Case Study Project Barbara Trippeer
If you want to be my hero,
then start with a seed….
Sustainability
Why Sustainability?
 Currently, world population is over 6 billion people*
 Projections for the future global population for 2050 now is
at apx 8.9 billion. *
 That means, by the time we are done with class, more than
10,000 new people will have entered the world, a rate of ~3
per second! *
•
•
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/human_pop/human_pop.html
*United Nations Population Fund, based on 1998 analyses (see The State of World Population 1999)
Sustainabilty: Why Now?
 Human existence has always been closely linked to the use of natural
resources, yet with population growth and ever increasing technology,
the demand for those natural resources has increased at such an
alarming rate that it is now a serious threat to not only our
environment, but also our “economic and social equilibrium”. *
 Associated environmental problems such as climate change,
biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, depletion of nonrenewable
resources, and their impacts on economy, could absorb up to 20% of
the world Gross Domestic Product in 2050. *

*” Development of a depletion indicator for natural resources used in concrete. “
 Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 54, Issue 6, April 2010, Pages 364–376

G. Haberta, , , Y. Bouzidib, C. Chena, A. Jullienc,
What can we do?
A Case Study using both Inductive and
Deductive Applications
“Defining Heroes Through Deductive and Inductive
Investigations “
Sullivan, Michael P; Venter,Anré. The Journal of Social
Psychology150. 5 (Sep/Oct 2010)
Inductive vs. Deductive
Defining Heroes Through Deductive and Inductive Investigations
Sullivan, Michael P; Venter,Anré. The Journal of Social Psychology150. 5 (Sep/Oct 2010)
Inductive Research
Deductive Research
 Inductive Research takes one piece of
information and generalizes to apply it to
a larger view or group. A researcher’s
approach goes from the specific to
general and a hypothesis is formed.
 Deductive research takes a lot of
information that a researcher may have
gathered or general information such as
theories, laws or a principle and tries to
draw a conclusion, generating a specific
hypothesis that a researcher is able to
test and prove right or wrong.
 In this case study, a definition of hero
was sought inductively by examining the
specific reasons participants cited in
choosing their heroes.
 In this case study, in approaching the
question deductively, individuals were
asked to define the term "hero" and
responses were then graded according to
existing definitions.
“Defining Heroes Through Deductive and Inductive Investigations “
Sullivan, Michael P; Venter,Anré. The Journal of Social Psychology150. 5 (Sep/Oct 2010)
•Individuals in different contexts are referred to as "heroes" for seemingly different
reasons. To better understand how and why people use this term, three studies were
conducted.
•First, approaching the question deductively, individuals were asked to define the term
"hero" and responses were then graded according to existing definitions.
• Then, a definition of hero was sought inductively by examining the specific reasons
participants cited in choosing their heroes. A third study further examined individuals'
descriptions of their heroes in light of their own self views (constructivist).
•The findings across these studies extend the understanding of the term hero and
suggest that the use of the term is based both on the specific features of any heroic
figure (idiographic), as well as on the self views of the person identifying the hero
(contextual).
If we can define ourselves as a
“Heroes”,
Then we can apply ourselves to Earth’s
“Wicked” Problem
Sustainability:
A “Wicked”
Problem
Using Herbert Simon’s definition for
“wicked problems”, and based on
how Jones defines “the new
complexity in design issues”, the
issue of sustainability requires
engaged, innovative and
collaborative design.
UNT’s own Office of Sustainability
suggests that Sustainability is best
when attacked using 3 prong
approach: 1.) Social, 2.) Economic,
3.) Environmental
H. A. Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial, 1 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 196 8).
J. C. Jones, Design Methods: Seeds of Human Futures, 27-34 (London: Wiley & Sons, 19672).
http://sustainable.unt.edu/our-commitment
Sustainability
and the
Triple Bottom Line:
three branches
According to John
Elkington,
the Director of the
SustainAbility strategy
consultancy and author of
the Third Wave,
the three components of the
“Triple Bottom Line (TBL:
social, environmental
and economic bottom
line)” are also presented as:
“people, planet and profits”.
Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibalizing with Forks. New Society Publishers: Gabriola Island BC,
Canada
But is Sustainability Achievable?
The problem with Natural
Resources
A Theoretical Essay on Sustainability and
Environmentally Balanced Growth Output:
Natural Capital, Constrained Depletion of Resources
and Pollution Generation
Augusto Marcos Carvalho de Sena
Augusto Marcos Carvalho de Sena *., E-mail address: amsena@unifor.br Mestrado em Administração/Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Available online at http://www.anpad.org.br/bar , BAR, Curitiba, v. 6,
n. 3, art. 3, p. 213-229, July/Sept. 2009
The author in this is case study uses an integrative research methodology, combining a
qualitative (seeking definitions)-analytical (appraising models) blend to reach a conceptual
perspective (theory) regarding sustainability, specific to output growth in renewables as an
inverse to depletion of natural resources.
First, a qualitative approach was undertaken in order to obtain, in the environmental
literature, a suitable definition of natural capital. The objective was to clearly define natural
capital and connect it to sustainability.
Second, an analytical approach was used in order to conceive two different models
regarding optimal output production growth – one considering output production
constrained by the use of a nonrenewable natural resource input, and the other contemplating
pollution control over a production process that damages air quality (pollution) as output.
Both models treated output production and environmental variables under a single approach
– optimal environmentally based output growth.
The main objective of this essay is to introduce a new conceptual qualitative perspective
allowing for sustainability to be appraised in line with constrained environmental damage, e.
g., via renewing renewable natural resources, as potential compensation to counterbalance the
depletion of nonrenewable natural resources.
Sustainable Cities: A Case
Study using Qualitative &
Quantitative Research
Case studies in quantitative urban
sustainability
Technology in Society 28 (2006) 105–123,
www.elsevier.com/locate/techsoc
Y. Chi, E. Walsh, T. Wang, H. Shi, O. Babakina, A.
Pennock, T.E. Graedel *, School of Forestry and
Environmental Studies, Center for Industrial Ecology,
Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Empirical Research on International Environmental Policy: Designing Qualitative Case Studies,
Ronald Mitchell and Thomas Bernauer, The Journal of Environment Development 1998 7: 4,
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com
Qualitiative Research
Quantitative Research
 Qualitative methodologists are
interested in evaluating and generalizing
causal inferences pursue the same goal
as Quantitative Research.
 Quantitative methodologists seek to
understand causal relationships by
conceptualizing, measuring, and
analyzing information about the real
world by means of numerical data
representing explicitly defined variables.
 Qualitative methods are used when few
cases exist for the researcher to use in
evaluating theoretical claims.
 Instead of isolating causal relationships
through large numbers of cases and
statistical procedures, qualitative
methodologists evaluate such
relationships by holding other variables
constant through careful case selection.
 They analyze these data via statistical
procedures to compare a large number of
cross-sectional or longitudinal
observations with the aim of identifying
potentially strong, nonrandom,
correlations between explanatory (or
independent) variables and effects (or
dependent variables).
Case studies in quantitative urban sustainability
Technology in Society 28 (2006) 105–123, www.elsevier.com/locate/techsoc
Walsh E, Babakina O, Pennock A, Shi H, Chi Y, Wang T, et al. Quantitative guidelines for urban sustainability. I.
Sustainability requirements. Technol Soc 2005 [this issue].
Y. Chi, E. Walsh, T. Wang, H. Shi, O. Babakina, A. Pennock, T.E. Graedel *, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Center for Industrial Ecology,
Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
In this study, the authors took a look at 4 specific cities with common characteristics but different geographical
backgrounds and climate(Vietnam, Namibia, Serbia & Montenegro), and evaluated them according to their
quantifiable urban actions related to sustainability (how they use their resources and generate waste, and it’s
disposal).
Because many of the standards and requirements being put in place as part of the sustainability agenda are new, a
longitudinal study of the cities’ histories was combined with probabilistic theories.
In applying quantitative data, and building upon an earlier study whereby those studies defined quantitative
guidelines for urban sustainability, the authors concluded that working toward a more cohesive, systematic plan of
urban sustainability was achievable, but that such a framework would need to be flexible and adaptive to evolutionary
factors that might affect urban populations.
“It becomes clear in the design process that it is important to think about how different urban subsystems, e.g.
housing, transportation, and energy use, can be systematically treated as part of the urban design process. The goal is
not to optimize the sustainability-related characteristics of any individual component of the design, but rather of the
entire urban system. This optimization specialty is termed ‘multiobjective optimization’ *, and it is an
important tool to envision employing in future exercises in sustainable city design.”
*Cohon JL. Multiobjective programming and planning. New York: Academic Press; 1978.
Longitudinal Research
Research Design: Descriptive Research, Helen L. Dulock
Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 1993 10:154, DOI: 10.1177/104345429301000406,
http://jpo.sagepub/content/10/4/154
 Longitudinal research design uses repeated data gathering points
(repeated measures) to document and describe stability, change, or
trends over time.
 The advantage of this design is that it has multiple observations or data
points versus only one observation at one point in time.
 The disadvantage is potential dropout or attrition of subjects.
Equals multi-level complexitiesa “wicked problem” like Sustainability requires Design Research
and Analysis
On many fronts.
The Question:
US Domestic Textile and Garment Industry
Would it be
possible to “press the
US Garment Industry
restart button” and redevelop
the once great domestic
American Textile and
Garment Industries
Product
here in the United States,
Process
but in a more Sustainable
way?
Nomoethetic vs. Idiographic
“Nuts-&-Bolts” Series of Questions , adapted from material by Vanessa Richards, M.Phil, Simon Fraser University,
2008, and Ken Friedman, Ph.D., Professor and Dean of Design at Swineburne University of Technology, 2009
Nomoethetic
Idiographic
 A truly Nomoethetic theory
attempts to describe what is true in
general (free of time and context)
rather than what is true on average.
 Idiographic research is used to
 Nomoethetic describes many cases
or situations so that the general
patterns or relationship can been
seen.
 Statistics are often used to quantify
the information.
describe explicit knowledge of a
group of people or a single
individual, place, or event that is
bound by time, context, and
culture.
 An idiographic approach could
be historical analysis of a single
person or group of persons.
US Domestic Textile and Garment
Industry:
The Process versus The Products
US Garment
Industry
Product
Process
Is it possible to Relaunch the US Domestic
Textile and Garment Industry?
Scope of the Problem
Product
Process
What is it?
What could it be?
Who will want it?
What determines a
Successful
Product ?
Product "Thing" (artifact)
People's Attitudes "Who will
want it? What can it do for me?"
Behavior: 5 levers to change
(Key learning's from Unilever’s Sustainability Iniativies)
http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/ourapproach/oursustainabilitystrategy/Encouragingbehaviourchange/
 Barriers – what are the things that stop people from adopting a
new behavior?
 Triggers – how could we get people to start a new behavior?
 Motivators – what are the ways to help them stick with the new
behavior?





Make it understood. Do they believe it’s relevant to them?
Make it easy. Do people know what to do and feel confident doing it?
Can they see it fitting into their lives?
Make it desirable. Will doing this new behavior fit with their actual or
aspirational self-image (i.e will they feel like a hero)? Does it fit with
how they relate to others or want to?
Make it rewarding. Do people know when they’re doing the behavior
‘right’? What are the proofs or payoffs?
Make it a habit.
Research Design: Descriptive Research, Helen L. Dulock , Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 1993 10: 154, DOI:
10.1177/104345429301000406, http://jpo.sagepub.com/content/10/4/154
The purpose of a Descriptive Study is to describe one or more variables and/or
determine if there is an association, or relationship, between them. Determining cause
and effect (causal) relationships is not the goal.
In using descriptive research, the current status or present state of the phenomenon in a
naturalistic setting is the focus of what is being observed, described, or documented.
Data collected in the past (historical) such as data from a review of medical records,
might also be the variable of interest in a descriptive study.
Subjects are selected on the basis that they possess the information or characteristics
(such as feelings, values, attitudes, or health-illness status) that are the focus of the
study.
Descriptive research seeks to depict what already exists in a group or population
Cross-Sectional Case Studies
 Observational research methods. Research design II: cohort, cross
sectional, and case-control studies, C J Mann, Emerg Med J 2003;20:54–
60, www.emjonline.com
 Cross sectional studies are also used to infer causation, and are
often carried out by way of a survey. Market research
organizations often use cross sectional studies (for example,
opinion polls).
 “Cross sectional studies are used to determine prevalence. They
are relatively quick and easy but do not permit distinction
between cause and effect.
(Key learning's from Unilever’s Sustainability Iniativies)
http://www.unilever.com/sustainableliving/ourapproach/oursustainabilitystrategy/Encouragingbehaviourchange/
Challenge: Trigger s and Motivators
“Make it desirable. Will doing this new behavior fit with
their actual or aspirational self-image?”
“Does it fit with how they relate to others or want to?”
Branding represented through
Historical Research Studies
Celebrity and charity: A historical case study of Danny Thomas and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 19621991 , Brooke Weberling, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘
PRism 7(2): http://praxis.massey.ac.nz/prism_on-line_journ.html

Using historical methods, case study centers around the celebrity Danny Thomas and his
efforts to found the non-profit health organization, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
 Through historical documents, relevant media coverage, and interviews, this study reviews
Thomas' relationship-building strategies and public response from numerous stakeholders
from 1962 to 1991, and examine St. Jude's various communication and fundraising tactics,
which have helped cultivate public support for the organization.
 In using this historically based profile, we look to some of the “best practices” in building a
brand profile and the potential positive effects of aligning with a like-minded celebrity
persona to help represent and promote the brand.
Relational Processes in Career Transition
The Counseling Psychologist 2010 38: 1078 , Sue L. Motulsky
In this study, the author uses relational theory to explore how in relational processes, not
just people’s relationships but more broadly their connections to self, others, and society, inform
career development and counseling.
This case study also presents the results of a qualitative research study of midlife women in
career transition that contributes to building an empirical foundation for relational
perspectives in career development. The research focuses here on career transition for midcareer,
midlife women.
Findings in this case study illustrate the ways participants’ connections across a range of
relationships enhanced and supported their process of career change and how their
disconnections hindered, and sometimes halted, their movement through the transition.
These kinds of relational findings can be then applied to predictions, or probabilities, on how
potentially successful adopting a new “sustainable” product formula might be in a consumer’s life,
and what might the possible barriers be in making such a change “sustainable”.
Manufacturing: the
second branch
Is Domestic Production
Viable?
Those Who Stayed Loyal: Comparative Case Study on SME
manufacturers in New Zealand, Author: Rochford, Kylie.
Publication info: Journal of Enterprising Communities 4. 4 (2010): 346-371.
 As seen in our many of our own domestic manufacturing industries, there has sharp
decline in the number of New Zealand manufacturers of consumer goods within the
last five years. This raises questions regarding the viability of a domestic manufacturing
strategy in a global marketplace.
 In this case study, the author explores the performance of small and medium enterprise
(SME) New Zealand manufacturers who continue to pursue a domestic manufacturing
strategy.
 The studies’ findings suggest that company size, export strategy, and importance placed
on non-financial goals influence the viability of a domestic manufacturing strategy.
This research suggests that SMEs need not succumb to pressures to shift
manufacturing offshore in order to remain competitive in the local market.
Would it work here in the US?
 An analysis of small business in Chile: a correlational study,
Robert N. Lussier, Department of Management, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, and
Claudia E. Halabı´, Departamento de Administracio´n, Escuela de Ingenierı´a Comercial, Universidad
Santo Tomas, Santiago, Chile, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 15 Iss: 3 pp.
490 – 503
 Design/methodology/approach – The research on which this paper is based involves a
survey correlational study involving a sample of 145 small business owners in Chile that
replicates Lussier’s earlier success variables validated in the USA.
 Case study findings – The results of this research study show that there were 26
significant correlations between the success variables.
 Practical implications – The findings indicate that small business owners and managers
may benefit from using more professional advisors. Public policy makers should
consider providing more professional help to small business.
What can we do?
In Conclusion:
This complex issue requires
additional research, in order to effectively
combat Earth’s “Wicked” Problem.
Plant a Seed, Watch it Grow:
Sustainability
Bibliography
•
•










http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/human_pop/human_pop.html
*United Nations Population Fund, based on 1998 analyses (see The State of World Population 1999)
*” Development of a depletion indicator for natural resources used in concrete. “ Resources, Conservation and
Recycling, Volume 54, Issue 6, April 2010, Pages 364–376, G. Haberta, , , Y. Bouzidib, C. Chena, A. Jullienc,
“Defining Heroes Through Deductive and Inductive Investigations “ Sullivan, Michael P; Venter,Anré. The Journal of
Social Psychology150. 5 (Sep/Oct 2010)
H. A. Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial, 1 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 196 8).
J. C. Jones, Design Methods: Seeds of Human Futures, 27-34 (London: Wiley & Sons, 19672).
http://sustainable.unt.edu/our-commitment
Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibalizing with Forks. New Society Publishers: Gabriola Island BC, Canada
A Theoretical Essay on Sustainability and Environmentally Balanced Growth Output: Natural Capital, Constrained
Depletion of Resources and Pollution Generation. Augusto Marcos Carvalho de Sena *., E-mail address:
amsena@unifor.br Mestrado em Administração/Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Available online at
http://www.anpad.org.br/bar , BAR, Curitiba, v. 6, n. 3, art. 3, p. 213-229, July/Sept. 2009
Sustainable Cities:Case studies in quantitative urban sustainability. Technology in Society 28 (2006) 105–123,
www.elsevier.com/locate/techsoc, Y. Chi, E. Walsh, T. Wang, H. Shi, O. Babakina, A. Pennock, T.E. Graedel *, School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies, Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Empirical Research on International Environmental Policy: Designing Qualitative Case Studies,
Ronald Mitchell and Thomas Bernauer, The Journal of Environment Development 1998 7: 4,
published by: http://www.sagepublications.com
Research Design: Descriptive Research, Helen L. Dulock, Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 1993 10:154, DOI:
10.1177/104345429301000406, http://jpo.sagepub/content/10/4/154
Bibliography






“Nuts-&-Bolts” Series of Questions , adapted from material by Vanessa Richards, M.Phil, Simon Fraser University, 2008,
and Ken Friedman, Ph.D., Professor and Dean of Design at Swineburne University of Technology, 2009
http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/ourapproach/oursustainabilitystrategy/Encouragingbehaviourchange/
Research Design: Descriptive Research, Helen L. Dulock , Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing 1993 10: 154, DOI:
10.1177/104345429301000406, http://jpo.sagepub.com/content/10/4/154
Observational research methods. Research design II: cohort, cross sectional, and case-control studies, C J
Mann, Emerg Med J 2003;20:54–60, www.emjonline.com
Celebrity and charity: A historical case study of Danny Thomas and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital,
1962-1991 , Brooke Weberling, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘
PRism 7(2): http://praxis.massey.ac.nz/prism_on-line_journ.html
Relational Processes in Career Transition
The Counseling Psychologist 2010 38: 1078 , Sue L. Motulsky

Those Who Stayed Loyal: Comparative Case Study on SME manufacturers in New Zealand, Author: Rochford, Kylie.
Publication info: Journal of Enterprising Communities 4. 4 (2010): 346-371.

An analysis of small business in Chile: a correlational study, Robert N. Lussier, Department of Management,
Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, and Claudia E. Halabı´, Departamento de Administracio´n,
Escuela de Ingenierı´a Comercial, Universidad Santo Tomas, Santiago, Chile, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development, Vol. 15 Iss: 3 pp. 490 – 503