Despite its potential for theorizing, qualitative research has often been criticized for a lack of rigor. As such, researchers have attempted to increase the legitimacy of qualitative research, in particular case study research, by developing and applying templates. In so doing, qualitative scholars have sometimes applied templates with little to no reflection about ontological and epistemological orientations. As a result, the uniqueness of qualitative research as well as paradigmatic diversity have been jeopardized. In this methodological paper, we use an empirical case study example from the International Business (IB) field to showcase how different philosophical paradigms lead to different methodological decisions. First, we describe in greater detail the methodological steps undertaken under positivist assumptions, and then we provide an initial overview of the application of a social constructivist view to the same case study by highlighting the differences between the two opposing approaches. In doing so, we aim to warn qualitative researchers about the blind use of qualitative "boilerplates,” and we call for greater pluralism in case study research in IB studies.

In this paper, we want to clarify the way practitioners that are currently doing research in their organization, who we refer to in this text as actor-researchers, can develop the necessary distance to produce scientific knowledge. To this end, the two authors compare their research approaches and experiences in the context of their doctoral studies in two different organizations. The fields compared are a French/German public media company located in France at the French-German border and a “Big Four” international audit and advisory company in the multicultural environment of Luxembourg. Our contribution is to identify different contextual elements linked at the individual level to the positionality of the researcher and at the organizational level at dimensions of the corporate culture of the actor-researchers’ fields that influence their research approach and are likely to trigger biases. We consider the epistemological and methodological implications of these contextual influences. This leads us to call for a “contextual reflexivity” that emphasizes the need to understand the importance of the interrelation between cultural, geographic and organizational context in which the actor-researcher is immersed.

Experiments are a powerful method for analyzing causal relationships. However, despite prominent calls to develop experimental research in international business and management, studies remain scarce. In addition to the general challenges of experimental methods, this is due to the specific nature of international business and management research. This paper presents an innovative method for conducting experiments with digital serious games that we believe holds promise for advancing an experimental research tradition.

Following a literature review on experimental research and gamification, we present the experimental serious game method. The key features of the method are single-player digital serious games that immerse participants in realistic and interactive scenarios for the purposes of simulation, quasi-experimental, or true experimental research. Then, we present the steps to develop such games, which are, first, to define the research objectives, the game scenario, and the pedagogical objectives, second, to operationalize each of them, third, to gamify, before constructing and testing the game, and, finally, to collect and analyze research data. In the last section of the paper, we discuss the strengths and limitations of this method and outline perspectives for further development.

Time and temporality feature a key role in everyday life. In Western society and capitalist business environment “time is money”. Yet the role of time and temporality is limited in research and theorising. IB scholars are increasingly interested in time, temporality and context to provide richer explanations and increase our understanding of IB phenomena. These IB phenomena are deeply embedded in their temporal context. While there has been calls for more contextual research, there is little research addressing the challenges of including time in the research design. This research highlights the importance to study the IB phenomena embedded in their temporal context while acknowledging temporal distance in research. We propose a framework approaching the temporal distance from the perspectives of both the research participants and the researcher. This paper highlights the ontological and epistemological considerations related in adopting a more time sensitive research approach.