Case research experts also refer to a need for lateral
and conceptual thinking to master the case-based
research methodology. There has been some research
effort at examining the best climate for lateral and creative
thinking, mostly geared towards rules and procedures
for effective brainstorming (e.g. Johnson et al.,
1968; Osborn, 1963). None, however, appear to capture
the essence of the skills required for effective case
research. Some even suggest that there is no way to
screen or test an investigator’s ability to conduct case
studies and offer somewhat trite advice that additional
practice and starting with simple cases are the recipes
for success (Yin, 1993). In an effort to help, we present
a completely unvalidated test of lateral thinking capability
in Fig. 2.