Challenges of Conducting Case Study Research in the Logistics Sector:

Abstract

Case study research has become an increasingly important methodological approach for examining complex and context-dependent phenomena within logistics and supply chain environments. However, the structural characteristics of logistics systems, including commercial sensitivity, multi-actor governance structures, digital interdependence and disruption-prone operating conditions, create distinctive methodological challenges for qualitative researchers. This paper examines the principal challenges associated with conducting case study research within logistics organisations and explores how these conditions shape research design, data collection and methodological rigor. The paper identifies three interrelated methodological challenges: access and gatekeeping, data fragmentation and multi-level complexity, and sector-specific disruptions affecting the research setting. The analysis demonstrates how commercially sensitive operational environments may restrict organisational access, how fragmented and interdependent logistics systems complicate data triangulation and case boundary definition, and how operational disruptions may affect longitudinal consistency during fieldwork. In response, the paper proposes adaptive and context-sensitive research design strategies to strengthen qualitative case study research within logistics environments. These include phased access negotiation, embedded and multi-level case study designs, multi-stakeholder sampling, reflexive documentation practices and structured triangulation frameworks. The paper further argues that logistics should be understood not merely as an empirical setting, but also as a distinctive methodological context that shapes the feasibility, design and rigor of qualitative case study research. By linking logistics-specific operating conditions to broader methodological debates concerning qualitative rigor and adaptive research design, the study contributes to methodological scholarship within logistics and supply chain research while offering practical guidance for researchers undertaking case study research in complex and operationally intensive environments.