In the field of management science and business administration, the case method is gaining ground in research and in teaching. Case studies support on the one hand exploratory research and on the other hand problem-based teaching. However, we find that case research and case teaching remain unchained in management study programs and propose to close this gap. We identify an untapped potential of boosting the case method by integrating case-based research and teaching into a discovery and learning journey of applied science. We suggest embedding the “integrated case method” (ICM) in the ecosystem of universities, with the aim of enhancing and intensifying the knowledge transfer between business and the higher educational sector, thereby achieving better learning objectives in higher education. As a result, this approach enables the development of a high level of contextual intelligence and thus helps to avoid the fallacies of teaching based on uniform theoretical content.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are suffering heavily from the Covid-19 pandemic. Pincode Telenet International (PTI) is a small company providing software solutions to the utility sector in the Netherlands. Its revenue depends entirely on outsourcing contracts given by utility providers. When the market environment is disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak and its lasting impact, PTI is confronted with a 35% drop in revenue and many uncertainties. This case illustrates how PTI copes with uncertainties by focusing on one certainty: the available resources. The resource-based coping strategy presented in this case engages students to reflect on how different resources can be used to strengthen collaborations and expand a customer base. It thus advances our understanding of opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial behaviour in times of crisis.