WCA & JCRI Consulting Case Competition 2025
The Western Casewriters Association (WCA) and the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry (JCRI) invite educators, practitioners, and students to submit consulting cases for the 2025 “Making Your Consulting Case” competition. The outstanding consulting cases will be invited for submission to a special issue of JCRI with Consulting cases.
Consulting cases can be on any business or organizational challenges (and allow the authors to establish their expertise and craft their edge as problem-solvers and consultants). Consulting cases typically have four components: (1) the case proposal, (2) the company case and (3) consulting report, and (4) the case brief. For more details, please see the Ivy (2024) publication “Making Your Consulting Case as a Tool for Employability Investments” (article).
The CASE PROPOSAL should be submitted before September 20, 2024 using the Google Form in the attached link: link to the Google form. In the case proposal, authors indicate (a) their professional expertise, (b) the client: the consulting case company, (c) the challenge that the client is currently facing, and (d) sources of data that the authors plan to collect for the case. Based on this submission, authors will receive an invite to a “Making Your Consulting Case” workshop on October 1, 2024.
The COMPANY CASE and CONSULTING REPORT will be due by January 10, 2025. THE COMPANY CASE includes the following: (a) the case opening that introduces the challenge, (b) company information, (c) the industry and the market information relevant to the challenge, (d) the situation that triggered the challenge, and position of other involved parties about the challenge, and (e) the closing paragraph that summarizes the case and defines the question that needs an answer. The CONSULTING REPORT includes (a) frameworks applied for analyzing the case and solving its challenge, (b) case analysis, and (c) recommendations for solving the challenge and implementing the solution. This is the value you generate.
The CASE BRIEF is a structured synopsis of the consulting case. It includes (a) the challenge, (b) the scope of analysis and solutions, and (b) expected outcomes for the company. It becomes a piece for the authors’ professional portfolio.
Timeline
| August 20, 2024 | Zoom Workshop for faculty interested in writing consulting cases with students or industry partners. To register or get more information, please email j.ivy@northeastern.edu |
| September 20, 2024 | CASE PROPOSAL submission for participation in the “Making Your Consulting Case” competition (link to the Google form). |
| October 1, 2024 |
Zoom workshop for all case authors. To register or get more information, please email j.ivy@northeastern.edu
Workshops will be led by Dr. Julia Ivy, Strategy and International Businesses Executive Professor at Northeastern University, and author of Crafting Your Edge For Today’s Market: Using the BE-EDGE Method for Consulting Cases and Capstone Projects.. Under Dr. Ivy’s mentorship, her students developed 240+ consulting cases for 240+ companies in 23 countries. In the workshops, Julia Ivy will share a step-by-step process of making consulting cases, dos and don’ts tips, and examples of consulting cases. |
| January 10, 2025 | Authors submit CASE, CONSULTING REPORT, and CASE BRIEF for the “Making Your Consulting Case” competition. |
| March 19-22, 2025 | Announcement of the finalists and winners of the “Making Your Consulting Case” Competition at the WCA conference in Kelowna, BC. Detailed feedback will be provided on all cases submitted. |
| April 30, 2025 | Authors submit cases for publication in the JCRI special issue. |
Questions, please contact:
Julia Ivy
Competition Chair and Special Issue Editor, Journal of Case Research and Inquiry
