalytic approach and cite relevant references. Explain how psychoanalytic therapy would be used to treat the client, how the client would respond to therapy, and the effectiveness of this treatment approach.
• Pharmacological approach : If treatment primarily involves the use of medications, explain which medications were used and why. Provide background on the effectiveness of these medications and how monotherapy may compare with an approach that combines medications with therapy or other treatments.

This section of a case study should also include information about the treatment goals, process, and outcomes.

When you are writing a case study, you should also include a section where you discuss the case study itself, including the strengths and limitiations of the study. You should note how the findings of your case study might support previous research. 

In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?

Need More Tips?

Here are a few additional pointers to keep in mind when formatting your case study:

• Never refer to the subject of your case study as "the client." Instead, use their name or a pseudonym.
• Read examples of case studies to gain an idea about the style and format.
• Remember to use APA format when citing references .

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach .  BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011;11:100.

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach . BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011 Jun 27;11:100. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Gagnon, Yves-Chantal.  The Case Study as Research Method: A Practical Handbook . Canada, Chicago Review Press Incorporated DBA Independent Pub Group, 2010.

Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . United States, SAGE Publications, 2017.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Home Blog Business How to Present a Case Study: Examples and Best Practices

How to Present a Case Study: Examples and Best Practices

Marketers, consultants, salespeople, and all other types of business managers often use case study analysis to highlight a success story, showing how an exciting problem can be or was addressed. But how do you create a compelling case study and then turn it into a memorable presentation? Get a lowdown from this post! 

Table of Content s

• Why Case Studies are a Popular Marketing Technique 

Popular Case Study Format Types

How to write a case study: a 4-step framework, how to do a case study presentation: 3 proven tips, how long should a case study be, final tip: use compelling presentation visuals, business case study examples, what is a case study .

Let’s start with this great case study definition by the University of South Caroline:

In the social sciences, the term case study refers to both a method of analysis and a specific research design for examining a problem, both of which can generalize findings across populations.

In simpler terms — a case study is investigative research into a problem aimed at presenting or highlighting solution(s) to the analyzed issues.

A standard business case study provides insights into:

• General business/market conditions 
• The main problem faced 
• Methods applied 
• The outcomes gained using a specific tool or approach

Case studies (also called case reports) are also used in clinical settings to analyze patient outcomes outside of the business realm. 

But this is a topic for another time. In this post, we’ll focus on teaching you how to write and present a business case, plus share several case study PowerPoint templates and design tips! 

Why Case Studies are a Popular Marketing Technique 

Besides presenting a solution to an internal issue, case studies are often used as a content marketing technique . According to a 2020 Content Marketing Institute report, 69% of B2B marketers use case studies as part of their marketing mix.

A case study informs the reader about a possible solution and soft-sells the results, which can be achieved with your help (e.g., by using your software or by partnering with your specialist). 

For the above purpose, case studies work like a charm. Per the same report: 

• For 9% of marketers, case studies are also the best method for nurturing leads. 
• 23% admit that case studies are beneficial for improving conversions. 

Moreover, case studies also help improve your brand’s credibility, especially in the current fake news landscape and dubious claims made without proper credit. 

Ultimately, case studies naturally help build up more compelling, relatable stories and showcase your product benefits through the prism of extra social proof, courtesy of the case study subject. 

Most case studies come either as a slide deck or as a downloadable PDF document. 

Typically, you have several options to distribute your case study for maximum reach:

• Case study presentations — in-person, virtual, or pre-recorded, there are many times when a case study presentation comes in handy. For example, during client workshops, sales pitches, networking events, conferences, trade shows, etc. 
• Dedicated website page — highlighting case study examples on your website is a great way to convert middle-on-the-funnel prospects. Google’s Think With Google case study section is a great example of a web case study design done right.

• Blog case studies — data-driven storytelling is a staunch way to stand apart from your competition by providing unique insights, no other brand can tell. 
• Video case studies — video is a great medium for showcasing more complex business cases and celebrating customer success stories.

Once you decide on your case study format, the next step is collecting data and then translating it into a storyline. There are different case study methods and research approaches you can use to procure data. 

But let’s say you already have all your facts straight and need to organize them in a clean copy for your presentation deck. Here’s how you should do it. 

1. Identify the Problem 

Every compelling case study research starts with a problem statement definition. While in business settings, there’s no need to explain your methodology in-depth; you should still open your presentation with a quick problem recap slide.

Be sure to mention: 

• What’s the purpose of the case study? What will the audience learn? 
• Set the scene. Explain the before, aka the problems someone was facing. 
• Advertise the main issues and findings without highlighting specific details.

The above information should nicely fit in several paragraphs or 2-3 case study template slides

2. Explain the Solution 

The bulk of your case study copy and presentation slides should focus on the provided solution(s). This is the time to speak at length about how the subject went from before to the glorious after. 

Here are some writing prompts to help you articulate this better:

• State the subject’s main objective and goals. What outcomes were they after?
• Explain the main solution(s) provided. What was done? Why this, but not that? 
• Mention if they tried any alternatives. Why did those work? Why were you better?

This part may take the longest to write. Don’t rush it and reiterate several times. Sprinkle in some powerful words and catchphrases to make your copy more compelling.

3. Collect Testimonials 

Persuasive case studies feature the voice of customer (VoC) data — first-party testimonials and assessments of how well the solution works. These provide extra social proof and credibility to all the claims you are making. 

So plan and schedule interviews with your subjects to collect their input and testimonials. Also, design your case study interview questions in a way that lets you obtain quantifiable results.

4. Package The Information in a Slide Deck

Once you have a rough first draft, try different business case templates and designs to see how these help structure all the available information. 

As a rule of thumb, try to keep one big idea per slide. If you are talking about a solution, first present the general bullet points. Then give each solution a separate slide where you’ll provide more context and perhaps share some quantifiable results.

For example, if you look at case study presentation examples from AWS like this one about Stripe , you’ll notice that the slide deck has few texts and really focuses on the big picture, while the speaker provides extra context.

Need some extra case study presentation design help? Download our Business Case Study PowerPoint template with 100% editable slides. 

Your spoken presentation (and public speaking skills ) are equally if not more important than the case study copy and slide deck. To make a strong business case, follow these quick techniques. 

Focus on Telling a Great Story

A case study is a story of overcoming a challenge, and achieving something grand. Your delivery should reflect that. Step away from the standard “features => benefits” sales formula. Instead, make your customer the hero of the study. Describe the road they went through and how you’ve helped them succeed. 

The premises of your story can be as simple as:

• Help with overcoming a hurdle
• Gaining major impact
• Reaching a new milestone
• Solving a persisting issue no one else code 

Based on the above, create a clear story arc. Show where your hero started. Then explain what type of journey they went through. Inject some emotions into the mix to make your narrative more relatable and memorable. 

Experiment with Copywriting Formulas 

Copywriting is the art and science of organizing words into compelling and persuasive combinations that help readers retain the right ideas. 

To ensure that the audience retains the right takeaways from your case study presentation, you can try using some of the classic copywriting formulas to structure your delivery. These include:

• AIDCA — short for A ttention, I nterest, D esire, C onviction, and A ction. First, grab the audience’s attention by addressing the major problem. Next, pique their interest with some teaser facts. Spark their desire by showing that you know the right way out. Then, show a conviction that you know how to solve the issue—finally, prompt follow-up action such as contacting you to learn more. 
• PADS — is short for Problem, Agitation, Discredit, or Solution. This is more of a sales approach to case study narration. Again, you start with a problem, agitate about its importance, discredit why other solutions won’t cut it, and then present your option. 
• 4Ps — short for P roblem, P romise, P roof, P roposal. This is a middle-ground option that prioritizes storytelling over hard pitches. Set the scene first with a problem. Then make a promise of how you can solve it. Show proof in the form of numbers, testimonials, and different scenarios. Round it up with a proposal for getting the same outcomes. 

Take an Emotion-Inducing Perspective

The key to building a strong rapport with an audience is showing that you are one of them and fully understand what they are going through. 

One of the ways to build this connection is by speaking from an emotion-inducing perspective. This is best illustrated with an example: 

• A business owner went to the bank
• A business owner came into a bank branch 

In the second case, the wording prompts listeners to paint a mental picture from the perspective of the bank employees — a role you’d like them to relate to. By placing your audience in the right visual perspective, you can make them more receptive to your pitches. 

One common question that arises when creating a case study is determining its length. The length of a case study can vary depending on the complexity of the problem and the level of detail you want to provide. Here are some general guidelines to help you decide how long your case study should be:

• Concise and Informative: A good case study should be concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary fluff and filler content. Focus on providing valuable information and insights.
• Tailor to Your Audience: Consider your target audience when deciding the length. If you’re presenting to a technical audience, you might include more in-depth technical details. For a non-technical audience, keep it more high-level and accessible.
• Cover Key Points: Ensure that your case study covers the key points effectively. These include the problem statement, the solution, and the outcomes. Provide enough information for the reader to understand the context and the significance of your case.
• Visuals: Visual elements such as charts, graphs, images, and diagrams can help convey information more effectively. Use visuals to supplement your written content and make complex information easier to understand.
• Engagement: Keep your audience engaged. A case study that is too long may lose the reader’s interest. Make sure the content is engaging and holds the reader’s attention throughout.
• Consider the Format: Depending on the format you choose (e.g., written document, presentation, video), the ideal length may vary. For written case studies, aim for a length that can be easily read in one sitting.

In general, a written case study for business purposes often falls in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 words. However, this is not a strict rule, and the length can be shorter or longer based on the factors mentioned above.

Our brain is wired to process images much faster than text. So when you are presenting a case study, always look for an opportunity to tie in some illustrations such as: 

• A product demo/preview
• Processes chart 
• Call-out quotes or numbers
• Custom illustrations or graphics 
• Customer or team headshots 

Use icons to minimize the volume of text. Also, opt for readable fonts that can look good in a smaller size too.

To better understand how to create an effective business case study, let’s explore some examples of successful case studies:

Apple Inc.: Apple’s case study on the launch of the iPhone is a classic example. It covers the problem of a changing mobile phone market, the innovative solution (the iPhone), and the outstanding outcomes, such as market dominance and increased revenue.

Tesla, Inc.: Tesla’s case study on electric vehicles and sustainable transportation is another compelling example. It addresses the problem of environmental concerns and the need for sustainable transportation solutions. The case study highlights Tesla’s electric cars as the solution and showcases the positive impact on reducing carbon emissions.

Amazon.com: Amazon’s case study on customer-centricity is a great illustration of how the company transformed the e-commerce industry. It discusses the problem of customer dissatisfaction with traditional retail, Amazon’s customer-focused approach as the solution, and the remarkable outcomes in terms of customer loyalty and market growth.

Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola’s case study on brand evolution is a valuable example. It outlines the challenge of adapting to changing consumer preferences and demographics. The case study demonstrates how Coca-Cola continually reinvented its brand to stay relevant and succeed in the global market.

Airbnb: Airbnb’s case study on the sharing economy is an intriguing example. It addresses the problem of travelers seeking unique and affordable accommodations. The case study presents Airbnb’s platform as the solution and highlights its impact on the hospitality industry and the sharing economy.

These examples showcase the diversity of case studies in the business world and how they effectively communicate problems, solutions, and outcomes. When creating your own business case study, use these examples as inspiration and tailor your approach to your specific industry and target audience.

Finally, practice your case study presentation several times — solo and together with your team — to collect feedback and make last-minute refinements! 

1. Business Case Study PowerPoint Template

To efficiently create a Business Case Study it’s important to ask all the right questions and document everything necessary, therefore this PowerPoint Template will provide all the sections you need.

Use This Template

2. Medical Case Study PowerPoint Template

3. Medical Infographics PowerPoint Templates

4. Success Story PowerPoint Template

5. Detective Research PowerPoint Template

6. Animated Clinical Study PowerPoint Templates

Like this article? Please share

Business Intelligence, Business Planning, Business PowerPoint Templates, Content Marketing, Feasibility Study, Marketing, Marketing Strategy Filed under Business

Related Articles

Filed under Business • May 8th, 2024

Value Chain Analysis: A Guide for Presenters

Discover how to construct an actionable value chain analysis presentation to showcase to stakeholders with this detailed guide + templates.

Filed under Business • April 22nd, 2024

Setting SMART Goals – A Complete Guide (with Examples + Free Templates)

This guide on SMART goals introduces the concept, explains the definition and its meaning, along the main benefits of using the criteria for a business.

Filed under Business • February 2nd, 2024

Business Plan Presentations: A Guide

Learn all that’s required to produce a high-quality business plan presentation in this guide. Suggested templates and examples are included.

Leave a Reply

Writing A Case Study

Case Study Examples

Brilliant Case Study Examples and Templates For Your Help

15 min read

People also read

A Complete Case Study Writing Guide With Examples

Simple Case Study Format for Students to Follow

Understand the Types of Case Study Here

It’s no surprise that writing a case study is one of the most challenging academic tasks for students. You’re definitely not alone here!

Most people don't realize that there are specific guidelines to follow when writing a case study. If you don't know where to start, it's easy to get overwhelmed and give up before you even begin.

Don't worry! Let us help you out!

We've collected over 25 free case study examples with solutions just for you. These samples with solutions will help you win over your panel and score high marks on your case studies.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's dive in and learn the secrets to writing a successful case study.

• 1. An Overview of Case Studies
• 2. Case Study Examples for Students
• 3. Business Case Study Examples
• 4. Medical Case Study Examples
• 5. Psychology Case Study Examples 
• 6. Sales Case Study Examples
• 7. Interview Case Study Examples
• 8. Marketing Case Study Examples
• 9. Tips to Write a Good Case Study

An Overview of Case Studies

A case study is a research method used to study a particular individual, group, or situation in depth. It involves analyzing and interpreting data from a variety of sources to gain insight into the subject being studied. 

Case studies are often used in psychology, business, and education to explore complicated problems and find solutions. They usually have detailed descriptions of the subject, background info, and an analysis of the main issues.

The goal of a case study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Typically, case studies can be divided into three parts, challenges, solutions, and results. 

Here is a case study sample PDF so you can have a clearer understanding of what a case study actually is:

Case Study Sample PDF

How to Write a Case Study Examples

Learn how to write a case study with the help of our comprehensive case study guide.

Case Study Examples for Students

Quite often, students are asked to present case studies in their academic journeys. The reason instructors assign case studies is for students to sharpen their critical analysis skills, understand how companies make profits, etc.

Below are some case study examples in research, suitable for students:

Case Study Example in Software Engineering

Qualitative Research Case Study Sample

Software Quality Assurance Case Study

Social Work Case Study Example

Ethical Case Study

Case Study Example PDF

These examples can guide you on how to structure and format your own case studies.

Struggling with formatting your case study? Check this case study format guide and perfect your document’s structure today.

Business Case Study Examples

A business case study examines a business’s specific challenge or goal and how it should be solved. Business case studies usually focus on several details related to the initial challenge and proposed solution. 

To help you out, here are some samples so you can create case studies that are related to businesses: 

Here are some more business case study examples:

Business Case Studies PDF

Business Case Studies Example

Typically, a business case study discovers one of your customer's stories and how you solved a problem for them. It allows your prospects to see how your solutions address their needs. 

Medical Case Study Examples

Medical case studies are an essential part of medical education. They help students to understand how to diagnose and treat patients. 

Here are some medical case study examples to help you.

Medical Case Study Example

Nursing Case Study Example

Want to understand the various types of case studies? Check out our types of case study blog to select the perfect type.

Psychology Case Study Examples 

Case studies are a great way of investigating individuals with psychological abnormalities. This is why it is a very common assignment in psychology courses. 

By examining all the aspects of your subject’s life, you discover the possible causes of exhibiting such behavior. 

For your help, here are some interesting psychology case study examples:

Psychology Case Study Example

Mental Health Case Study Example

Sales Case Study Examples

Case studies are important tools for sales teams’ performance improvement. By examining sales successes, teams can gain insights into effective strategies and create action plans to employ similar tactics.

By researching case studies of successful sales campaigns, sales teams can more accurately identify challenges and develop solutions.

Sales Case Study Example

Interview Case Study Examples

Interview case studies provide businesses with invaluable information. This data allows them to make informed decisions related to certain markets or subjects.

Interview Case Study Example

Marketing Case Study Examples

Marketing case studies are real-life stories that showcase how a business solves a problem. They typically discuss how a business achieves a goal using a specific marketing strategy or tactic.

They typically describe a challenge faced by a business, the solution implemented, and the results achieved.

This is a short sample marketing case study for you to get an idea of what an actual marketing case study looks like.

 Here are some more popular marketing studies that show how companies use case studies as a means of marketing and promotion:

“Chevrolet Discover the Unexpected” by Carol H. Williams

This case study explores Chevrolet's “ DTU Journalism Fellows ” program. The case study uses the initials “DTU” to generate interest and encourage readers to learn more. 

Multiple types of media, such as images and videos, are used to explain the challenges faced. The case study concludes with an overview of the achievements that were met.

Key points from the case study include:

• Using a well-known brand name in the title can create interest.
• Combining different media types, such as headings, images, and videos, can help engage readers and make the content more memorable.
• Providing a summary of the key achievements at the end of the case study can help readers better understand the project's impact.

“The Met” by Fantasy

“ The Met ” by Fantasy is a fictional redesign of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, created by the design studio Fantasy. The case study clearly and simply showcases the museum's website redesign.

The Met emphasizes the website’s features and interface by showcasing each section of the interface individually, allowing the readers to concentrate on the significant elements.

For those who prefer text, each feature includes an objective description. The case study also includes a “Contact Us” call-to-action at the bottom of the page, inviting visitors to contact the company.

Key points from this “The Met” include:

• Keeping the case study simple and clean can help readers focus on the most important aspects.
• Presenting the features and solutions with a visual showcase can be more effective than writing a lot of text.
• Including a clear call-to-action at the end of the case study can encourage visitors to contact the company for more information.

“Better Experiences for All” by Herman Miller

Herman Miller's minimalist approach to furniture design translates to their case study, “ Better Experiences for All ”, for a Dubai hospital. The page features a captivating video with closed-captioning and expandable text for accessibility.

The case study presents a wealth of information in a concise format, enabling users to grasp the complexities of the strategy with ease. It concludes with a client testimonial and a list of furniture items purchased from the brand.

Key points from the “Better Experiences” include:

• Make sure your case study is user-friendly by including accessibility features like closed captioning and expandable text.
• Include a list of products that were used in the project to guide potential customers.

“NetApp” by Evisort 

Evisort's case study on “ NetApp ” stands out for its informative and compelling approach. The study begins with a client-centric overview of NetApp, strategically directing attention to the client rather than the company or team involved.

The case study incorporates client quotes and explores NetApp’s challenges during COVID-19. Evisort showcases its value as a client partner by showing how its services supported NetApp through difficult times. 

• Provide an overview of the company in the client’s words, and put focus on the customer. 
• Highlight how your services can help clients during challenging times.
• Make your case study accessible by providing it in various formats.

“Red Sox Season Campaign,” by CTP Boston

The “ Red Sox Season Campaign ” showcases a perfect blend of different media, such as video, text, and images. Upon visiting the page, the video plays automatically, there are videos of Red Sox players, their images, and print ads that can be enlarged with a click.

The page features an intuitive design and invites viewers to appreciate CTP's well-rounded campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team. There’s also a CTA that prompts viewers to learn how CTP can create a similar campaign for their brand.

Some key points to take away from the “Red Sox Season Campaign”: 

• Including a variety of media such as video, images, and text can make your case study more engaging and compelling.
• Include a call-to-action at the end of your study that encourages viewers to take the next step towards becoming a customer or prospect.

“Airbnb + Zendesk” by Zendesk

The case study by Zendesk, titled “ Airbnb + Zendesk : Building a powerful solution together,” showcases a true partnership between Airbnb and Zendesk. 

The article begins with an intriguing opening statement, “Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend,” and uses stunning images of beautiful Airbnb locations to captivate readers.

Instead of solely highlighting Zendesk's product, the case study is crafted to tell a good story and highlight Airbnb's service in detail. This strategy makes the case study more authentic and relatable.

Some key points to take away from this case study are:

• Use client's offerings' images rather than just screenshots of your own product or service.
• To begin the case study, it is recommended to include a distinct CTA. For instance, Zendesk presents two alternatives, namely to initiate a trial or seek a solution.

“Influencer Marketing” by Trend and WarbyParker

The case study "Influencer Marketing" by Trend and Warby Parker highlights the potential of influencer content marketing, even when working with a limited budget. 

The “Wearing Warby” campaign involved influencers wearing Warby Parker glasses during their daily activities, providing a glimpse of the brand's products in use. 

This strategy enhanced the brand's relatability with influencers' followers. While not detailing specific tactics, the case study effectively illustrates the impact of third-person case studies in showcasing campaign results.

Key points to take away from this case study are:

• Influencer marketing can be effective even with a limited budget.
• Showcasing products being used in everyday life can make a brand more approachable and relatable.
• Third-person case studies can be useful in highlighting the success of a campaign.

Marketing Case Study Example

Marketing Case Study Template

Now that you have read multiple case study examples, hop on to our tips.

Tips to Write a Good Case Study

Here are some note-worthy tips to craft a winning case study 

• Define the purpose of the case study This will help you to focus on the most important aspects of the case. The case study objective helps to ensure that your finished product is concise and to the point.
• Choose a real-life example. One of the best ways to write a successful case study is to choose a real-life example. This will give your readers a chance to see how the concepts apply in a real-world setting.
• Keep it brief. This means that you should only include information that is directly relevant to your topic and avoid adding unnecessary details.
• Use strong evidence. To make your case study convincing, you will need to use strong evidence. This can include statistics, data from research studies, or quotes from experts in the field.
• Edit and proofread your work. Before you submit your case study, be sure to edit and proofread your work carefully. This will help to ensure that there are no errors and that your paper is clear and concise.

There you go!

We’re sure that now you have secrets to writing a great case study at your fingertips! This blog teaches the key guidelines of various case studies with samples. So grab your pen and start crafting a winning case study right away!

Having said that, we do understand that some of you might be having a hard time writing compelling case studies.

But worry not! Our expert case study writing service is here to take all your case-writing blues away! 

With 100% thorough research guaranteed, our online essay service can craft an amazing case study within 24 hours! 

So why delay? Let us help you shine in the eyes of your instructor!

Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

How to Write a Case Study: Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

• October 7, 2022

Content Manager at SocialBee

Why is learning how to write a case study so important?

Well, because it provides your customers with social proof and supporting evidence of how effective your products and services are. Moreover, it eliminates the doubt that usually makes clients give up on their next purchase.

That is why today we are going to talk about the step-by-step process of writing a case study . We prepared five business case study examples guaranteed to inspire you throughout the process.

Let’s get started!

What Is a Case Study?

A case study is a piece of content that focuses on a case from your business history. It describes the problems your client faced and the solutions you used to help them succeed.

The goal of a writing case study is to promote your business , so your aim should be to put together a compelling story with evidence that backs up all your claims.

Case studies use real-life examples to show your clients the quality and effectiveness of your products and services. It’s a marketing tool that provides credibility and it helps your potential clients gain confidence in your brand.

Case studies can be structured in different formats:

• A written document
• An infographic
• A blog post
• A landing page

Case Study Benefits

A great case study makes your potential customers want to benefit from the products and services that helped your client overcome their challenges. 

Here are the benefits of writing a case study:

• It is an affordable marketing practice
• It decreases the perceived risk of your potential clients
• It provides transparency
• It builds trust and credibility among prospective customers
• It makes your potential clients relate to the problem
• It provides your potential clients with a solution for their problems

How to Write a Case Study

Now that you know what a case study is, let’s get into the real reason why you are here — learning how to write an in-depth study.

Here is the step-by-step process of writing a case study:

• Identify the topic of your case study
• Start collaborating with a client
• Prepare questions for the interview
• Conduct the case study interview
• Structure your case study 
• Make it visual

Step 1: Identify the Topic of Your Case Study

A case study starts with a strategy. Choosing what you want to write about should be closely related to your business needs. More specifically, what service or product do you want to promote through your case study?

Because case studies focus on client challenges, business solutions, and results, you have to carefully pick the case that your potential clients will relate to the most. 

To communicate the benefits of your business, you should focus on a customer story that appeals to a specific segment of your audience . Consequently, you will target clients that relate to your customer example while providing a solution for their needs and pain points — your products and services.

Start by focusing all your research methods on identifying your customers’ main pain points. Then find examples of how your products or services have helped them overcome their challenges and achieve their goals .

Furthermore, to make sure you choose the best case study topic for your buyer persona , you should have a meeting with your sales/customer service team. Because they are in close contact with your customers, they will be able to tell you:

• The main challenges your clients face 
• The services/products that bring them the best results 

These are the main two pieces of information you want your case study to focus on.

Step 2: Start Collaborating with a Client

With a clear topic in mind, you have to find the best fit for your case study. 

However, that is not all. First, you must obtain the client’s permission. After all, your business story is theirs too.

So, craft an email to provide your client with an overview of the case study. This will help them make a decision. 

Your message should include:

• The case study format (video, written, etc.) and where it will be published (blog, landing page , etc.)
• The topic of the document
• The timeline of the process
• The information that will be included
• The benefits they get as a result of this collaboration (brand exposure, backlinks)

Additionally, you can offer to schedule a call or a meeting to answer all their questions and curiosities and provide a means for clear and open communication.

Once you receive a positive response from your client, you can continue with the next step of the process: the actual interview.

PRO TIP: A great way to ensure a smooth and safe collaboration between you and your client is to sign a legal release form before writing the case study. This will allow you to use their information and protect you from issues that may occur in the future. Moreover, if the client is not comfortable with revealing their identity, you can always offer them anonymity.

Step 3: Prepare Questions for the Interview

Now that you have the subject for your case study, it’s time to write and organize your interview in several sets of questions.

Don’t forget that the whole structure of your case study is based on the information you get from your customer interview.

So pay attention to the way you phrase the questions. After all, your goal is to gather all the data you need to avoid creating a back-and-forth process that will consume your client’s time and energy.

To help you create the best questionnaire, we created a set of case study questions and organized them into different categories. 

Here are the five main sections your case study interview should contain:

• The client’s background information
• The problem
• The start of the collaboration
• The solution
• The results

A. The Client’s Background Information

This part of the case study interview must give a comprehensive look into your customer’s business and allow your readers to get to know them better.

Here are some question ideas:

B. The Problem

Now it’s time to get into the reason your client came to you for assistance, the initial challenge that triggered your collaboration.

In this part of the interview process, you want to find out what made them ask for help and what was their situation before working with you.

You can ask your client the following case study questions:

C. The Start of the Collaboration

This part of the case study interview will focus on the process that made your collaboration possible. More specifically, how did your client research possible collaboration opportunities, and why they chose your business? 

This information will not only be informative for your future customers but will also give you a behind-the-scenes look into their decision-making process.

D. The Solution

It’s time to get into one of the most significant parts of the case study interview — the solution. Here you should discuss how your services have helped their business recover from the problems mentioned before.

Make sure you ask the right questions so you can really paint the picture of a satisfied customer.

Have a look at these question examples:

E. The Results

The best proof you can give to your customers is through your results. And this is the perfect opportunity to let your actions speak for themselves.

Unlike the other marketing strategies you use to promote your business, the content is provided by your customer, not by your team. As a result, you end up with a project that is on another level of reliability.

Here is how you can ask your client about their results:

Step 4: Conduct the Case Study Interview

Now that you have a great set of case study questions, it’s time to put them to good use.

Decide on the type of interview you want to conduct: face-to-face, video call , or phone call. Then, consult with your client and set up a date and a time when you are both available. 

It should be noted that during the interview it’s best to use a recording device for accuracy. Maybe you don’t have time to write down all the information, and you forget important details. Or maybe you want to be focused more on the conversational aspect of the interview, and you don’t want to write anything down while it’s happening.

Step 5: Structure Your Case Study 

The hard part is over. Now it’s time to organize all the information you gathered in an appealing format. Let’s have a look at what your case study should contain.

Here are the components of a case study:

• Engaging title
• Executive summary
• Client description 
• Introduction to the problem
• The problem-solving process
• Progress and results

A. Engaging Title

Putting that much work into a project, it would be a shame not to do your best to attract more readers. So, take into consideration that you only have a few seconds to catch your audience’s attention. 

You can also use a headline analyzer to evaluate the performance of your title.

The best case study titles contain:

• Relevant keywords
• Customer pain points
• Clear result

Case study example :

B. Executive Summary

Your executive summary should include a thesis statement that sums up the main points of your case study. Therefore, it must be clear and concise. Moreover, to make your audience curious, you can add a statistic or a relevant piece of data that they might be interested in.

Here is what you should include in your executive summary:

• The business you are writing about (only if the clients wants to make themselves known)
• Relevant statistics

C. Client Description 

Here is where you start to include the information you gained from your interview. Provide your readers with a clear picture of your client and create a context for your case study.

Take your client’s answers from the “Client Background” section of the interview and present them in a more appealing format.

D. Introduction to the Problem

In this section, use your client’s interview answers to write about the problem they were experiencing before working with you.

Remember to be specific because you want your audience to fully understand the situation and relate to it. At the end of the day, the goal of the case study is to show your potential customers why they should buy your services/products.

E. The Problem-Solving Process

Next, explain how your service/product helped your client overcome their problems. Moreover, let your readers know how and why your service/product worked in their case.

In this part of the case study, you should summarize: 

• The strategy used to solve the problem of your customer 
• The process of implementing the solution 

F. Progress and Results

Tell your readers about what you and your client have achieved during your collaboration. Here you can include:

• Graphics about your progress
• Business objectives they have achieved
• Relevant metrics 

Step 6: Make It Visual

To elevate the information you have written for your audience, you must make sure it’s appealing and easy to read. And a great way to achieve that is to use visuals that add value to your case study.

Here are some design elements that will make emphasize your text:

• Graphic symbols that guide the eye (arrows, bullet points, checkmarks, etc.)
• Charts, graphics, tables 
• Relevant screenshots from business reports
• The colors and fonts of your brand
• Your client’s logo

Platforms like Canva can really come in handy while designing your case study. It’s easy to use and it has multiple free slide templates and graphics that save you time and money.

PRO TIP: Share Your Case Study Across All Marketing Channels

A case study is a perfect example of evergreen content that can be reshared endlessly on your social media channels .

Aside from helping you maintain a consistent posting schedule with ease, case study-related posts will increase your credibility and push leads toward the bottom of your marketing funnel . Other examples of social proof evergreen content are reviews, testimonials, and positive social media mentions.

To keep track of all your evergreen posts and have them scheduled on a continuous loop, use a social media tool like SocialBee.

Create evergreen content categories where all your posts get reposted regularly on your social media channels. 

Start your 14-day trial today and start using SocialBee for free!

Aside from promoting your case study on social media, you can also feature it in your newsletter that you can create using email newsletter software , include it as a pop-up on your website, and even create a separate landing page dedicated to your customer study.

Share Your Case Study on Social Media with SocialBee!

Get to writing your own case study.

What do you think? Is writing a case study easier than you thought? We sure hope so.

Learning how to write a case study is a simple process once you understand the logical steps that go into it. So make sure you go over the guide a couple of times before you start documenting your customer success stories.

And remember that the goal of your case study is to attract more leads . Therefore you need to include tangible results and valuable details that will compel your audience to invest in your products and services.

Article written by

Content writer at SocialBee

Related articles

A Guide to Mastering Pinterest Affiliate Marketing

Growing your business online can be tough, like solving a puzzle. But have you thought about using Pinterest?  More than

Social Media for Writers: Best Platforms and Strategies

Is your social media presence as impactful as your writing? Nowadays, mastering social media is a critical part of the

Level up your social media game with exclusive resources delivered straight to your inbox

Proudly supporting

Out of post ideas? Get our social media calendar

Access 500+ content ideas, post examples, and Canva templates.

Use SocialBee’s Free AI Post Generator to create content for your social media profiles.

• Customizable tone of voice
• Several content variations to choose from
• 1000+ pre-made AI prompts

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design 15+ Professional Case Study Examples [Design Tips + Templates]

15+ Professional Case Study Examples [Design Tips + Templates]

Written by: Alice Corner Jan 12, 2023

Have you ever bought something — within the last 10 years or so — without reading its reviews or without a recommendation or prior experience of using it?

If the answer is no — or at least, rarely — you get my point.

Positive reviews matter for selling to regular customers, and for B2B or SaaS businesses, detailed case studies are important too.

Wondering how to craft a compelling case study ? No worries—I’ve got you covered with 15 marketing case study templates , helpful tips, and examples to ensure your case study converts effectively.

Click to jump ahead:

• What is a Case Study?

Business Case Study Examples

Simple case study examples.

• Marketing Case Study Examples

Sales Case Study Examples

• Case Study FAQs

What is a case study?

A case study is an in-depth, detailed analysis of a specific real-world situation. For example, a case study can be about an individual, group, event, organization, or phenomenon. The purpose of a case study is to understand its complexities and gain insights into a particular instance or situation.

In the context of a business, however, case studies take customer success stories and explore how they use your product to help them achieve their business goals.

As well as being valuable marketing tools , case studies are a good way to evaluate your product as it allows you to objectively examine how others are using it.

It’s also a good way to interview your customers about why they work with you.

Related: What is a Case Study? [+6 Types of Case Studies]

Marketing Case Study Template

A marketing case study showcases how your product or services helped potential clients achieve their business goals. You can also create case studies of internal, successful marketing projects. A marketing case study typically includes:

• Company background and history
• The challenge
• How you helped
• Specific actions taken
• Visuals or Data
• Client testimonials

Here’s an example of a marketing case study template:

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, business case studies can be a powerful resource to help with your sales, marketing, and even internal departmental awareness.

Business and business management case studies should encompass strategic insights alongside anecdotal and qualitative findings, like in the business case study examples below.

Conduct a B2B case study by researching the company holistically

When it comes to writing a case study, make sure you approach the company holistically and analyze everything from their social media to their sales.

Think about every avenue your product or service has been of use to your case study company, and ask them about the impact this has had on their wider company goals.

In business case study examples like the one above, we can see that the company has been thought about holistically simply by the use of icons.

By combining social media icons with icons that show in-person communication we know that this is a well-researched and thorough case study.

This case study report example could also be used within an annual or end-of-year report.

Highlight the key takeaway from your marketing case study

To create a compelling case study, identify the key takeaways from your research. Use catchy language to sum up this information in a sentence, and present this sentence at the top of your page.

This is “at a glance” information and it allows people to gain a top-level understanding of the content immediately. 

You can use a large, bold, contrasting font to help this information stand out from the page and provide interest.

Learn  how to choose fonts  effectively with our Venngage guide and once you’ve done that.

Upload your fonts and  brand colors  to Venngage using the  My Brand Kit  tool and see them automatically applied to your designs.

The heading is the ideal place to put the most impactful information, as this is the first thing that people will read.

In this example, the stat of “Increase[d] lead quality by 90%” is used as the header. It makes customers want to read more to find out how exactly lead quality was increased by such a massive amount.

If you’re conducting an in-person interview, you could highlight a direct quote or insight provided by your interview subject.

Pick out a catchy sentence or phrase, or the key piece of information your interview subject provided and use that as a way to draw a potential customer in.

Use charts to visualize data in your business case studies

Charts are an excellent way to visualize data and to bring statistics and information to life. Charts make information easier to understand and to illustrate trends or patterns.

Making charts is even easier with Venngage.

In this consulting case study example, we can see that a chart has been used to demonstrate the difference in lead value within the Lead Elves case study.

Adding a chart here helps break up the information and add visual value to the case study. 

Using charts in your case study can also be useful if you’re creating a project management case study.

You could use a Gantt chart or a project timeline to show how you have managed the project successfully.

Use direct quotes to build trust in your marketing case study

To add an extra layer of authenticity you can include a direct quote from your customer within your case study.

According to research from Nielsen , 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% trust recommendations even if they’re from somebody they don’t know.

So if you have a customer or client who can’t stop singing your praises, make sure you get a direct quote from them and include it in your case study.

You can either lift part of the conversation or interview, or you can specifically request a quote. Make sure to ask for permission before using the quote.

This design uses a bright contrasting speech bubble to show that it includes a direct quote, and helps the quote stand out from the rest of the text.

This will help draw the customer’s attention directly to the quote, in turn influencing them to use your product or service.

Less is often more, and this is especially true when it comes to creating designs. Whilst you want to create a professional-looking, well-written and design case study – there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

These simple case study examples show that smart clean designs and informative content can be an effective way to showcase your successes.

Use colors and fonts to create a professional-looking case study

Business case studies shouldn’t be boring. In fact, they should be beautifully and professionally designed.

This means the normal rules of design apply. Use fonts, colors, and icons to create an interesting and visually appealing case study.

In this case study example, we can see how multiple fonts have been used to help differentiate between the headers and content, as well as complementary colors and eye-catching icons.

Marketing case study examples

Marketing case studies are incredibly useful for showing your marketing successes. Every successful marketing campaign relies on influencing a consumer’s behavior, and a great case study can be a great way to spotlight your biggest wins.

In the marketing case study examples below, a variety of designs and techniques to create impactful and effective case studies.

Show off impressive results with a bold marketing case study

Case studies are meant to show off your successes, so make sure you feature your positive results prominently. Using bold and bright colors as well as contrasting shapes, large bold fonts, and simple icons is a great way to highlight your wins.

In well-written case study examples like the one below, the big wins are highlighted on the second page with a bright orange color and are highlighted in circles.

Making the important data stand out is especially important when attracting a prospective customer with marketing case studies.

Use a simple but clear layout in your case study

Using a simple layout in your case study can be incredibly effective, like in the example of a case study below.

Keeping a clean white background, and using slim lines to help separate the sections is an easy way to format your case study.

Making the information clear helps draw attention to the important results, and it helps improve the  accessibility of the design .

Business case study examples like this would sit nicely within a larger report, with a consistent layout throughout.

Use visuals and icons to create an engaging and branded business case study

Nobody wants to read pages and pages of text — and that’s why Venngage wants to help you communicate your ideas visually.

Using icons, graphics, photos, or patterns helps create a much more engaging design. 

With this Blue Cap case study icons, colors, and impactful pattern designs have been used to create an engaging design that catches your eye.

Use a monochromatic color palette to create a professional and clean case study

Let your research shine by using a monochromatic and minimalistic color palette.

By sticking to one color, and leaving lots of blank space you can ensure your design doesn’t distract a potential customer from your case study content.

In this case study on Polygon Media, the design is simple and professional, and the layout allows the prospective customer to follow the flow of information.

The gradient effect on the left-hand column helps break up the white background and adds an interesting visual effect.

Did you know you can generate an accessible color palette with Venngage? Try our free accessible color palette generator today and create a case study that delivers and looks pleasant to the eye:

Add long term goals in your case study

When creating a case study it’s a great idea to look at both the short term and the long term goals of the company to gain the best understanding possible of the insights they provide.

Short-term goals will be what the company or person hopes to achieve in the next few months, and long-term goals are what the company hopes to achieve in the next few years.

Check out this modern pattern design example of a case study below:

In this case study example, the short and long-term goals are clearly distinguished by light blue boxes and placed side by side so that they are easy to compare.

Use a strong introductory paragraph to outline the overall strategy and goals before outlining the specific short-term and long-term goals to help with clarity.

This strategy can also be handy when creating a consulting case study.

Use data to make concrete points about your sales and successes

When conducting any sort of research stats, facts, and figures are like gold dust (aka, really valuable).

Being able to quantify your findings is important to help understand the information fully. Saying sales increased 10% is much more effective than saying sales increased.

While sales dashboards generally tend it make it all about the numbers and charts, in sales case study examples, like this one, the key data and findings can be presented with icons. This contributes to the potential customer’s better understanding of the report.

They can clearly comprehend the information and it shows that the case study has been well researched.

Use emotive, persuasive, or action based language in your marketing case study

Create a compelling case study by using emotive, persuasive and action-based language when customizing your case study template.

In this well-written case study example, we can see that phrases such as “Results that Speak Volumes” and “Drive Sales” have been used.

Using persuasive language like you would in a blog post. It helps inspire potential customers to take action now.

Keep your potential customers in mind when creating a customer case study for marketing

82% of marketers use case studies in their marketing  because it’s such an effective tool to help quickly gain customers’ trust and to showcase the potential of your product.

Why are case studies such an important tool in content marketing?

By writing a case study you’re telling potential customers that they can trust you because you’re showing them that other people do.

Not only that, but if you have a SaaS product, business case studies are a great way to show how other people are effectively using your product in their company.

In this case study, Network is demonstrating how their product has been used by Vortex Co. with great success; instantly showing other potential customers that their tool works and is worth using.

Related: 10+ Case Study Infographic Templates That Convert

Case studies are particularly effective as a sales technique.

A sales case study is like an extended customer testimonial, not only sharing opinions of your product – but showcasing the results you helped your customer achieve.

Make impactful statistics pop in your sales case study

Writing a case study doesn’t mean using text as the only medium for sharing results.

You should use icons to highlight areas of your research that are particularly interesting or relevant, like in this example of a case study:

Icons are a great way to help summarize information quickly and can act as visual cues to help draw the customer’s attention to certain areas of the page.

In some of the business case study examples above, icons are used to represent the impressive areas of growth and are presented in a way that grabs your attention.

Use high contrast shapes and colors to draw attention to key information in your sales case study

Help the key information stand out within your case study by using high contrast shapes and colors.

Use a complementary or contrasting color, or use a shape such as a rectangle or a circle for maximum impact.

This design has used dark blue rectangles to help separate the information and make it easier to read.

Coupled with icons and strong statistics, this information stands out on the page and is easily digestible and retainable for a potential customer.

Case Study Examples Summary

Once you have created your case study, it’s best practice to update your examples on a regular basis to include up-to-date statistics, data, and information.

You should update your business case study examples often if you are sharing them on your website .

It’s also important that your case study sits within your brand guidelines – find out how Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool can help you create consistently branded case study templates.

Case studies are important marketing tools – but they shouldn’t be the only tool in your toolbox. Content marketing is also a valuable way to earn consumer trust.

Case Study FAQ

Why should you write a case study.

Case studies are an effective marketing technique to engage potential customers and help build trust.

By producing case studies featuring your current clients or customers, you are showcasing how your tool or product can be used. You’re also showing that other people endorse your product.

In addition to being a good way to gather positive testimonials from existing customers , business case studies are good educational resources and can be shared amongst your company or team, and used as a reference for future projects.

How should you write a case study?

To create a great case study, you should think strategically. The first step, before starting your case study research, is to think about what you aim to learn or what you aim to prove.

You might be aiming to learn how a company makes sales or develops a new product. If this is the case, base your questions around this.

You can learn more about writing a case study  from our extensive guide.

Related: How to Present a Case Study like a Pro (With Examples)

Some good questions you could ask would be:

• Why do you use our tool or service?
• How often do you use our tool or service?
• What does the process of using our product look like to you?
• If our product didn’t exist, what would you be doing instead?
• What is the number one benefit you’ve found from using our tool?

You might also enjoy:

• 12 Essential Consulting Templates For Marketing, Planning and Branding
• Best Marketing Strategies for Consultants and Freelancers in 2019 [Study + Infographic]

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

Limitations of the international approach to anti-corruption: a systematic review of South Africa’s compelling case of failing anti-corruption

• Open access
• Published: 09 May 2024

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Thomas Duke Labik Amanquandor   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4846-2293 1  

In the Global South, anti-corruption initiatives continue to fail despite varying commitments to the international anti-corruption agenda. Concurrently, as this study demonstrates, researchers investigating this paradox appear confined within orthodox explanations for failing anti-corruption efforts. Through a systematic review of 58 studies, this paper demonstrates that South Africa’s anti-corruption corpora from 1995 to 2022 fall to this critique. By employing socio-legal theoretical perspectives, the paper elucidates how and why the orthodoxy dominates the corpora and subsequently suggests a more nuanced understanding of the country’s ongoing failure to combat corruption. For example, the paper argues that the intricacies of South Africa’s corruption challenge the perspective that anti-corruption measures fail simply due to widespread rule-breaking. Through the prism of legal pluralism, this paper demonstrates that adherence to rules is indeed prevalent in South Africa, albeit often not aligned with formal state anti-corruption legislation and regulations. Finally, the paper posits innovative approaches to enhance and broaden our comprehension of why anti-corruption efforts fail, especially in the Global South.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

The United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and non-governmental entities like Transparency International converge upon a set of shared tenets and best practices regarding how to eradicate corruption globally. This commonality in perspective underpins what might be termed an international anti-corruption consensus (Gephart, 2009 , p. 8; Kuldova et al., 2024 ). Sampson ( 2010 , p. 262) articulates this notion further, observing that this consensus projects itself globally as an extensive array of policies, regulatory measures, conventions, training modules, and programmes dedicated to enhancing integrity and ameliorating public governance.

Regrettably, corruption persists as a potent scourge worldwide, casting a shadow of doubt over the efficacy of the international anti-corruption consensus (Gutterman & Lohaus, 2018 ). Numerous scholars and policy experts concur that the strategies and technologies of international anti-corruption consensus disproportionately depend on a principal-agent theoretical framework that misrepresents the complexity of corruption (Persson et al., 2010 , 2013 ) and neglects the nuanced local realities that are crucial for the successful implementation of anti-corruption measures (Jackson, 2020 ; Khan et al., 2019 ). In this paper, the aforementioned theoretical postulations are termed “the orthodoxy.”

Through a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of studies published between 1995 and 2022 on South Africa’s anti-corruption efforts, this paper elucidates how anti-corruption researchers appear confined within the orthodoxy in their attempt to unravel why the country’s anti-corruption efforts have yielded minimal results. Subsequently, this paper draws on socio-legal theories and critical corruption scholarships to present a nuanced understanding of the country’s failing anti-corruption and posit innovative approaches that can enhance our comprehension of corruption and anti-corruption in general.

This paper is structured as follows. The subsequent section provides a background on (anti) corruption in South Africa. Section three delves into the theoretical underpinnings that guide this study. Section four articulates how the Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) method was employed in the study, and the subsequent section— section five —presents the study’s findings on why South Africa’s anti-corruption regime is failing. These findings are assembled under three interrelated thematic corpora from an interpretive synthesis of the eligible literature. Section six incorporates key arguments from the thematic corpora to illuminate their overall contribution to understanding the country’s failing anti-corruption, thereby suggesting how the corpora appear confined within the orthodoxy. Subsequently, in this section, the paper attempts a more nuanced understanding of the country’s ongoing failure to combat corruption. Lastly, the final section ( section seven ) proffers a summary of primary findings and their implications, supplemented by research recommendations for future studies.

Anti-corruption in South Africa: a compelling case

South Africa’s violent history, apartheid, and white supremacy are crucial to understanding the country’s anti-corruption challenges. The apartheid regime was inherently corrupt. According to Lodge ( 1998 ), the National Party, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, promoted transactive corruption by favoring white civil servants to foster the socio-economic fortunes of the white minority. Although this system was driven by the goals of Afrikaner Nationalism rather than individual enrichment (Seegers, 1993 ), it paved the way for a corrupt regime by the 1980s, especially at the homeland government level (Bauer, 2000 ; Lodge, 1998 ). The impending end of white rule led to a rush to exploit and plunder state resources (Hyslop, 2005 ; Van Vuuren, 2006 ). As one official described, many felt they were missing out if they did not engage in corruption (Bauer, 1999 , p. 78). Consequently, lack of accountability, kickbacks, favoritism, cronyism, and bribery became common in various state departments (Bauer, 1999 ; Hyslop, 2005 ; Lodge, 1998 ).

Despite democratic reforms and increased scrutiny, corruption remained pervasive across various sectors due to pre-existing structural weaknesses and ingrained habits (Lodge, 2001 ). Integrating former homeland administrations into new local governments and the infusion of political solidarity among the new ruling elite and its supporters perpetuated patrimonial habits, noticeably intensifying corruption in provincial and local governments (Lodge, 2001 ). Moreover, various new stimulants for corrupt behaviour, such as the shortages of skilled staffing in financial control systems and the expansion of citizen entitlements to public resources, arose (Camerer, 2009 ; Lodge, 1998 ; Van Vuuren, 2006 ). The systemic and structural weaknesses of the new state, coupled with the emergence of a new economic elite, culminated in creating an environment in which corruption flourished (Hyslop, 2005 ; Lodge, 1998 ).

The extent to which the country’s violent and racialized histories shape its current anti-corruption legislative framework is unclear. Today, South Africa is a devoted signatory to several anti-corruption conventions, such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the African Union Convention, to mention a few (Langendorf, 2015 , p. 57). It is essential to highlight, however, that before the ratification of the UNCAC, South Africa did not have legislation explicitly targeting corruption. Hence, corruption was fought through a general National Crime Prevention Strategy.

Meanwhile, the country has implemented several anti-corruption interventions over the last two decades. Nevertheless, these interventions have yielded minimal results (Budhram & Geldenhuys, 2018 ; Gray, 2021 ). The recent misappropriation of the Covid-19 relief fund, evidence of tender irregularities and scandals at the Ministry of Health, and the killing of a whistleblower in the Gauteng Health Department suggest that corruption is still endemic in the country (Patel & Govindasamy, 2021 ).

South Africa is distinct in many ways but shares some significant commonalities with other sub-Saharan countries. The country’s multi-racial demography, settler colonial historical legacy, relatively strong constitutionalism, multi-party liberal democracy, and economic development over the last two decades set it free from the trappings of the stereotypical African context where bad governance and the lack of the rule of law are used to explain away failing anti-corruption efforts. Aside from its strong constitutionalism and the rule of law, South Africa had the best anti-corruption legislation on the African continent, having significantly implemented the UNCAC provisions and receiving a “Very Good” rating in the integrity index (Integrity, 2008 ). Hence, South Africa’s failing anti-corruption regime represents a compelling analytical case for understanding the intricacies of the international anti-corruption consensus.

Theoretical perspectives on [anti]-corruption

Combatting corruption comprises three interdependent efforts: understanding corruption, designing counteractive strategies, and establishing anti-corruption institutions to enforce and implement the strategies. Developing a far-reaching theoretical characterization of corruption has perhaps been the most challenging among these interdependent efforts.

The orthodoxy and its critique

Rose-Ackerman’s ( 1997 , 2008 ) conceptualization of corruption as the “misuse of public office for private gain” and variants of it (see, for example, Nye, 1967 ; Transparency International, 2022 ; World Bank, 1997 ) has resounded well with academics, policymakers, and shaped international anti-corruption practice for decades (Mungiu-Pippidi, 2013 ). In this view, corruption occurs when the authority of a public official is exercised in a manner that violates the public trust and contravenes its anticipated purpose of pursuing the public’s collective interest (Ganahl, 2014 ; Rose-Ackerman, 2008 ). According to Tanzi ( 1998 ), the public-private divide stresses corruption among public officials and shadows corrupt practices in the private sector or private-private corruption. Nevertheless, the Transparency International variant of the definition seems to offset this critique. By conceptualizing corruption as the abuse of ‘entrusted power’ for private gain, the dichotomy remains. However, the description encompasses public and private officials (Transparency International, 2022 ).

Critical corruption scholars argue that this conceptualisation frames corruption within a rational-legal bureaucratic system marked by structured hierarchy and distinct roles within the public sector aimed at functioning on codified, logical, and societal rules. In contrast, the private sphere is shaped by familial obligations, emotions, beliefs, and customs. Moreover, it views corruption as dysfunctional, ethically reprehensible, transactional, and definitively harmful (Gutterman & Lohaus, 2018 ). However, this perspective is inherently Western and may not align with non-Western societies, where the boundary between public and private realms is more fluid, with private aspects like family obligations and spirituality influencing the public sphere (Zaloznaya, 2013 ). Thus, cloaked as universal, this perspective is reductive and imposes Western notions of corruption on variable local experiences and cultural understandings (Zaloznaya, 2013 ).

Furthermore, this conceptualisation primarily construes corruption as motivated by an individual’s cost-and-benefit calculus or, as Zaloznaya ( 2013 , p. 711) rehearses March and Olsen ( 1994 ), a form of rationality that reflects the logics of consequence whereby people break legal and ethical codes for the sake of material benefits and power. Thus, individuals’ self-seeking instrumental calculus amidst entrusted power creates corruption opportunities. Also known as the principal-agent theory, this perspective views corruption as occurring in a dualistic relation where the official (agent with entrusted power) has more information and discretional power in a specific situation and uses this advantage for their gain, even when it goes against the interests of the public (principal) (Rose-Ackerman, 2008 ; Tanzi, 1998 ). Within this perspective, corruption persists amidst principals’ poor supervision, monitoring, and sanctioning of officials (Jackson, 2020 ).

Anti-corruption reforms, especially those promoted by the international anti-corruption consensus through international best practices and conventions, as well as through political pressure from Western governments and aid conditionalities from international organizations such as the World Bank and IMF, are along the lines of this theoretical perspective and, therefore, often promote counteractive measures that seek to primarily enhance monitoring, supervision, transparency, accountability, and the compliance of public agents with bureaucratic norms, procedures, and formal rules (Khan et al., 2019 ; Kuldova et al., 2024 ; Sampson, 2005 ; Zaloznaya, 2013 , p. 707).

Meanwhile, several scholars insist that the principal-agent perspective mischaracterises the nature and mechanism of corruption, especially in systemic corrupt contexts. Rothstein ( 2021 ) argues that “principals,” as assumed in the principal-agent perspective, barely exist in these contexts because the top politicians and bureaucratic leaders accrue the most from corruption and thus are less incentivised to combat it. In the case of developing countries, Khan et al. ( 2019 , p. 8) add that the perspective erroneously assumes that people are generally rule-abiding; hence, corruption results from occasional violations that can be addressed with improvements in good governance, transparency, and accountability. However, in reality, rule violation is generally more prevalent. As a result of this theoretical mischaracterisation, the implementation of the UNCAC and other international best practices has yielded minimal results, especially in systemic corrupt contexts (Jackson, 2020 ; Khan et al., 2019 ; Persson et al., 2010 ).

Critics of the principal-agent perspective argue that corruption, when systemic, is mainly a collective action problem. The collective-action theory proposes that corrupt practices persist in the contexts of their occurrence because they are generally considered the norm. As a result, people either lose or sometimes gain little from behaving otherwise, especially if it is impossible to trust that others in the same context will follow suit (Bauhr, 2017 ; Kaufmann et al., 2015 ; Marquette & Peiffer, 2015a ; Mungiu-Pippidi, 2013 ). In this context, corruption is seen as a manifestation of “free-riding” behaviour (Olson, 1971 ). This interpretation of corruption considers good governance, rule of law, transparency, and accountability as public goods that are non-excludable (meaning it is impossible to prevent people from benefiting) and non-rivalrous (one person’s use does not diminish availability for others) (Marquette & Peiffer, 2015b , p. 3; Rothstein, 2011 ). As a result, even individuals who do not actively contribute to producing good governance, accountability, and transparency can still reap the benefits, becoming what is known as “free riders.” Hence, those who engage in corruption do so out of self-interest, knowing their participation will not lead to losing their beneficial status (Marquette & Peiffer, 2015b , p. 6). Furthermore, free riders also perceive their contribution to the production of good governance as insignificant, with the expectation that others will also free-ride on their efforts.

The collective-action perspective emphasizes that corruption is a collective rather than an individual issue (Marquette & Peiffer, 2015a ). It implies that effective anti-corruption initiatives must build mutual trust in producing good governance, transparency, and accountability. Nevertheless, both principal-agent and collective action theories postulate that individuals are motivated by self-interest; therefore, increasing surveillance and implementing punitive measures can enhance accountability and curb corruption (Marquette & Peiffer, 2015b , p. 6).

Socio-legal perspectives

According to Krygier ( 1990 ), law is a tool the state uses to translate its wishes into action and maintain social order. However, several socio-legal scholarships have critiqued this instrumental view, which construes law as external to society. These scholarships demonstrate that law is constitutive or integral to society (Halliday & Morgan, 2013 ; Sarat & Kearns, 2009 ; Silbey, 2005 ), thus emphasizing the importance of individuals’ understanding and interpretation of the law (Halliday & Morgan, 2013 ) which shape their everyday behavior (Hertogh, 2004 ).

Informed by this constitutive perspective, recent socio-legal studies on anti-corruption have presented more nuanced explanations for the limited success of anti-corruption efforts, particularly in non-Western countries. For example, these studies highlight the importance of legal pluralism in understanding why anti-corruption efforts fail (Bierschenk, 2008 ; Urinboyev & Svensson, 2018 ). Legal pluralism refers to the coexistence and clash of multiple sets of rules or ‘legal orders’ that interrelate with and influence people’s social behaviour. These legal orders encompass various forms of law, including national/state law, customary rules, religious decrees, moral codes, and practical norms (Griffiths, 2003 ; Merry, 1988 ). The concept of legal pluralism recognizes that state law is just one of many legal orders within society. Especially in non-Western societies, legal anthropology studies have demonstrated the existence of non-state normative systems or “semi-autonomous fields,” as Sally Moore calls them, that possess defined boundaries and internal mechanisms, including extra-legal activities that challenge externally directed behavioural changes that contradict the field’s normative order (Moore, 1972 , p. 720). Members of semi-autonomous fields feel a moral obligation to conform to the internal rules and moral codes because their membership is contingent upon their conformity to internal norms rather than external expectations (Overman et al., 2014 ). Consequently, this poses crucial challenges to legal and administrative reforms that contravene the internal norms of semi-autonomous fields.

The legal pluralism perspective ties in with legal consciousness studies investigating the taken-for-granted worldviews and assumptions about law and legality that shape people’s everyday behavior (Halliday & Morgan, 2013 , p. 2). Legality in the legal consciousness approach signifies the ‘meaning, sources of authority, and cultural practices commonly recognised as legal, regardless of who employs them or for what ends’ (Ewick & Silbey, 1998 , p. 22). Holen ( 2023 , p. 22) succinctly defines this notion of legality as an assemblage of normativity, i.e., the state laws, morals, social norms, religious norms, commands, customs, expectations, and etiquette. Legal consciousness scholarships suggest that at the individual level, on the one hand, this intricate assemblage of normativity shapes people’s understanding of legality—what is right or wrong, corrupt or not—in varying situations. On the other hand, at the structural level, this intricate assemblage of normativity could account for why a discrepancy comes to exist between what the law purports to offer and what it achieves in reality— typically called “the gap problem” in socio-legal research (Halliday & Morgan, 2013 , p. 3; Silbey, 2005 , p. 323).

The legal pluralism and legal consciousness approaches can deepen our understanding of why corruption persists even amid international-standard anti-corruption legislative and institutional frameworks, especially in third-world countries. These socio-legal perspectives provide a critical theoretical toolkit for understanding this discrepancy beyond the orthodoxy . By empirically focusing on everyday social logic, local cultural categories, and norms concerning the law, these perspectives can disentangle the intricacies of legality that shape individual understanding and attitude regarding corruption on the one hand and, on the other hand, how these complexities come to produce the structural ineffectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives.

Systematic review method

According to Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ), systematic review methods differ from traditional narrative reviews because they rely on a more transparent and rigorous process of gathering and selecting literature. This study employed the Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) systematic review method. The CIS approach is a novel review method that combines conventional systematic methodology with qualitative analysis techniques from grounded theory and meta-ethnography (Depraetere et al., 2021 ; Flemming, 2010 ). This method comprises the following steps: searching the literature, eligibility assessment, data extraction, and interpretive synthesis (Dixon-Woods et al., 2006 ). In searching for literature, this study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodological guidelines (Moher et al., 2009 ). Thus, a search was conducted on the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Google Scholar databases for studies published between January 1995 and June 2022 via the following search term in the title or abstract:

[corruption OR anti-corruption OR anti-corruption]

[South Africa]

The search resulted in 529 records. These comprised 89 papers from Web of Science, 58 from Scorpus, and 382 from Google Scholar. Afterward, duplicates were identified and removed, bringing the total down to 474 records. Then, the titles and abstracts of the 474 records were screened, after which all potentially eligible studies were extracted via the Zotero reference management software for further eligibility assessment. The potential eligible studies comprised only peer-reviewed journal articles, books, or chapters of books published in English within the social sciences from 1995 to 2022. However, to be eligible for the interpretive synthesis, a potential study should have been concerned with, but not limited to, South Africa’s anti-corruption institutions, agencies, strategies, laws, regulations, and policies. Eventually, 58 of the 474 records met the eligibility and quality criteria and were selected for the critical interpretive synthesis (Fig. 1 ).

PRISMA flow diagram

Subsequently, the lines-of-argument synthesis strategy (LOA) (Noblit et al., 1988 ) was used to identify and synthesise evidence, key findings, and critical arguments found in the 58 eligible literature into three interrelated scholarly corpora that comprehensively account for South Africa’s failing anti-corruption. It is possible that some relevant studies may have used words synonymous with corruption or anti-corruption and were thus uncaptured by this systematic method’s search strategy. Also, studies that use specific names of places or organisations in South Africa without mentioning “South Africa” in the abstract or title may have been omitted. I conducted a “retrospective reference list checking” of the 58 eligible studies to address these limitations (Gough & Richardson, 2018 , p. 125). However, no additional eligible studies were found. Thus, the 58 eligible studies reflect a substantial proportion of research on South Africa’s anti-corruption regime.

This study found an overall increase in peer-reviewed anti-corruption research on South Africa, particularly in the last decade, a period where the country’s corruption woe is reported to have peaked (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2022 ) and public discourse was marked by a growing discernment of corruption’s pervasiveness in the country (James, 2023 ). However, most of these studies employed secondary research methods in investigating anti-corruption at the macro or national level. The lack of primary empirical investigation, chiefly ethnographic inquiries of anti-corruption at South Africa’s sub-national or local level, is alarming because understanding local contextualities is crucial to effective anti-corruption design and implementation. Notwithstanding, the synthesis of findings and critical arguments within the 58 eligible anti-corruption studies produced three mutually supporting corpora that comprehensively account for South Africa’s failing anti-corruption. Broadly, the first corpus demonstrates the country’s lack of ethical and dedicated political and bureaucratic leaders. The second corpus appraises South Africa’s anti-corruption regime, i.e., legal and institutional framework. It examines its susceptibility to politicisation and political pressure. Lastly, the third corpus shifts attention to the actor’s anti-corruption perspective. It investigates the intricacies of anti-corruption compliance in South Africa (Fig. 2 ).

Number of eligible studies per year

Corpus one: lack of ethical and dedicated leaders

Data Box 1: Review-Data in Corpus One

In 2001, Tom Lodge asserted that “detracting from the government’s proclaimed commitment to fighting corruption are attacks by senior politicians on the work of anti-corruption agencies” (Lodge, 2001 , p. 62). Lodge’s assertion still holds. Bruce ( 2014 ) observed that political actors attain and maintain control over crucial anti-corruption agencies by controlling their politically appointed top officials.

In Naidoo’s ( 2013 , p. 531) view, “no aspect of South Africa’s anti-corruption efforts have coveted as much political controversy as the country’s specialised institutional responses.” The controversial disbandment of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) and verdicts from Hugh Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa & Others are watershed events that epitomise the country’s challenges with political interference and the politicisation of its anti-corruption regime (Mphendu & Holtzhausen, 2016 ; Pillay, 2017 ).

Shortly after its establishment in 2001, the DSO launched a fierce campaign against corruption and organised crimes. Eventually, they gained a reputation for investigating and prosecuting high-profile cases occasionally involving top-ranking members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) (Berning & Montesh, 2012 ; Naidoo, 2013 ; Pillay, 2017 , p. 6).

Parenthetically, in 2007, the ANC, during its National Congress, resolved that the DSO should be disbanded (Kinnes & Newham, 2012 ). As a result, the Parliament passed the South African Police Service Amendment Bill to dissolve the DSO and replace it with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) (Berning & Montesh, 2012 ). Whereas the disbanded DSO was under the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), its successor, i.e., the DPCI, was placed under the South African Police Service (SAPS). Ultimately, the DSO’s closure severely compromised the state’s ability to investigate and counter corruption (April & Sebola, 2016 ; Berning & Montesh, 2012 ). For example, April and Sebola ( 2016 ) demonstrate that under the DPCI, corruption-related arrests and convictions rates declined by 60 per cent and 83 per cent, respectively.

Consequently, the public accused the ANC government of dissolving the DSO to undermine investigations to protect corrupt ANC party officials (Berning & Montesh, 2012 ; Bruce, 2014 ; Keightley, 2011 ; Kinnes & Newham, 2012 ; Mphendu & Holtzhausen, 2016 ; Tushnet, 2019 ). Eventually, the Constitutional Court ruled that the legislation establishing the DPCI was unconstitutional because it failed to secure an adequate degree of independence for the DPCI (Berning & Montesh, 2012 ; Kinnes & Newham, 2012 ; Olutola, 2014 ; Tushnet, 2019 ). Besides, the DCPI has been plagued with unstable leadership, factionalism, and illegal promotion and appointments (Pillay, 2017 ).

However, the DSO’s demise was also due to several mistakes during their investigation and prosecution of high-profile cases. For example, they violated the principles of attorney-client privileges and exceeded their jurisdiction by collecting intelligence without a legal basis (Berning & Montesh, 2012 ). Moreover, Quarcoo ( 2009 ) insists that the DSO’s demise became imminent early in its establishment when they made the prosecution of high-profile individuals their primary focus. He claims that the investigation and prosecution of top politicians by anti-corruption agencies like the DSO may suggest that the law reserves no haven for the political elite. However, due to the political ramifications of such endeavours, the agency’s prosecutorial powers invariably are vulnerable to partisan application, or the accusation thereof, both impugning the agency’s legitimacy” (Quarcoo, 2009 , p. 33). Quarcoo argues that a country that overemphasises the prosecutorial instead of preventive functions of its anti-corruption agencies risks jeopardising its sustainability, which seems to have been the fate of the DSO.

South Africa’s struggles with political interference and politicisation of anti-corruption are complex. There are no indications, at least in this corpus, that this problem can be circumvented through institutional design due to the rather unfortunate efficacy of collective political actions. One may, therefore, assume that South Africa’s anti-corruption enforcement will improve if its top political leaders become dedicated, willing, and ethical (Lodge, 2001 ; Mphendu & Holtzhausen, 2016 ; Okafor, 2009 ).

However, the corpus cautions that improved political will and dedication must be accompanied by innovative bureaucratic leadership required to design, adjust, and enforce measures (e.g., ethics training) to improve the moral climate of their institutions and reduce corruption (Lekubu & Sibanda, 2021 ; Mantzaris, 2016 ; Naidoo, 2012 ; Parboteeah et al., 2014 ). In the country’s local governance, for example, April and Sebola ( 2016 ) observed that appointing senior officials based on only political connectivity and employment equity is rampant. This absence of meritocracy has ushered many departments under incompetent leaders who do not effectively apply the country’s anti-corruption laws and policies, thereby creating institutional environments that entrench unethical and corrupt practices (Majila et al., 2014 ; Manyaka & Nkuna, 2014 ).

In any case, leaders must exemplify their institution’s code of conduct and other professional ethics in their daily behaviour to improve the ethical climate of their institutions (Parboteeah et al., 2014 ). Sadly, many public sector departments in South Africa are led by unethical leaders who instead exploit loopholes in their systems for personal gain (Naidoo, 2012 ; Odeku, 2019 , p. 11). Bribery and corruption prevail even within the top leadership of the country’s anti-corruption enforcement agencies (Olutola, 2014 ). In the last decade alone, two successive National Commissioners of the SAPS have been implicated, and one was convicted for corrupt practices (Keightley, 2011 ; Kinnes & Newham, 2012 ). In addition, there is evidence of some clerks and judges engaging in bribery (Roelofse et al., 2014 ; Sundström, 2015 ) and corrupt senior managers converting anti-corruption incentives into reward schemes for colluding subordinates (Sundström, 2019 ). Meanwhile, leaders who resist political interference are unceremoniously removed from office (Pillay, 2017 ).

Corpus two: political susceptibility of anti-corruption regime

Data Box 2: Review-Data in Corpus Two

South Africa’s anti-corruption legal framework is considered sound because it conforms to international anti-corruption standards (Kurakin & Sukharenko, 2018 ; Langendorf, 2015 , pp. 57–58; Majila et al., 2014 ; Safara & Odeku, 2021 , pp. 209–214). Aside from the existing legal framework, there are recent calls for a “right to freedom from corruption law” (Maseko, 2021 , p. 127; Mubangizi, 2020 , p. 245; Mubangizi & Sewpersadh, 2017 , p. 67). Advocates of this law maintain that it will empower ordinary people to demand transparency and accountability and claim constitutional damages from corrupt public officials. Simultaneously, the legal framework is plagued with voluminous laws and technical formalities, resulting in ambiguities and conflicting provisions (Kanjere & Koto, 2021 ; Sewpersadh & Mubangizi, 2017 , p. 14). Hence, it is unclear how the passing of more laws will improve the country’s fight against corruption.

Besides, for Langendorf ( 2015 ), passing anti-corruption laws in South Africa has primarily been mere adherence to the prescripts of international law. Makiva ( 2021 ) shows evidence of Langendorf’s claim in her mixed-method comparative study of public procurement corruption in Kenya and South Africa. She found that although the design of institutional architecture adheres to international law and best practices, leaders often deliberately put weak internal controls in place to lubricate corrupt activities. As a result, she concludes that the adherence of these countries’ anti-corruption design to international law and best practices is perhaps primarily to attain legitimacy from the international community (Makiva, 2021 ).

Analyses of the DSO’s disbandment and the Glenister case suggest that in practice, South Africa’s anti-corruption laws are often either not applied or selectively applied, and its anti-corruption institutions are not sufficiently independent (Langendorf, 2015 , pp. 84–87; Sewpersadh & Mubangizi, 2017 , p. 14). Nonetheless, it is the primary responsibility of anti-corruption institutions and agencies to enforce and implement the country’s anti-corruption measures. Therefore, if the legal framework is presumably sound amid widespread corruption, one may be inclined to scrutinise the country’s anti-corruption institutional framework.

South Africa’s anti-corruption institutional model relies on rich and varied laws, rules, and regulations, creating about 19 institutions, agencies, and coordinating mechanisms (Pillay, 2017 ). According to Dassah ( 2014 ), the country’s model suffers from every possible weakness of the multi-agency model, such as red-tapism, patronage networking, and rivalry among agencies. In addition, the mandates of the anti-corruption agencies are unclear and overlap, leading some observers to argue that the model lacks proper oversight, coordination, a unified strategic approach, and a leading central agency (Bruce, 2014 ; Chetty & Pillay, 2017 ; Faull, 2011 ; Pillay, 2017 ). These scholars concur that South Africa should establish an independent and centralised single anti-corruption agency (Majila et al., 2014 , p. 236; Montesh & Berning, 2012 , p. 135). However, Mphendu and Holtzhausen ( 2016 ) maintain that because anti-corruption requires a multi-faceted approach that reinforces all pillars of South Africa’s integrity system, no single institution can eliminate the country’s corruption single-handedly. Instead, improving the coordination between agencies can enhance speedier prosecution and the effectiveness of the anti-corruption architecture (Naidoo, 2013 , p. 533).

Subsequently, instead of a single centralised agency, Budhram ( 2015 , p. 53), for example, calls for the formation of a Corruption Intelligence Centre (CIC) that will gather and share crucial information and intelligence needed for other anti-corruption agencies to function effectively. Accordingly, South Africa’s National Development Planning Commission (NDP) refutes claims that fragmentation of anti-corruption efforts is a crucial problem for the country’s fight against corruption (Bruce, 2014 ; Pillay, 2017 ). To this end, the commission emphasises the importance of the existing checks and balances in the current multi-agency model. It claims that the country does not have the institutional foundation suitable and adequate for establishing a single-agency model (Bruce, 2014 ).

Nevertheless, it is discernible within the literature that the most crucial challenge of the country’s multi-agency framework is its susceptibility to political interference and pressure (Bruce, 2014 ; Dassah, 2014 ; Imiera, 2020 ; Keightley, 2011 ; Lodge, 2001 ; Majila et al., 2014 ; Mphendu & Holtzhausen, 2016 ; Naidoo, 2013 ; Pillay, 2017 ; Roelofse et al., 2014 ). Ostensibly, it is usual for corrupt employees to gain impunity through protection from government officials (Roelofse et al., 2014 ). For example, Majila et al. ( 2014 ) employed a self-administered structured questionnaire to several officials from provincial departments in the Eastern and Northern Cape to examine whether anti-corruption agencies are apolitical and capable of exercising their duties effectively. They found that, in most cases, political power was used to protect the corrupt activities of family members, friends, and political supporters. Similarly, Nzo’s ( 2016 , p. 114) ethnographic study of the political complexities involved in council decision-making in the Northern Cape revealed that political pressure to show loyalty to the ANC political party influenced ANC councillors and other political officeholders to ignore legal recourse against certain persons implicated in financial misconduct. Due to political interference, anti-corruption agencies have become increasingly unmotivated to devote themselves wholly to their duties because the effective and appropriate enforcement of laws and regulations often depends on the will and determination of political actors (Majila et al., 2014 ).

However, Naidoo ( 2013 ) argues that the problem of political interference and pressure has little to do with the current multi-agency approach and more to do with the principal-agent lines of accountability upon which the country’s anti-corruption strategies and institutional framework are designed. After an intra-institutional and inter-institutional analysis of South Africa’s anti-corruption enforcement, Naidoo ( 2013 , p. 523) observes that because the integrity of the country’s approach is shaped by principal-agent accountability, institutional or political actors can compromise or sideline anti-corruption mechanisms through collective action efforts. Therefore, even though the call for a single-agency model is profound in the eligible literature and chiefly inspired by the successes of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), proponents have struggled to demonstrate how this framework will be more resilient to collective action efforts and political pressure (Bruce, 2014 ; Mphendu & Holtzhausen, 2016 ; Pillay, 2017 ).

Corpus three: contextual realities of anti-corruption compliance

Data Box 3: Review-Data in Corpus Three

Generally, understanding contextual realities requires primary empirical, often ethnographic, research methods. As shown in the descriptive analysis of the eligible literature, there is a lack of ethnographic enquiries into South Africa’s anti-corruption efforts. This dearth explains why corpus three comprises relatively few studies compared to one and two, which focus on more structural and macro-level intricacies.

Nevertheless, this corpus highlights the complexities of the country’s corruption problem that are crucial to understanding compliance and non-compliance with anti-corruption rules and regulations. In South Africa, corruption can be embedded in loyalties and solidarities forged around a contemporary political morality that rationalises the act as a form of redress and a means to reverse historic racial inequities (Bruce, 2014 ; Gray, 2021 , p. 377; Mubangizi, 2020 ). According to Bruce ( 2014 , p. 57), these contemporary solidarities and loyalties are “manifestations of political and other solidarities, partly animated by ideas of justice and associated with opposition to apartheid and the apartheid period more generally.” Gray ( 2021 , p. 377) describes this as a sense of entitlement, a feeling of the state’s indebtedness to one who struggled during the apartheid and was deprived because of it.

Even though this political morality may emanate from deeply held beliefs and worldviews concerning the country’s socio-economic realities, such rationalisation could also serve as a neutralisation technique (Bruce, 2014 ). Due to this prevailing political morality, the prescripts of the Constitution have become just one of several moral points of reference and, hence, not unambiguously adhered to by many (Bruce, 2014 , p. 54; Munzhedzi, 2016 ; Bähre, 2005 ). Consequently, the implementation of government policies such as the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), ideally aimed at empowering the previously disadvantaged, has instead culminated into fertile avenues with opportunities for individuals and groups with political connections to pursue self-interest (Bruce, 2014 , p. 57; Munzhedzi, 2016 , p. 1). Furthermore, Bähre’s ( 2005 ) anthropological study indicates that this prevailing political morality perpetuates the pervasive culture of silence and impunity surrounding corrupt practices.

Meanwhile, other scholarships underplay the socio-political dimension of this morality to argue that corruption’s pervasiveness is instead indicative of a general moral crisis in South Africa (Mantzaris, 2016 ; Odeku, 2019 ; Pitsoe, 2013 , p. 751; van Niekerk, 2003 , p. 137). To illustrate this, Mantzaris ( 2016 ) explains that in South Africa, individual desires for personal gratification have heightened due to the portrayal of lavish lifestyles as a valued norm through commercialism and advertisement. Owing to this status quo, individuals with inadequate training in moral ethics and values cannot restrain themselves when encountering corruption opportunities (Mantzaris, 2016 ; Odeku, 2019 ; Pitsoe, 2013 , p. 751; van Niekerk, 2003 , p. 137). However, Nomtha Gray’s ( 2021 ) case study demonstrates that construing compliance/non-compliance as simply a product of individual ethics and morals is perhaps reductionist.

Gray found that “authority and seniority also conferred rectitude,” leading low-level officials to treat irregular instruction as ethics and principles of their ‘principals’ (Gray, 2021 , pp. 378, 380). His interviews demonstrate that informal sanctioning and micro-power relations in South Africa’s public procurement departments lead low-level officials to believe that acting contrary to irregular instructions from their superiors amounts to insubordination (Gray, 2021 , p. 378). Consequently, officials execute irregular instructions even when they do not understand them. This practice led him to conclude that South Africa’s public procurement practices are reminiscent of apartheid-era levels of compliance that prioritise ‘following orders’ above formal procurement policies (Gray, 2021 , p. 369).

Gray’s observation corroborates Brogden and Nijhar’s ( 1998 , p. 104) arguments that corrupt practices in South Africa are sustained through interstices of power masked within permissive formal procedures. To a large extent, Gray ( 2021 ) demonstrates the implication of informal norms and micro-power relations on compliance or non-compliance with formal rules and bureaucratic protocols. Alexander et al. ( 2022 ) further unravel these intricacies by showing that compliance or non-compliance is also shaped by officials’ perceptions of the applicability, suitability, and relatability of formal rules and bureaucratic protocols to the contextual realities of their daily work.

In a mixed-method study of anti-corruption challenges and opportunities in urban planning, Alexander et al. ( 2022 ) found that most public planners believe that their code of conduct is vague and complex and does not correspond to the daily socio-political realities of their work. These socio-political realities include financial and human resource constraints, overlapping administrative and political systems, and competing socio-economic, environmental, and spatial needs. According to Alexander et al. ( 2022 , p. 8), this discrepancy has resulted in the planners’ dependence on individual negotiation and deal-making outside the formal planning process. However, in doing so, they establish the normative validity of their conduct on the “logic of appropriateness” — they conduct themselves in ways they deem appropriate for specific situations (Alexander et al., 2022 , p. 8). Therefore, they may not view non-compliance with formal rules and regulations as corruption and vice versa.

South Africa’s anti-corruption appears to be confined within the orthodoxy. Essentially, the corpora suggest that the country’s anti-corruption regime adheres to the principal-agent model, which hinges primarily on oversights, regulations, and enforcing formal regulations and bureaucratic procedures. However, this model is undermined by the absence of ethical ‘principals,’ whose integrity is essential for its success. The corpora indicate that corruption in South Africa is better understood as a collective action problem, wherein corrupt behavior is perceived as “normal” and mutually expected by both principals and agents. This situation results in a lack of incentive from both parties to combat it. Nonetheless, the collective action theory does not offer an exhaustive account for understanding and addressing corruption in South Africa.

Beyond the orthodoxy

The consensus apparent within the corpora concerning the robustness of South Africa’s anti-corruption legislation is fraught with challenges. This consensus is based on South Africa’s adherence to the UNCAC and international best practices. As a result, the corpora exonerate the legislation prematurely, shifting the attention toward law enforcement and policy implementation. However, as posited by Langendorf ( 2015 ), South Africa’s corruption problems indicate that it may have followed the UNCAC roadmap but has undoubtedly gotten lost because the map is not the territory. Undoubtedly, the international anti-corruption consensus faces particular difficulties concerning the tension between the universality of the anti-corruption norms and its simultaneous contextualization of specific and local application” (Gephart, 2009 , p. 4). Hence, the conformance of South Africa’s anti-corruption regime with the UNCAC and international best practices may inadvertently undermine its sensitivity to the country’s socio-political and legal context.

Furthermore, such adherence to international law may also subjugate the country’s anti-corruption regime to the domination, control, and neo-liberal interests of the Global North or the West. However, this claim cannot be considered a given because universal norms can arise through participatory crafting processes (Fassbender et al., 2012 ). Besides, Africa is an active innovator and generator of norms within the international legal order (Gathii, 2012 ; Levitt, 2008 ).

Nevertheless, scholars of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) maintain that international law extends a historical pattern that privileges Western interests. These scholars argue that international law has played a complicit role in fostering neo-colonial relationships, perpetuating a relation in which the Global North imposes its social, economic, and political interests on the Global South (Mutua, 2000 , p. 31). As Chimni ( 2022 , p. 46) contends, contemporary imperialism has shifted from direct colonization to consensually negotiated shared rules, deploying multi-layered strategies like power, mediation, and revolutionary approaches to achieve harmonization objectives. These also embody a specific vision of how states around the world are supposed to function - namely, according to the ideal of a Western state, and if they deviate from this ideal, they are seen as failed, fragile, or corrupt. Therefore, anti-corruption researchers must be critical of the UNCAC and other international standards as they may primarily disseminate, validate, sustain, and impose Western interests, ideologies, and governance structures on the Global South (Bracking, 2014 ; Brown & Cloke, 2011 ; Snyman, 2021 ).

As part of a global disciplinary effort to manage uncertainties, reduce risks, and establish normalized governance, the international anti-corruption consensus allows its actors to present their involvement as impartial, apolitical, and driven by combating a universal problem. However, their proposed solutions inherently carry political and ideological underpinnings, albeit obscured by layers of technocratic language (Snyman, 2022 ). Indeed, recent scholarship from critical corruption researchers such as Joaquin Villanueva ( 2019 ) and Jose Atiles ( 2020 , 2023a , b ; Atiles et al., 2022 ) serves to illuminate how discourses on corruption operate politically to extend, justify, and contest neo-colonial relationships. Unfortunately, appraisals of South Africa’s anti-corruption regime often lack a critical approach to international law and do not adequately draw on actor perspectives and the rich social contexts within which regulations are enforced.

Nonetheless, the smaller corpus three suggests that the UNCAC norms embedded in the country’s anti-corruption laws and policies do not automatically resonate with some cross-section of people in South Africa who, through informal norms, practices, and local rationalities, contest them. Meanwhile, this nuanced and impactful disparity is yet to garner significant attention within South Africa’s anti-corruption corpora. Nevertheless, the corpora lay an essential empirical and theoretical foundation for future research.

Furthermore, the corpora indicate the prevalence of other normative orders besides the state legal system that shape public attitudes, experiences, and behaviors toward anti-corruption laws and regulations. This phenomenon is exemplified by the incongruent normative stances between the ANC political party and the South African Parliament on the one hand—which resolved to disband the DSO—and the prescripts of state law as manifest in the South African Supreme Court’s adjudication that deemed the disbandment unconstitutional (refer to Corpus two ). Although various studies in the reviewed body of work hint at the existence of semi-autonomous social fields, they fail to thoroughly analyze these phenomena through the lens of legal pluralism (see, for example, Alexander et al., 2022 ; Bähre, 2005 ; Bruce, 2014 ; Gray, 2021 ).

Notwithstanding, empirical evidence supporting the prevalence of semi-autonomous fields in South Africa challenges the idea that anti-corruption measures fail due to widespread rule-breaking. Through the prism of legal pluralism, it becomes evident that adherence to rules is indeed prevalent in the country, albeit often not aligned with formal state legislation and regulations. These findings also corroborate legal consciousness scholarship, which proposes that a complex combination of norms shapes individuals’ understanding of legality. Therefore, prioritizing empirical examination of everyday social logic, local cultural categories, and norms concerning law can assist researchers in unravelling the complexities of legality that shape individuals’ understanding and attitudes towards anti-corruption initiatives. The country’s anti-corruption corpora suggest a significant interconnection between its social, cultural, and legal spheres. However, when examining the role of law in combatting corruption, the corpora predominantly adopt an instrumentalist perspective. Meanwhile, this is not peculiar to anti-corruption research on South Africa. The instrumental perspective dominates anti-corruption studies globally, which, in de Sa e Silva’s view ( 2022 , p. 365), is perhaps due to the field’s orientation to policy.

Thus, rooted in the instrumental view, the failure of South Africa’s anti-corruption regime to significantly reduce corruption is almost entirely attributed to the country’s inability to effectively enforce its sound anti-corruption legislation and institutional framework due to a lack of principled principals, political will, and dedication. Indeed, a perplexing gap remains between the theoretical intentions of the country’s anti-corruption regime (promising accountability, transparency, and institutional autonomy) and the practical realities of endemic impunity and political interference. However, the corpora fail to provide a sufficient explanation of this paradox. The corpora’s limitation suggests the necessity for a critical understanding of the intricate interaction between law and society.

This paper contends that the complex nature of corruption in South Africa calls for a critical reorientation within its anti-corruption scholarship. Scholars must shift from an instrumental perspective to a constitutive understanding of the law’s role in addressing corruption. This shift entails a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between law and society, considering both the “pull” – the constraints imposed by formal law – and the “push” – individuals’ interpretations of the law (Marshall & Barclay, 2003 , p. 618). This shift could provide a more nuanced understanding of the intricacies of corruption and contribute to formulating more effective strategies to combat it. Despite their potential value, these socio-legal perspectives have not garnered significant focus from anti-corruption scholarship in South Africa and globally.

South Africa’s anti-corruption corpora spanning the last two decades attribute the country’s failing anti-corruption primarily to the lack of dedicated and proactive leadership to guarantee effective monitoring, supervision, and enforcement of the country’s anti-corruption regime. This paper maintains that although comprehensible, this accumulated scholarship appears to be confined within ‘the orthodoxy’ and does not offer a sufficient understanding of why corruption is still endemic in the country. Subsequently, the paper critically engages with the corpora in a humble attempt to drive it beyond the orthodoxy.

Subsequently, it draws on TWAIL scholarships to critique the corpora’s consensus that South Africa’s anti-corruption legislative and institutional framework is sound primarily because it adheres closely to the UNCAC and international best practices. It argues that although the UNCAC as international law may appear to be apolitical or neutral, it may also embed political and ideological underpinnings that advance the interests of the Global North over the Global South. Subsequently, the close adherence of South Africa’s anti-corruption regime to the UNCAC and other international best practices instead necessitates critical empirical enquiry.

Moreover, the corpora demonstrate that a nexus between formal and informal norms shapes individuals’ worldviews and behavior toward anti-corruption regulations and their perception of legality. This intricacy calls for a nuanced empirical enquiry into the country’s anti-corruption regulations—one that delves into people’s internalized perceptions and ideas of the law that shape their daily conduct. However, scholars of South Africa’s anti-corruption regime have yet to inculcate such a constitutive perspective of law into their inquiries. This paper concludes that adopting a constitutive perspective, using socio-legal approaches like legal pluralism and legal consciousness, can offer a more nuanced understanding of South Africa’s failing anti-corruption regime beyond the ‘orthodoxy.’

Data availability

The author confirms that all data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Alexander, C., Berrisford, S., Nkula-Wenz, L., Ndhlovu, D., Siame, G., Watson, V., & Zinnbauer, D. (2022). Challenges and opportunities of curbing urban corruption and building professional integrity: Experiences of planners in South Africa and Zambia. Habitat International, 122 , 102541.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2022.102541

April, F. Y., & Sebola, M. (2016). A comparative analysis of corruption in South Africa and China: Evidence from the application of governance theory. Africa Insight, 46 (3), 83–100.

Google Scholar  

Atiles, J. (2020). One of the most corrupt places on earth: colonialism, (anti) corruption, and the Puerto Rican Summer of 2019. Special issue. Society and space. https://www.societyandspace.org/articles/one-of-the-most-corrupt-places-on-earth-colonialism-anti-corruption-and-the-puerto-rican-summer-of-2019 . Accessed 2023-12-05.

Atiles, J. (2023a). Coloniality of anti-corruption: Whiteness, disasters, and the US anti-corruption policies in Puerto Rico. The Sociological Review, 71 (6), 1277–1298. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261231153751

Article   Google Scholar  

Atiles, J. (2023b). On colonial exceptionality, neoliberal coloniality, and legal interruptions. Dialogues in Human Geography, 13 (1), 149–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/20438206221102936

Atiles, J., García López, G. A., & Villanueva, J. (2022). Beyond corruption and anti-corruption narratives: Introducing a critical research agenda for Puerto Rican studies. Centro Journal, 34 (2), 9–25.

Bähre, E. (2005). How to ignore corruption: reporting the shortcomings of development in South Africa. Current Anthropology, 46 (1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1086/424768

Bauer, C. (2000). Public sector corruption and its control in South Africa. In K. R. Hope & B. C. Chikulo (Eds.), Corruption and Development in Africa (pp. 218–233). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333982440_12

Bauer, C. (1999). Administrative corruption in South Africa. Southern Journal for Contemporary History, 24 (1), 76–97.

Bauhr, M. (2017). Need or Greed? Conditions for collective action against corruption. Governance, 30 (4), 561–581. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12232

Berning, J., & Montesh, M. (2012). Countering corruption in South Africa the rise and fall of the scorpions and hawks. South African Crime Quarterly-Sacq, 39 , 3–10.

Bierschenk, T. (2008). The everyday functioning of an African Public Service: Informalization, privatization and corruption in Benin’s Legal System. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 40 (57), 101–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2008.10756619

Bracking, S. (2014). Corruption and development: The mutable edges of morality in modern markets. Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption (pp. 225–241). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315739175-27

Brogden, M., & Nijhar, P. (1998). Corruption and the South African police. Crime, Law and Social Change, 30 , 89–106.

Brown, E., & Cloke, J. (2011). Critical perspectives on corruption: an overview. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 7 , 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1108/17422041111128203

Bruce, D. (2014). Control, discipline and punish? Addressing corruption in South Africa. South African Crime Quarterly-Sacq, 48 , 49–62. https://doi.org/10.4314/sacq.v48i1.5

Budhram, T. (2015). Intelligence-led policing a proactive approach to combating corruption. South African Crime Quarterly-Sacq, 52 , 49–55. https://doi.org/10.4314/sacq.v52i1.5

Budhram, T., & Geldenhuys, N. (2018). Combating corruption in South Africa: Assessing the performance of investigating and prosecuting agencies. Acta Criminologica : African Journal of Criminology & Victimology, 31 (2), 23–46. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC-139f4dd49f

Camerer, M. (2009). Corruption and reform in democratic South Africa . https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marianne-Camerer/publication/265620450_Corruption_And_Reform_In_Democratic_South_Africa/links/5cda7cea299bf14d959513a5/Corruption-And-Reform-In-Democratic-South-Africa.pdf . Accessed 2023-12-07.

Chetty, J., & Pillay, P. (2017). Independence of anti–corruption agencies: A comparative study of South Africa and India. African Journal of Public Affairs, 9 (8), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC-ab561c268

Chimni, B. S. (2022). The international law of jurisdiction: A TWAIL perspective. Leiden Journal of International Law, 35 (1), 29–54.

Dassah, M. O. (2014). Single-and multi-agency approaches to fighting corruption: Lessons for South Africa. Loyola Journal of Social Sciences, 28 (2), 265–287.

Depraetere, J., Vandeviver, C., Keygnaert, I., & Beken, T. V. (2021). The critical interpretive synthesis: An assessment of reporting practices. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24 (6), 669–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2020.1799637

Dixon-Woods, M., Cavers, D., Agarwal, S., Annandale, E., Arthur, A., Harvey, J., ... & Sutton, A. J. (2006). Conducting a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature on access to healthcare by vulnerable groups. BMC medical research methodology , 6 , 1–13.

Ewick, P., & Silbey, S. S. (1998). The common place of law: stories from everyday life . University of Chicago Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=H6Cil7eLCUcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=the+commonplace+of+law&ots=emD-JEk0Pf&sig=S99HaSzrytavT29zohvlKd9scws . Accessed 2023-11-15.

e Silva, F. D. S. (2022). Relational legal consciousness and anticorruption: Lava Jato, social media interactions, and the co-production of law’s detraction in Brazil (2017–2019). Law & Society Review, 56 (3), 344–368.

Fassbender, B., Peters, A., Peter, S., & Högger, D. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law . OUP Oxford.

Book   Google Scholar  

Faull, A. (2011). Oversight agencies in South Africa and the challenge of police corruption. Institute for Security Studies Papers, 2011 (227), 20. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC48895

Flemming, K. (2010). Synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research: An example using critical interpretive synthesis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66 (1), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05173.x

Ganahl, J. P. (2014). Corruption, good governance, and the African state: A critical analysis of the political-economic foundations of corruption in sub-saharan Africa (Vol. 2). Universitätsverlag Potsdam.

Gathii, J. T. (2012). Africa and the history of international law. In B. Fassbender, A. Peters, S. Peter, & D. Högger (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the history of international law. OUP Oxford.

Gephart, M. (2009). Contextualizing conceptions of corruption: Challenges for the international anti-corruption campaign . German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA).

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. (2022). Strategic organized crime risk assessment . Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Gough, D., & Richardson, M. (2018). Systematic reviews. In Advanced research methods for applied psychology (pp. 63–75). Routledge.

Gray, N. (2021). When anti-corruption fails: The dynamics of procurement in contemporary South Africa. Review of African Political Economy, 48 (169), 369–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2021.1932789

Griffiths, J. (2003). The social working of legal rules. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 35 (48), 1–84.

Gutterman, E., & Lohaus, M. (2018). What is the anti-corruption norm in global politics? In I. Kubbe & A. Engelbert (Eds.), Corruption and Norms (pp. 241–268). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66254-1_12

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Halliday, S., & Morgan, B. (2013). I fought the law and the law won? Legal consciousness and the critical imagination. Current Legal Problems, 66 (1), 1–32.

Hertogh, M. (2004). A ‘European’conception of legal consciousness: rediscovering Eugen Ehrlich. Journal of Law and Society, 31 (4), 457–481.

Holen, S. V. (2023). A duty to protect? Legal consciousness among military officers in armed conflict. Journal of Law and Society, 50 (1), 17–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12405

Hyslop, J. (2005). Political corruption: Before and after apartheid. Journal of Southern African Studies, 31 (4), 773–789. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070500370555

Imiera, P. P. (2020). The corruption race in Africa: Nigeria versus South Africa, who cleans the mess first? De Jure Law Journal, 53 (1), 70–89. https://doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2020/v53a5

Integrity, G. (2008). Global integrity report . Washington, DC: Global Integrity.

Jackson, D. (2020). How change happens in anti-corruption: A map of policy perspectives. U4.Chr . Michelsen Institute (CMI).

James, E. (2023). South Africa anti-corruption charter ‘first step’ towards meaningful change . Pinsent Masons. https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/analysis/south-africa-anti-corruption-charter-first-step-towards-meaningful-change . Accessed 2023-04-19.

Kanjere, M., & Koto, A. (2021). Public procurement corruption and corporate scandals in Limpopo Province, South Africa: A content analysis perspective. Acta Universitatis Danubius Relationes Internationales, 14 (2), 2. https://dj.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/AUDRI/article/view/1495

Kaufmann, D., Gallina, A., & Senderowitsch, R. (2015). A Collective Action Approach Against Corruption: The Case of the Dominican Republic . Washington, DC: World Bank.

Keightley, R. (2011). Fat cats, slim pickings: An examination of corporate corruption and the efficacy of existing countermeasures in South Africa. Journal of Corporate Law Studies, 11 (2), 343–368. https://doi.org/10.5235/147359711798110619

Khan, M., Andreoni, A., & Roy, P. (2019). Anti-corruption in adverse contexts: strategies for improving implementation. Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Research Consortium. SOAS-ACE.

Kinnes, I., & Newham, G. (2012). Feeling the Hawks: Why an anti-corruption agency should not be in the SAPS. South African Crime Quarterly, 39 , 33–39. https://doi.org/10.4314/sacq.v39i0

Krygier, M. (1990). Marxism and the rule of law: Reflections after the collapse of communism. Law & Social Inquiry, 15 (4), 633–663.

Kuldova, T. Ø., Østbø, J., & Raymen, T. (2024). Luxury and Corruption: Challenging the Anti-Corruption Consensus . Policy Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=enandlr=andid=ZB7oEAAAQBAJandoi=fndandpg=PR4anddq=luxury+and+corruption+challenging+the+andots=1BhlCLavhDandsig=I8DQIlGSVit6OEjRiMABHhTq-d4 . Accessed 2024-03-26.

Kurakin, A., & Sukharenko, A. (2018). Anti-corruption in the BRICS countries. BRICS Law Journal, 5 (1), 56–77. https://doi.org/10.21684/2412-2343-2017-5-1-56-77

Langendorf, G. (2015). The map is not the territory: How South Africa followed the anti-corruption roadmap and got lost along the way. University of Baltimore Journal of International Law, 3 (2), 31–88.

Lekubu, B. K., & Sibanda, O. S. (2021). Moral values and ethics as antidotes for corruption in the South African public service and administration. Koers, 86 (1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.86.1.2482

Levitt, J. I. (2008). Africa: Mapping new boundaries in international law . Bloomsbury Publishing.

Lodge, T. (2001). Countering public corruption in South Africa. Transformation , 46 . Retrieved 29 April 2024, from https://scholar.archive.org/work/iryd3ye7zbft7lk3m3dhmz6sim/access/wayback/http://pdfproc.lib.msu.edu/?file=/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/transformation/tran046/tran046004.pdf

Lodge, T. (1998). Political corruption in South Africa. African Affairs, 97 (387), 157–187. https://doi.org/10.1093/Oxfordjournals.Afraf.A007924

Majila, T., Taylor, J. D., & Raga, K. (2014). A comparative analysis of the implementation of anti-corruption legislation by anti-corruption agencies in the provinces of the Eastern and Northern Cape. Td-the Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa , 10 (1). https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/download/21/148 . Accessed 2022-05-25.

Makiva, M. (2021). Public procurement oversight and the scourge of corruption in the public sector: A comparative analysis of South Africa and Kenya. In N. Dorasamy & O. Fagbadebo (Eds.), Public Procurement, Corruption and the Crisis of Governance in Africa (pp. 223–248). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63857-3_12

Mantzaris, E. (2016). Innovative leadership against corruption in the public sector: The case for South Africa . https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/58185 . Accessed 5/24/2022.

Manyaka, R. K., & Nkuna, N. W. (2014). The phenomenon of corruption in the South African public sector: Challenges and opportunities. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5 (27), 1572–1580. https://doi.org/10.5901/MJSS.2014.V5N27P1572

March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1994). Institutional perspectives on governance. Arena . https://gestionypoliticapublica.cide.edu/ojscide/num_anteriores/Vol.VI._No.I_1ersem/Abstracts_Vol.6_No.I_1sem.pdf . Accessed 2024-01-08.

Marquette, H., & Peiffer, C. (2015a). Collective action and systemic corruption (p. 29). ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops University of Warsaw.

Marquette, H., & Peiffer, C. (2015b). Corruption and collective action . DLP Research Paper.

Marshall, A. M., & Barclay, S. (2003). In their own words: How ordinary people construct the legal world. Law & Social Inquiry, 28 (3), 617–628.

Maseko, T. W. (2021). The feasibility of the victims of corruption’s claim for constitutional damages against corrupt public officials in South Africa. De Jure, 54 , 127–140. https://doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2021/v54a8

Merry, S. E. (1988). Legal pluralism. Law & Soc’y Rev, 22 , 869.

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & Group, T. P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLOS Medicine, 6 (7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

Montesh, M., & Berning, J. (2012). A need for a single anti-corruption agency in South Africa: A comparative study. Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology & Victimology, 2012 (sed-1), 117–137.

Moore, S. F. (1972). Law and social change: The semi-autonomous social field as an appropriate subject of study. Law & Soc’y Rev, 7 , 719.

Mphendu, U., & Holtzhausen, N. (2016). Successful anti-corruption initiatives in Botswana, Singapore and Georgia: Lessons for South Africa . https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/61220 . Accessed 5/30/2022.

Mubangizi, J. C. (2020). A human rights based approach to fighting corruption in Uganda and South Africa: Shared perspectives and comparative lessons. Law Democracy & Development, 24 (1), 1.

Mubangizi, J. C., & Sewpersadh, P. (2017). A Human rights-based approach to combating public procurement corruption in Africa. African Journal of Legal Studies, 10 (1), 66–90. https://doi.org/10.1163/17087384-12340015

Mungiu-Pippidi, A. (2013). Controlling corruption through collective action. Journal of Democracy, 24 (1), 101–115.

Munzhedzi, P. H. (2016). South African public sector procurement and corruption: Inseparable twins? Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 10 (1), 1–8.

Mutua, M. (2000). What is TWAIL? Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 94 , 31–38. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-asil-annual-meeting/article/what-is-twail/F6186DDA7E7CBFB50CC61A2D7836C5F0 . Accessed 2023-12-11.

Naidoo, G. (2012). A critical need for ethical leadership to curb corruption and promote good governance in the public sector of South Africa. African Journal of Public Affairs. https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/57856 . Accessed 2022-08-11.

Naidoo, V. (2013). The politics of anti-corruption enforcement in South Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 31 (4), 523–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2013.839369

Noblit, G. W., Hare, R. D., & Hare, R. (1988). Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies . Sage.

Nye, J. S. (1967). Corruption and political development: A cost-benefit analysis. American Political Science Review, 61 (2), 417–427.

Nzo, T. (2016). Provincial-regional ANC politics in the Northern Cape: Corruption or everyday informal practices? Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 19 , 96–118. https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.v0i19.5490

Odeku, K. O. (2019). Unmasking life-style audit as a proactive mechanism to root out corruption: the case of South Africa. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory, 22 (6), 13.

Okafor, E. E. (2009). Combating high-profile corruption in Transitional1Societies: Overview of experiences from some African Countries. The Anthropologist, 11 (2), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2009.11891091

Olson, M. (1971). The logic of collective action: Public goods and the theory of groups (Vol. 124). Harvard University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=jzTeOLtf7_wC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&ots=5IHxcKEORf&sig=0BFawWGJppQrfWnlJ7728NwO2QY . Accessed 2024-01-04.

Olutola, A. (2014). The ruling political parties and the war against crime and corruption in Nigeria and South Africa: The case of two brothers with headless bodies. Acta Criminologica : African Journal of Criminology & Victimology, 2014 (sed-2), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC171117

Overman, S., Van Thiel, S., & Lafarge, F. (2014). Resisting governmental control: How semi-autonomous agencies use strategic resources to challenge state coordination. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 80 (1), 172–192.

Parboteeah, K. P., Seriki, H. T., & Hoegl, M. (2014). Ethnic diversity, corruption and ethical climates in sub-saharan Africa: Recognizing the significance of human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25 (7), 979–1001. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.815251

Patel, J., & Govindasamy, P. (2021). South Africans see corruption as worsening during President Ramaphosa’s Tenure.  Afrobarometer .

Persson, A., Rothstein, B., & Teorell, J. (2010). The failure of anti-corruption policies: A theoretical mischaracterization of the problem . https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/39039 . Accessed 2022-06-21.

Persson, A., Rothstein, B., & Teorell, J. (2013). Why anticorruption reforms fail—systemic corruption as a collective action problem. Governance, 26 (3), 449–471.

Pillay, P. (2017). Anti-corruption agencies in South Africa and Brazil and challenges. African Journal of Public Affairs, 9 (8), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC-ab4f8b4ab

Pitsoe, V. J. (2013). Values education as a social instrument for reducing corruption, poverty and inequality. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4 (13), 745–753. https://doi.org/10.5901/MJSS.2013.V4N13P745

Quarcoo, S. C. (2009). Prosecution politics: Recalibrating the role of prosecution within the anticorruption agency agenda. African Security Review, 18 (4), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/10246029.2009.9627556

Roelofse, C. J., Simonovic, B., & Potgieter, P. J. (2014). A comparative study of corruption and government efforts to combat it across Borders: The Case for South Africa and Serbia. Internal Security, 6 (2), 7–28.

Rose-Ackerman, S. (1997). Corruption, inefficiency and economic growth. Nordic Journal of Political Economy, 24 (1), 3–20.

Rose-Ackerman, S. (2008). Corruption. Readings in public choice and constitutional political economy (pp. 551–566). Springer.

Rothstein, B. (2021). Three reasons anti-corruption programs fail . CJL. https://www.corruptionjusticeandlegitimacy.org/post/three-reasons-anti-corruption-programs-fail . Accessed 2023-04-14.

Rothstein, B. (2011). Anti-corruption: The indirect ‘big bang’ approach. Review of International Political Economy, 18 (2), 228–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692291003607834

Safara, L., & Odeku, K. O. (2021). Critical legal perspective of international anti-corruption laws for tackling corruption in South Africa. Perspectives of Law and Public Administration, 10 (1), 203–216.

Sampson, S. (2005). Integrity warriors: Global morality and the anti-corruption movement in the Balkans. Corruption: Anthropological Perspectives, 6 , 103–130.

Sampson, S. (2010). The anti-corruption industry: From movement to institution. Global Crime, 11 (2), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/17440571003669258

Sarat, A., & Kearns, T. R. (2009). Law in everyday life . University of Michigan Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YyfUMtIjEEIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=related:OheblcHIlmIJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=ucTMbMfNA-&sig=Nd_XontUUDmngpgKFftHFEpHMoE . Accessed 2023-11-15.

Seegers, A. (1993). Towards an understanding of the afrikanerisation of the South African state. Africa, 63 (4), 477–497.

Sewpersadh, P., & Mubangizi, J. C. (2017). Using the law to combat public procurement corruption in South Africa: Lessons from Hong Kong. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal , 20 . https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2017/V20I0A1359

Silbey, S. S. (2005). After legal consciousness. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 1 , 323–368.

Snyman, R. A. (2021). Games of Truth in the age of transparency: International Organisations and the construction of corruption. Journal of Business Ethics . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04922-0

Snyman, R. A. (2022). Games of truth in the age of transparency: International organisations and the construction of corruption. Journal of Business Ethics, 181 (1), 83–96.

Sundström, A. (2015). Covenants with broken swords: Corruption and law enforcement in governance of the commons. Global Environmental Change, 31 , 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.02.002

Sundström, A. (2019). Exploring performance-related pay as an anticorruption tool. Studies in Comparative International Development, 54 (1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/S12116-017-9251-0

Tanzi, V. (1998). Corruption around the world: Causes, consequences, scope, and cures. Staff Papers , 45 (4), 559–594.

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14 (3), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Transparency International (2022). What is corruption? Transparency.Org. https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption . Accessed 2022-06-28.

Tushnet, M. (2019). Institutions supporting constitutional democracy: Some thoughts about anti-corruption (and other) agencies. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies , 440 .

Urinboyev, R., & Svensson, M. (2018). Corruption, Social Norms and Everyday Life in Uzbekistan. In I. Kubbe & A. Engelbert (Eds.), Corruption and Norms. Political Corruption and Governance. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66254-1_10

van Niekerk, A. A. (2003). Can more business ethics teaching halt corruption in companies? South African Journal of Philosophy, 22 (2), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajpem.v22i2.31365

Van Vuuren, H. (2006). Apartheid grand corruption. Addressing the scale of crimes of profit in South Africa from 1976 to 1994. A report prepared by civil society at the request of the Second National Anti-corruption Summit . Institute for Security Studies.

Villanueva, J. (2019). Corruption narratives and Colonial Technologies in Puerto Rico: How a long-term view of U.S colonialism in Puerto Rico reveals the contradictory political work of corruption discourse, both in extending colonial rule and in resisting it. NACLA Report on the Americas, 51 (2), 188–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714839.2019.1617489

World Bank. (1997). Helping countries combat corruption: The role of the World Bank. Poverty reduction and Economic Management (pp. 1–69). World Bank.

Zaloznaya, M. (2013). Beyond anti-corruptionism: Sociological imagination and comparative study of corruption*. Comparative Sociology, 12 (5), 705–751. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341281

Download references

Open access funding provided by University of Oslo (incl Oslo University Hospital) This study was funded by the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Law, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Thomas Duke Labik Amanquandor

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

This study was solely conducted and written by the author.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Duke Labik Amanquandor .

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval.

Not applicable.

Informed consent

Statement regarding research involving human participants and/or animals.

Not applicable. 

Competing interests

The author has no competing interests to declare in relation to the content of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Labik Amanquandor, T. Limitations of the international approach to anti-corruption: a systematic review of South Africa’s compelling case of failing anti-corruption. Crime Law Soc Change (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10152-y

Download citation

Accepted : 19 April 2024

Published : 09 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10152-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Anti-corruption
• South Africa
• Legal pluralism
• Legal consciousness
• Collective action theory
• Principal-agent theory
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research