Methodological bases of case studies in research activity for discovering, building and testing theory: analysis of a management case.

The function of case studies in management research is now a controversial subject. Many social scientists claim that case are assential for investigating organizations and thet they are the origin of many oraganizational theories. Other scientists consider that this method has not the rigor of other kinds of social and natural research. This debate is complex, it has many aspects and it has to be examined in the light of philosophy and methodology of science.