scholarly journals Comparing causal logics: A configurational analysis of proximities using simulated data

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roel Rutten
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Inference ◽  
Economic Geography ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Analysis Study ◽  
Configurational Analysis ◽  
Case Based

AbstractUnnoticed by economic geography for fifteen years, Boschma’s (2005) proximity paper conflates two different causal logics: regularity and substantive interpretation. The former is dominant in variable-based methods, the latter in case-based methods. Using the proximities approach as an example, this paper explains the differences between both logics. A QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) study on simulated data demonstrates how case-based methods use substantive interpretation for causal inference. QCA is an important innovation in case-based methods that, thus far, economic geography has largely missed. QCA challenges the search for causal effects of individual causes and presents configurational causality as a compelling alternative.

scholarly journals The Effects of Institution-Driven Entrepreneurial Education in Chinese Universities: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongzhi Liu ◽  
Yuxin Huo ◽  
Jing He ◽  
Dun Zuo ◽  
Zhiqiang Qiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Entrepreneurial Education ◽  
Teaching Team ◽  
Team Design ◽  
Education Performance ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Case Based

Purpose: This study aims to explore the effects of entrepreneurship education by examining the influences of the curriculum system, teaching team, design of practical programs, and the institutional systems on universities’ entrepreneurial education performance.Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper employs a case-based approach—Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Data were collected from 12 universities that were typical cases in the implementation of entrepreneurial education. The four dimensions of entrepreneurship education are applied as conditional indicators. fsQCA3.0 software is used to analyze the necessary conditions and condition combination of the truth table.Findings: There are three sets of condition combinations of the intermediate solution that results in a high level of entrepreneurial education performance: (1) when the credit ratio of entrepreneurship courses is higher and there are more practical platform platforms, even if the entrepreneurship education system and mechanism is less mature, the level of entrepreneurial education performance is high; (2) with a higher credit ratio of entrepreneurship courses, higher quality of teaching teams, and higher standard of practical platforms, the level of entrepreneurial education performance is high; (3) with a higher level of credit ratio of entrepreneurship courses and more practical platforms, as well as mature entrepreneurship education system and mechanism, even if the quality of the teaching team is lower, the level of entrepreneurial education performance is satisfied.Research Limitations/Implications: The dimensions of entrepreneurship education can be expanded; additionally, given that there are many other factors affecting entrepreneurial performance, it is necessary to identify and integrate other possible factors on an ongoing basis.Practical Implications: This study offers practical implications for universities and policy makers that can promote the transformation of theoretical knowledge into practice in the field of entrepreneurship in colleges and universities.Social Implications: This study is one of the first to empirically examine the effect of institutional-driven entrepreneurship education in developing countries. The enhancement of entrepreneurship education can benefit the development of individuals and schools, and even has a potential impact on the progress of the country and society as a whole.Originality/Value: This study emphasizes the significance of viewing the entrepreneurial education as a multi-dimensional concept by targeting different kinds of players. Furthermore, it employs a case-based approach to identify configurations of the antecedent attributes of the curriculum system, teaching team, design of practical programs, and the institutional systems, and their influence on universities’ entrepreneurial education performance.

scholarly journals SURVIVAL CAUSAL PATTERNS OF SOCIAL AND COMMERCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVES IN SPAIN

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1047-1067
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Revuelto-Taboada ◽  
Ana Redondo-Cano ◽  
Francisco Balbastre-Benavent
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Configurational Analysis ◽  
Chambers Of Commerce ◽  
Assistance Programme ◽  
Causal Patterns ◽  
Young Entrepreneurs

This research aims at analysing the influence of a holistic configuration of factors related to industry and the characteristics of the entrepreneur and the business, on the survival of social and commercial entrepreneurial initiatives in both, new and consolidated companies. The sample ranges from 2,851 to 2,109 firms, according to the period considered, and has been obtained from the reports of the projects submitted to the Assistance Programme to Young Entrepreneurs, promoted by the Valencian Institute of Youth. Other sources of information have been the Institute’s own reports and the Chambers of Commerce. A configurational analysis is performed using the Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The results obtained show that there is no necessary condition by itself and that there are several sufficient solutions that explain a considerable percentage of survival cases. They also show how the solutions vary significantly and, consequently, the relevance of the different causal antecedents, when the company acquires greater maturity.

Going Alone or Together? A Configurational Analysis of Solo Founding vs. Cofounding

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Howell ◽  
Christopher Bingham ◽  
Bradley Hendricks
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ventures ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Configurational Analysis ◽  
Configurational Theory ◽  
Primary Contribution

Research and practice suggest that cofounded ventures outperform solo-founded ventures. Yet, little work has explored the conditions under which solo founding might be preferable to cofounding. Combining an inductive case-oriented analysis with a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 70 new entrepreneurial ventures, we examine why and how solo founders can be as successful as their peers in cofounded ventures. We find that successful solo founders strategically use a set of cocreators rather than cofounders to overcome liabilities, retain control, and mobilize resources in unique and unexpected ways. A primary contribution of this paper is an emergent configurational theory of entrepreneurial organizing. Overall, we reveal the broader significance and theoretical importance of adopting a configurational lens for both practitioners and scholars of entrepreneurship.

Institutional Configurations and Linkage Formation

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-189
Author(s):  
Lori Thorlakson
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Party System ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Configurational Analysis ◽  
System P ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Integrated Or

This chapter examines how the party, party system, and voter behaviour components of party competition combine with each other and with the federal institutional structure to lead to integrated or independent politics. It uses configurational analysis using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methods to identify various pathways to linkage. It then draws on case studies of Spain, Canada, and Germany in order to probe the causal mechanisms and relationships between elements of linkage. Germany and Canada represent cases that institutionally are most likely and least likely to support the development of integrated politics, while Spain offers an asymmetric multi-level system.

scholarly journals A Unifying Framework for Causal Analysis in Set-Theoretic Multimethod Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Rohlfing ◽  
Carsten Q. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Inference ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Set Theory ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Analysis ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Case Method ◽  
Multimethod Research

The combination of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) with process tracing, which we call set-theoretic multimethod research (MMR), is steadily becoming more popular in empirical research. Despite the fact that both methods have an elected affinity based on set theory, it is not obvious how a within-case method operating in a single case and a cross-case method operating on a population of cases are compatible and can be combined in empirical research. There is a need to reflect on whether and how set-theoretic MMR is internally coherent and how QCA and process tracing can be integrated in causal analysis. We develop a unifying foundation for causal analysis in set-theoretic MMR that highlights the roles and interplay of QCA and process tracing. We argue that causal inference via counterfactuals on the level of single cases integrates QCA and process tracing and assigns proper and equally valuable roles to both methods.

scholarly journals Trajectory-based Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Accounting for case-based time dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 205979912095917
Author(s):  
Sofia Pagliarin ◽  
Lasse Gerrits
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Time Dynamics ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Property Space ◽  
Case Development ◽  
Oriented Approach ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Case Based

Qualitative comparative analysis was initially time-agnostic, but efforts to make the method more time-sensitive have been made since the mid-2000s. These attempts mainly focus on cross-case differences, accounting for change over time at the level of attributes or conditions. While useful, they cannot account for the fact that individual cases also develop over time. As such, strategies regarding ‘within-case’ development have remained under-theorized in qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). To address this gap, we propose trajectory-based qualitative comparative analysis (TJ-QCA) building on the logic of the diversity-oriented approach: meaningful within-case change is carefully defined in terms of development stages that capture qualitative case-based change patterns. We conceptualize configurations dynamically so that they express different development stages. Theoretically, our method is rooted in a complexity-informed understanding of cases describing trajectories through the property space. Trajectory-based qualitative comparative analysis works with both numerical and qualitative data. We will illustrate the method empirically by re-elaborating a well-known published time-sensitive qualitative comparative analysis study.

scholarly journals Growth and innovation of SMEs in local enterprise partnerships regions: A configurational analysis using fsQCA

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm J Beynon ◽  
Paul Jones ◽  
David Pickernell ◽  
Shuangfa Huang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Configurational Analysis ◽  
The Uk

Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) were introduced by the UK government in 2010 to promote local economic development. There is, however, a minimal pre-LEP baseline analysis concerning aspirations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in LEP geographies. Employing Federation of Small Businesses 2010 data gathered before LEP policy activities began. This study examines growth and innovation intention of SMEs in LEP-defined areas. The analysis demonstrates how key internal SME strategic focus areas of staffing levels, training investment, research and development and online presence support their growth and innovation intentions. Results from fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis demonstrate that SMEs’ growth and innovation intentions and strategic areas that drive these intentions differ substantially between LEP-defined regions. This study contributes to knowledge providing baseline data outlining objectives and strategic foci of SMEs in different LEP areas, allowing LEPs to effectively evaluate programmes aligned with the requirements of their SMEs, potentially informing future policymaking.

scholarly journals Applying and Assessing Large-N QCA: Causality and Robustness From a Critical Realist Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 004912412091495
Author(s):  
Roel Rutten
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Large N ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Case Based

Applying qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to large Ns relaxes researchers’ case-based knowledge. This is problematic because causality in QCA is inferred from a dialogue between empirical, theoretical, and case-based knowledge. The lack of case-based knowledge may be remedied by various robustness tests. However, being a case-based method, QCA is designed to be sensitive to such tests, meaning that also large- N QCA robustness tests must be evaluated against substantive knowledge. This article connects QCA’s substantive-interpretation approach of causality to critical realism. From that perspective, it identifies relevant robustness tests and applies them to a real-data large- N QCA study. Robustness test findings are visualized in a robustness table, and this article develops criteria to substantively interpret them. The robustness table is introduced as a tool to substantiate the validity of causal claims in large- N QCA studies.

scholarly journals Beyond the Facts: Limited Empirical Diversity and Causal Inference in Qualitative Comparative Analysis

2019 ◽  
pp. 004912411988246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alrik Thiem
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Inference ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Discovery ◽  
Artificial Data ◽  
Methodological Research ◽  
Solution Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intermediate Solution

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a relatively young method of causal inference that continues to diffuse across the social sciences. However, recent methodological research has found the conservative (QCA-CS) and the intermediate solution type (QCA-IS) of QCA to fail fundamental tests of correctness. Even under conditions otherwise ideal for causal discovery, both solution types frequently committed causal fallacies by presenting inferences that were in direct disagreement with the underlying data-generating structure to be discovered by QCA. None of these problems affected the parsimonious solution type (QCA-PS). These findings conflict with conventional wisdom in the QCA literature, which has it that QCA-CS uses empirical information only and that QCA-IS is preferable to both QCA-CS and QCA-PS. The present article resolves these contradictions. It shows that QCA-CS and QCA-IS systematically supplement empirical data with matching artificial data. These artificial data, however, regularly induce causal fallacies of severe magnitude. Researchers who employ QCA-CS or QCA-IS in empirical analyses thus always risk moving further away from the truth rather than closer to it.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document