Harvard Business School used first case study to teach the concepts in 1912. Since then this pedagogic tool has completed 100 plus years of its existence. At HBS 80 percent of class time is spent on case studies. Darden spent 75 percent of time on  case studies. Of the 25 top business schools ( Bloomberg) 19 reported they use case studies as the main  pedagogy.

A case study leads to discussion of the strategies, methods, procedures and policies to tackle the problem, to resolve the issues on hand.It introduces the concepts to the students. In encourages several different approaches to tackle one common problem. It enriches the participants, as they gain from the insights given by others. It emphasizes the fact that there is no one solution to a problem. Cases increasingly incorporate video and web-based elements. It leads the learner through reflective and analytic participants, as wrocess. There are supporting teaching notes to facilitate the class discussion which are also sold.The key words are written on the board, and the discussion gets a direction.

Developing cases itself is very onerous task. The faculty has to visit the industry concerned. The data is to be collected. The issues are identified. It involves the investment of time and resources. These cases are published. The smaller business schools buy these published cases for use in their class rooms. This generates revenues for the bigger schools. Harvard sells about 4000 cases anually, generating a revenue of $ 194 million in 2014.

Case method’s success depends upon the experience and maturity of the participants, as well as the competence of the faculty