interview method in case study

47 case interview examples (from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.)

One of the best ways to prepare for   case interviews  at firms like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain, is by studying case interview examples. 

There are a lot of free sample cases out there, but it's really hard to know where to start. So in this article, we have listed all the best free case examples available, in one place.

The below list of resources includes interactive case interview samples provided by consulting firms, video case interview demonstrations, case books, and materials developed by the team here at IGotAnOffer. Let's continue to the list.

• McKinsey examples
• BCG examples
• Bain examples
• Deloitte examples
• Other firms' examples
• Case books from consulting clubs
• Case interview preparation

Click here to practise 1-on-1 with MBB ex-interviewers

1. mckinsey case interview examples.

• Beautify case interview (McKinsey website)
• Diconsa case interview (McKinsey website)
• Electro-light case interview (McKinsey website)
• GlobaPharm case interview (McKinsey website)
• National Education case interview (McKinsey website)
• Talbot Trucks case interview (McKinsey website)
• Shops Corporation case interview (McKinsey website)
• Conservation Forever case interview (McKinsey website)
• McKinsey case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
• Profitability case with ex-McKinsey manager (by IGotAnOffer)
• McKinsey live case interview extract (by IGotAnOffer) - See below

2. BCG case interview examples

• Foods Inc and GenCo case samples  (BCG website)
• Chateau Boomerang written case interview  (BCG website)
• BCG case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)
• Written cases guide (by IGotAnOffer)
• BCG live case interview with notes (by IGotAnOffer)
• BCG mock case interview with ex-BCG associate director - Public sector case (by IGotAnOffer)
• BCG mock case interview: Revenue problem case (by IGotAnOffer) - See below

3. Bain case interview examples

• CoffeeCo practice case (Bain website)
• FashionCo practice case (Bain website)
• Associate Consultant mock interview video (Bain website)
• Consultant mock interview video (Bain website)
• Written case interview tips (Bain website)
• Bain case interview guide   (by IGotAnOffer)
• Digital transformation case with ex-Bain consultant
• Bain case mock interview with ex-Bain manager (below)

4. Deloitte case interview examples

• Engagement Strategy practice case (Deloitte website)
• Recreation Unlimited practice case (Deloitte website)
• Strategic Vision practice case (Deloitte website)
• Retail Strategy practice case  (Deloitte website)
• Finance Strategy practice case  (Deloitte website)
• Talent Management practice case (Deloitte website)
• Enterprise Resource Management practice case (Deloitte website)
• Footloose written case  (by Deloitte)
• Deloitte case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

5. Accenture case interview examples

• Case interview workbook (by Accenture)
• Accenture case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

6. OC&C case interview examples

• Leisure Club case example (by OC&C)
• Imported Spirits case example (by OC&C)

7. Oliver Wyman case interview examples

• Wumbleworld case sample (Oliver Wyman website)
• Aqualine case sample (Oliver Wyman website)
• Oliver Wyman case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

8. A.T. Kearney case interview examples

• Promotion planning case question (A.T. Kearney website)
• Consulting case book and examples (by A.T. Kearney)
• AT Kearney case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

9. Strategy& / PWC case interview examples

• Presentation overview with sample questions (by Strategy& / PWC)
• Strategy& / PWC case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

10. L.E.K. Consulting case interview examples

• Case interview example video walkthrough   (L.E.K. website)
• Market sizing case example video walkthrough  (L.E.K. website)

11. Roland Berger case interview examples

• Transit oriented development case webinar part 1  (Roland Berger website)
• Transit oriented development case webinar part 2   (Roland Berger website)
• 3D printed hip implants case webinar part 1   (Roland Berger website)
• 3D printed hip implants case webinar part 2   (Roland Berger website)
• Roland Berger case interview guide   (by IGotAnOffer)

12. Capital One case interview examples

• Case interview example video walkthrough  (Capital One website)
• Capital One case interview guide (by IGotAnOffer)

12. EY Parthenon case interview examples

• Candidate-led case example with feedback (by IGotAnOffer)

14. Consulting clubs case interview examples

• Berkeley case book (2006)
• Columbia case book (2006)
• Darden case book (2012)
• Darden case book (2018)
• Duke case book (2010)
• Duke case book (2014)
• ESADE case book (2011)
• Goizueta case book (2006)
• Illinois case book (2015)
• LBS case book (2006)
• MIT case book (2001)
• Notre Dame case book (2017)
• Ross case book (2010)
• Wharton case book (2010)

Practice with experts

Using case interview examples is a key part of your interview preparation, but it isn’t enough.

At some point you’ll want to practise with friends or family who can give some useful feedback. However, if you really want the best possible preparation for your case interview, you'll also want to work with ex-consultants who have experience running interviews at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc.

If you know anyone who fits that description, fantastic! But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.

Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can do mock case interviews 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from MBB firms . Start scheduling sessions today!

Related articles:

Hacking the Case Interview

Looking for a case interview cheat sheet or study guide to help you prepare for your upcoming consulting interviews?

Download our Case Interview Cheat Sheet and Study Guide , which covers all of the most important things you need to know. If you are looking to read the case interview cheat sheet in plain text, we’ve included all of the text below.

This case interview cheat sheet covers:  

What is a case interview?

What do case interviews assess?

What is the structure of a case interview?

What are the common types of cases?

What formulas do you need to know for case interviews?

What numbers do you need to know for case interviews?

What are some case interview tips?

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

A case interview is a 30- to 45-minute exercise that places you in a hypothetical business situation in which you and the interviewer work together to develop a recommendation or answer to a business problem.

• How can Walmart increase its profitability?
• How can Nike increase customer retention?
• How should Apple price its new smartphone?

A case interview assesses five criteria:

1.   Logical, structured thinking : Can you structure complex problems and ideas in a clear and organized way?

2.  Analytical problem solving: Can you analyze and interpret data to draw the right conclusions?

3.  Business acumen : Do you have a strong understanding of business fundamentals and good business judgment?

4.  Communication skills : Can you communicate clearly, concisely, and articulately?

5.  Personality and cultural fit : Are you a good fit for the work culture of the firm you are interviewing with?

All case interviews follow seven major steps:

1.  Understand the case background : Take notes while the interviewer reads you the case information. Pay particularly close attention to the context, company, and objective.

2.  Ask  clarifying questions : If necessary, ask 1 – 3 questions to clarify the objective of the case, understand the company better, or understand an unfamiliar term.

3.  Structure a framework : Structure a framework to break down the complex business problem into simpler, smaller components. A framework is a tool that organizes different ideas into major categories. Present your framework to the interviewer. Make sure that your framework is MECE .

M utually E xclusive: None of the parts of your framework overlap with each other

C ollectively E xhaustive: All of the parts of the framework account for everything you need to know to solve the case with no major areas missing.

4.  Start the case : How the case will start depends on whether the case is an interviewer-led case or a candidate-led case .

Interviewer-led case : The interviewer will be steering and controlling the direction of the case. They will explicitly point you to which questions to answer.

Candidate-led case : You will be driving the direction of the case. You will propose what area of your framework to start in, what questions you want to answer, what analyses you want to do, and what the next step of the case is.

5.  Solve quantitative problems : There are three major types of quantitative problems you could be asked in case interviews.

Market sizing or estimation questions : You will be asked to calculate the size of a particular market or estimate a particular figure. You may need to make your own assumptions on what number to use or the interviewer may provide you with the data.

Profitability or breakeven questions : You will be asked to calculate the expected profitability of a company or investment decision. You could also be asked to calculate the conditions necessary for a company to break even .

Charts and graphs questions : You will be asked to interpret data from various charts or graphs . These can include bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, scatterplots, bubble charts, and waterfall charts.

6.  Answer qualitative questions : There are two major types of qualitative questions you could be asked in case interviews.

Brainstorming questions : You will be asked to brainstorm a list of ideas for a particular problem or question.

Business judgment questions : You will be asked for your opinion on a business issue or a strategic decision.

7. Deliver a recommendation : Present your recommendation and provide the major reasons that support it. Then, propose potential next steps that you would take if you had more time.

Profitability case : A company is experiencing a decline in profits or profitability and is trying to identify what is causing the decline and what they should do about it.

How to solve:  

• Identify the driver behind the decline in profitability, whether it is from a decline in revenue, increase in costs, or both
• Understand what is causing this by looking at customer needs, competitor moves, and market trends
• Identify ways to improve profitability

Growth strategy case : A company is trying to decide how to best grow its business.

• Determine whether the company is looking to grow organically or inorganically
• For organic growth, consider growth through existing revenue sources and new revenue sources
• For inorganic growth, consider potential acquisitions and partnerships

Market entry case : A company is trying to decide whether they should enter a particular new market.

• Determine whether the market is attractive
• Assess the competitive landscape
• Determine if the company has the capabilities to enter
• Estimate the expected profitability from entering

Merger & acquisition case : A company is trying to decide whether or not they should acquire or merge with a particular company.

• Determine whether the company is attractive
• Assess potential synergies and risks
• Estimate the financial implications

New product case : A company is trying to decide whether or not they should develop and launch a particular new product.

How to solve:

• Determine whether the market that the product targets is attractive
• Assess whether the product meets customer needs and is superior to competitor products
• Determine whether the company has the capabilities to successfully develop and launch the product
• Estimate the expected profitability from launching the product

Pricing case : A company is trying to decide the best way to price a particular product or service.

• Determine the cost to produce the product. This is your minimum price.
• Estimate the customer’s maximum willingness to pay by quantifying the value the product provides. This is your maximum price.
• Investigate the price that competitors are setting for similar products. This will help you determine the optimal price between your minimum and maximum price.

Profit Formulas

• Profit = Revenue – Costs
• Revenue = Quantity * Price
• Costs = Total Variable Costs + Total Fixed Costs
• Total Variable Costs = Quantity * Variable Costs
• Profit = (Price – Variable Costs) * Quantity – Total Fixed Costs

Investment Formulas

• Return on Investment = Profit / Investment Cost
• Payback Period = Investment Cost / Profit per Year

Operations Formulas

• Output = Rate * Time
• Utilization = Output / Maximum Output

Market Share Formulas

• Market Share = Company Revenue in the Market / Total Market Revenue
• Relative Market Share = Company Market Share / Largest Competitor’s Market Share

General Statistics

• Global population: 8 billion
• Average household size: 2.5 people per household
• Average life expectancy: 80 years

Country Population Statistics  

• United States: 320 million
• Canada: 40 million
• Mexico: 125 million
• Brazil: 200 million
• United Kingdom: 60 million
• Germany: 80 million
• France: 60 million
• China: 1.4 billion
• India: 1.4 billion
• Russia: 150 million
• Japan: 125 million
• Australia: 25 million

Tip #1 - Make sure you understand the business problem and objective : Answering or addressing the wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

Tip #2 - Don’t rely on using memorized frameworks : Interviewers can tell when you are regurgitating memorized information and not thinking critically.

Tip #3 - Structure your approach before doing any math calculations : This helps you avoid making unnecessary calculations or reaching a dead-end.

Tip #4 - Talk through your calculations out loud : This decreases the likelihood of making a mistake and helps the interviewer follow what you are doing

Tip #5 - Structure your answer to qualitative questions : Use a simple two-part framework such as internal/external, short-term/long-term, or economic/non-economic.

Tip #6 - Answer “so what?” after every question : Throughout the case, connect each of your answers back to the case objective. What implications does your answer have on the overall business problem?

Tip #7 - Have a firm recommendation : Do not have a flimsy recommendation that switches back and forth between two different recommendations. Pick one and provide support.

Tip #8 - Be 80/20 : You will not have time to answer every single question. Focus on the most important questions that have the greatest impact on your answer. This is the 80/20 principle which states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of your effort.

Tip #9 - Be coachable and easy to work with : Interviewers look for people that they would personally want to have on their team. Demonstrate that you would be a great teammate.

Tip #10 - Be enthusiastic : Interviewers want to hire candidates that love their job and will work hard. Displaying enthusiasm shows you are passionate about consulting and working at the firm.

Check out our complete list of case interview tips .

Land Your Dream Consulting Job

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For help landing consulting interviews

• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

For help passing case interviews

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.

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Complete, step-by-step case interview course. 30,000+ happy customers.

• Case Interview: A comprehensive guide
• Pyramid Principle
• Hypothesis driven structure
• Fit Interview
• Consulting math
• The key to landing your consulting job
• What is a case interview?
• Types of case interview
• How to solve cases with the Problem-Driven Structure?
• What to remember in case interviews
• Case examples or building blocks?
• How do I prepare for case interviews
• Interview day tips
• How we can help

1. The key to landing your consulting job.

Case interviews - where you are asked to solve a business case study under scrutiny - are the core of the selection process right across McKinsey, Bain and BCG (the “MBB” firms). This interview format is also used pretty much universally across other high-end consultancies; including LEK, Kearney, Oliver Wyman and the consulting wings of the “Big Four”.

If you want to land a job at any of these firms, you will have to ace multiple case interviews.

It is increasingly likely that you will also have to solve online cases given by chatbots. You might need to pass these either before making it to interview or be asked to sit them alongside first round interviews.

Importantly, case studies aren’t something you can just wing . Firms explicitly expect you to have thoroughly prepared and many of your competitors on interview day will have been prepping for months.

Don’t worry though - MCC is here to help!

This article will take you through a full overview of everything you’ll need to know to do well, linking to more detailed articles and resources at each stage to let you really drill down into the details.

As well as traditional case interviews, we’ll also attend to the new formats in which cases are being delivered and otherwise make sure you’re up to speed with recent trends in this overall part of consulting recruitment.

Before we can figure out how to prepare for a case interview, though, we will first have to properly understand in detail what exactly you are up against. What format does a standard consulting case interview take? What is expected of you? How will you be assessed?

Let's dive right in and find out!

Professional help

Before going further, if this sounds like a lot to get your head around on your own, don't worry - help is available!

Our Case Academy course gives you everything you need to know to crack cases like a pro:

Case Academy Course

To put what you learn into practice (and secure some savings in the process) you can add mock interview coaching sessions with expereinced MBB consultants:

Coaching options

And, if you just want an experienced consultant to take charge of the whole selection process for you, you can check out our comprehensive mentoring programmes:

Explore mentoring

Now, back to the article!

2. What is a case interview?

Before we can hope to tackle a case interview, we have to understand what one is.

In short, a case interview simulates real consulting work by having you solve a business case study in conversation with your interviewer.

This case study will be a business problem where you have to advise a client - that is, an imaginary business or similar organisation in need of guidance.

You must help this client solve a problem and/or make a decision. This requires you to analyse the information you are given about that client organisation and figure out a final recommendation for what they should do next.

Business problems in general obviously vary in difficulty. Some are quite straightforward and can be addressed with fairly standard solutions. However, consulting firms exist precisely to solve the tough issues that businesses have failed to deal with internally - and so consultants will typically work on complex, idiosyncratic problems requiring novel solutions.

Some examples of case study questions might be:

• How much would you pay for a banking licence in Ghana?
• Estimate the potential value of the electric vehicle market in Germany
• How much gas storage capacity should a UK domestic energy supplier build?

Consulting firms need the brightest minds they can find to put to work on these important, difficult projects. You can expect the case studies you have to solve in interview, then, to echo the unique, complicated problems consultancies deal with every day. As we’ll explain here, this means that you need to be ready to think outside the box to figure out genuinely novel solutions.

2.1. Where are case interviews in the consulting selection process?

Not everyone who applies to a consulting firm will have a case interview - far from it!

In fact, case interviews are pretty expensive and inconvenient for firms to host, requiring them to take consultants off active projects and even fly them back to the office from location for in-person interviews (although this happens less frequently now). Ideally, firms want to cut costs and save time by narrowing down the candidate pool as much as possible before any live interviews.

As such, there are some hoops to jump through before you make it to interview rounds.

Firms will typically eliminate as much as 80% of the applicant pool before interviews start . For most firms, 50%+ of applicants might be cut based on resumes, before a similar cut is made on those remaining based on aptitude tests. McKinsey currently gives their Solve assessment to most applicants, but will use their resulting test scores alongside resumes to cut 70%+ of the candidate pool before interviews.

You'll need to be on top of your game to get as far as a case interview with a top firm. Getting through the resume screen and any aptitude tests is an achievement in itself! Also we need to note that the general timeline of an application can differ depending on a series of factors, including which position you apply, your background, and the office you are applying to. For example, an undergraduate applying for a Business Analyst position (the entry level job at McKinsey) will most likely be part of a recruitment cycle and as such have pretty fixed dates when they need to sit the pre-screening test, and have the first and second round interviews (see more on those below). Conversely, an experienced hire will most likely have a much greater choice of test and interview dates as well as more time at their disposal to prepare.

For readers not yet embroiled in the selection process themselves, let’s put case interviews in context and take a quick look at each stage in turn. Importantly, note that you might also be asked to solve case studies outside interviews as well…

2.1.1. Application screen

It’s sometimes easy to forget that such a large cut is made at the application stage. At larger firms, this will mean your resume and cover letter is looked at by some combination of AI tools, recruitment staff and junior consulting staff (often someone from your own university).

Only the best applications will be passed to later stages, so make sure to check out our free resume and cover letter guides, and potentially get help with editing , to give yourself the best chance possible.

2.1.2. Aptitude tests and online cases

This part of the selection process has been changing quickly in recent years and is increasingly beginning to blur into the traditionally separate case interview rounds.

In the past, GMAT or PST style tests were the norm. Firms then used increasingly sophisticated and often gamified aptitude tests, like the Pymetrics test currently used by several firms, including BCG and Bain, and the original version of McKinsey’s Solve assessment (then branded as the Problem Solving Game).

Now, though, there is a move towards delivering relatively sophisticated case studies online. For example, McKinsey has replaced half the old Solve assessment with an online case. BCG’s Casey chatbot case now directly replaces a live first round case interview, and in the new era of AI chatbots, we expect these online cases to quickly become more realistic and increasingly start to relieve firms of some of the costs of live case interviews.

Our consultants collectively reckon that, over time, 50% of case interviews are likely to be replaced with these kinds of cases . We give some specific advice for online cases in section six. However, the important thing to note is that these are still just simulations of traditional case interviews - you still need to learn how to solve cases in precisely the same way, and your prep will largely remain the same.

2.1.3. Rounds of Interviews

Now, let’s not go overboard with talk of AI. Even in the long term, the client facing nature of consulting means that firms will have live case interviews for as long as they are hiring anyone. And in the immediate term, case interviews are still absolutely the core of consulting selection.

Before landing an offer at McKinsey, Bain, BCG or any similar firm, you won’t just have one case interview, but will have to complete four to six case interviews, usually divided into two rounds, with each interview lasting approximately 50-60 minutes .

Being invited to first round usually means two or three case interviews. As noted above, you might also be asked to complete an online case or similar alongside your first round interviews.

If you ace first round, you will be invited to second round to face the same again, but more gruelling. Only then - after up to six case interviews in total, can you hope to receive an offer.

2.2. Differences between first and second round interviews

Despite case interviews in the first and second round following the same format, second/final round interviews will be significantly more intense . The seniority of the interviewer, time pressure (with up to three interviews back-to-back), and the sheer value of the job at stake will likely make a second round consulting case interview one of the most challenging moments of your professional life.

There are three key differences between the two rounds:

• Time Pressure : Final round case interviews test your ability to perform under pressure, with as many as three interviews in a row and often only very small breaks between them.
• Focus : Since second round interviewers tend to be more senior (usually partners with 12+ years experience) and will be more interested in your personality and ability to handle challenges independently. Some partners will drill down into your experiences and achievements to the extreme. They want to understand how you react to challenges and your ability to identify and learn from past mistakes.
• Psychological Pressure: While case interviews in the first round are usually more focused on you simply cracking the case, second round interviewers often employ a "bad cop" strategy to test the way you react to challenges and uncertainty.

2.3. What skills do case interviews assess?

Reliably impressing your interviewers means knowing what they are looking for. This means understanding the skills you are being assessed against in some detail.

Overall, it’s important always to remember that, with case studies, there are no strict right or wrong answers. What really matters is how you think problems through, how confident you are with your conclusions and how quick you are with the back of the envelope arithmetic.

The objective of this kind of interview isn’t to get to one particular solution, but to assess your skillset. This is even true of modern online cases, where sophisticated AI algorithms score how you work as well as the solutions you generate.

If you visit McKinsey , Bain and BCG web pages on case interviews, you will find that the three firms look for very similar traits, and the same will be true of other top consultancies.

Broadly speaking, your interviewer will be evaluating you across five key areas:

2.1.1.One: Probing mind

Showing intellectual curiosity by asking relevant and insightful questions that demonstrate critical thinking and a proactive nature. For instance, if we are told that revenues for a leading supermarket chain have been declining over the last ten years, a successful candidate would ask:

“ We know revenues have declined. This could be due to price or volume. Do we know how they changed over the same period? ”

This is as opposed to a laundry list of questions like:

• Did customers change their preferences?
• Which segment has shown the decline in volume?
• Is there a price war in the industry?

2.1.2. Structure

Structure in this context means structuring a problem. This, in turn, means creating a framework - that is, a series of clear, sequential steps in order to get to a solution.

As with the case interview in general, the focus with case study structures isn’t on reaching a solution, but on how you get there.

This is the trickiest part of the case interview and the single most common reason candidates fail.

We discuss how to properly structure a case in more detail in section three. In terms of what your interviewer is looking for at high level, though, key pieces of your structure should be:

• Proper understanding of the objective of the case - Ask yourself: "What is the single crucial piece of advice that the client absolutely needs?"
• Identification of the drivers - Ask yourself: "What are the key forces that play a role in defining the outcome?"

Our Problem Driven Structure method, discussed in section three, bakes this approach in at a fundamental level. This is as opposed to the framework-based approach you will find in older case-solving

Focus on going through memorised sequences of steps too-often means failing to develop a full understanding of the case and the real key drivers.

At this link, we run through a case to illustrate the difference between a standard framework-based approach and our Problem Driven Structure method.

2.1.3. Problem Solving

You’ll be tested on your ability to identify problems and drivers, isolate causes and effects, demonstrate creativity and prioritise issues. In particular, the interviewer will look for the following skills:

• Prioritisation - Can you distinguish relevant and irrelevant facts?
• Connecting the dots - Can you connect new facts and evidence to the big picture?
• Establishing conclusions - Can you establish correct conclusions without rushing to inferences not supported by evidence?

2.1.4. Numerical Agility

In case interviews, you are expected to be quick and confident with both precise and approximated numbers. This translates to:

• Performing simple calculations quickly - Essential to solve cases quickly and impress clients with quick estimates and preliminary conclusions.
• Analysing data - Extract data from graphs and charts, elaborate and draw insightful conclusions.
• Solving business problems - Translate a real world case to a mathematical problem and solve it.

Our article on consulting math is a great resource here, though the extensive math content in our MCC Academy is the best and most comprehensive material available.

2.1.5. Communication

Real consulting work isn’t just about the raw analysis to come up with a recommendation - this then needs to be sold to the client as the right course of action.

Similarly, in a case interview, you must be able to turn your answer into a compelling recommendation. This is just as essential to impressing your interviewer as your structure and analysis.

Consultants already comment on how difficult it is to find candidates with the right communication skills. Add to this the current direction of travel, where AI will be able to automate more and more of the routine analytic side of consulting, and communication becomes a bigger and bigger part of what consultants are being paid for.

So, how do you make sure that your recommendations are relevant, smart, and engaging? The answer is to master what is known as CEO-level communication .

This art of speaking like a CEO can be quite challenging, as it often involves presenting information in effectively the opposite way to how you might normally.

To get it right, there are three key areas to focus on in your communications:

• Top down : A CEO wants to hear the key message first. They will only ask for more details if they think that will actually be useful. Always consider what is absolutely critical for the CEO to know, and start with that. You can read more in our article on the Pyramid Principle .
• Concise : This is not the time for "boiling the ocean" or listing an endless number possible solutions. CEOs, and thus consultants, want a structured, quick and concise recommendation for their business problem, that they can implement immediately.
• Fact-based : Consultants share CEOs' hatred of opinions based on gut feel rather than facts. They want recommendations based on facts to make sure they are actually in control. Always go on to back up your conclusions with the relevant facts.

Being concise and to the point is key in many areas, networking being one for them. For more detail on all this, check out our full article on delivering recommendations .

Prep the right way

3. types of case interview.

While most case interviews share a similar structure, firms will have some differences in the particular ways they like to do things in terms of both the case study and the fit component.

As we’ll see, these differences aren’t hugely impactful in terms of how you prepare. That said, it's always good to know as much as possible about what you will be going up against.

3.1. Different case objectives

A guiding thread throughout this article and our approach in general will be to treat each case as a self-contained problem and not try to pigeonhole it into a certain category. Having said that, there are of course similarities between cases and we can identify certain parameters and objectives.

Broadly speaking, cases can be divided into issue-based cases and strategic decision cases. In the former you will be asked to solve a certain issue, such as declining profits, or low productivity whereas in the latter you will be ask whether your client should or should not do something, such as enter a specific market or acquire another company. The chart below is a good breakdown of these different objectives:

3.2. How do interviewers craft cases

While interviewers will very likely be given a case bank to choose from by their company, a good number of them will also choose to adapt the cases they would currently be working on to a case interview setting. The difference is that the latter cases will be harder to pigeonhole and apply standard frameworks to, so a tailored approach will be paramount.

If you’ve applied for a specific practice or type of consulting - such as operational consulting, for example - it’s very likely that you will receive a case geared towards that particular area alongside a ‘generalist’ consulting case (however, if that’s the case, you will generally be notified). The other main distinction when it comes to case interviews is between interviewer-led and candidate-led.

3.3. Candidate-led cases

Most consulting case interview questions test your ability to crack a broad problem, with a case prompt often going something like:

" How much would you pay to secure the rights to run a restaurant in the British Museum? "

You, as a candidate, are then expected to identify your path to solve the case (that is, provide a structure), leveraging your interviewer to collect the data and test your assumptions.

This is known as a “candidate-led” case interview and is used by Bain, BCG and other firms. From a structuring perspective, it’s easier to lose direction in a candidate-led case as there are no sign-posts along the way. As such, you need to come up with an approach that is both broad enough to cover all of the potential drivers in a case but also tailored enough to the problem you are asked to solve. It’s also up to you to figure out when you need to delve deeper into a certain branch of the case, brainstorm or ask for data. The following case from Bain is an excellent example on how to navigate a candidate-led case.

3.4. Interviewer-led cases

This type of case - employed most famously by McKinsey - is slightly different, with the interviewer controlling the pace and direction of the conversation much more than with other case interviews.

At McKinsey, your interviewer will ask you a set of pre-determined questions, regardless of your initial structure. For each question, you will have to understand the problem, come up with a mini structure, ask for additional data (if necessary) and come to the conclusion that answers the question. This more structured format of case also shows up in online cases by other firms - notably including BCG’s Casey chatbot (with the amusing result that practising McKinsey-style cases can be a great addition when prepping for BCG).

Essentially, these interviewer-led case studies are large cases made up of lots of mini-cases. You still use basically the same method as you would for standard (or candidate-led) cases - the main difference is simply that, instead of using that method to solve one big case, you are solving several mini-cases sequentially. These cases are easier to follow as the interviewer will guide you in the right direction. However, this doesn’t mean you should pay less attention to structure and deliver a generic framework! Also, usually (but not always!) the first question will ask you to map your approach and is the equivalent of the structuring question in candidate-led cases. Sometimes, if you’re missing key elements, the interviewer might prompt you in the right direction - so make sure to take those prompts seriously as they are there to help you get back on track (ask for 30 seconds to think on the prompt and structure your approach). Other times - and this is a less fortunate scenario - the interviewer might say nothing and simply move on to the next question. This is why you should put just as much thought (if not more) into the framework you build for interviewer-led cases , as you may be penalized if you produce something too generic or that doesn’t encompass all the issues of the case.

3.5. Case and fit

The standard case interview can be thought of as splitting into two standalone sub-interviews. Thus “case interviews” can be divided into the case study itself and a “fit interview” section, where culture fit questions are asked.

This can lead to a bit of confusion, as the actual case interview component might take up as little as half of your scheduled “case interview”. You need to make sure you are ready for both aspects.

To illustrate, here is the typical case interview timeline:

• First 15-30 minutes: Fit Interview - with questions assessing your motivation to be a consultant in that specific firm and your traits around leadership and teamwork. Learn more about the fit interview in our in-depth article here .
• Next 30-40 minutes: Case Interview - solving a case study
• Last 5 minutes: Fit Interview again - this time focussing on your questions for your interviewer.

Both the Case and Fit interviews play crucial roles in the finial hiring decision. There is no “average” taken between case and fit interviews: if your performance is not up to scratch in either of the two, you will not be able to move on to the next interview round or get an offer.

NB: No case without fit

Note that, even if you have only been told you are having a case interview or otherwise are just doing a case study, always be prepared to answer fit questions. At most firms, it is standard practice to include some fit questions in all case interviews, even if there are also separate explicit fit interviews, and interviewers will almost invariably include some of these questions around your case. This is perfectly natural - imagine how odd and artificial it would be to show up to an interview, simply do a case and leave again, without talking about anything else with the interviewer before or after.

3.5.1 Differences between firms

For the most part, a case interview is a case interview. However, firms will have some differences in the particular ways they like to do things in terms of both the case study and the fit component.

3.5.2. The McKinsey PEI

McKinsey brands its fit aspect of interviews as the Personal Experience Interview or PEI. Despite the different name, this is really much the same interview you will be going up against in Bain, BCG and any similar firms.

McKinsey does have a reputation for pushing candidates a little harder with fit or PEI questions , focusing on one story per interview and drilling down further into the specific details each time. We discuss this tendency more in our fit interview article . However, no top end firm is going to go easy on you and you should absolutely be ready for the same level of grilling at Bain, BCG and others. Thus any difference isn’t hugely salient in terms of prep.

3.6. What is different in 2023?

For the foreseeable future, you are going to have to go through multiple live case interviews to secure any decent consulting job. These might increasingly happen via Zoom rather than in person, but they should remain largely the same otherwise.

However, things are changing and the rise of AI in recent months seems pretty much guaranteed to accelerate existing trends.

Even before the explosive development of AI chatbots like ChatGPT we have seen in recent months, automation was already starting to change the recruitment process.

As we mentioned, case interviews are expensive and inconvenient for firms to run . Ideally, then, firms will try to reduce the number of interviews required for recruitment as far as possible. For many years, tests of various kinds served to cut down the applicant pool and thus the number of interviews. However, these tests had a limited capacity to assess candidates against the full consulting skillset in the way that case interviews do so well.

More recently, though, the development of online testing has allowed for more and more advanced assessments. Top consulting firms have been leveraging screening tests that better and better capture the same skillset as case interviews. Eventually this is converging on automated case studies. We see this very clearly with the addition of the Redrock case to McKinsey’s Solve assessment.

As these digital cases become closer to the real thing, the line between test and case interview blurs. Online cases don’t just reduce the number of candidates to case interview, but start directly replacing them.

Case in point here is BCG’s Casey chatbot . Previously, BCG had deployed less advanced online cases and similar tests to weed out some candidates before live case interviews began. Now, though, Casey actually replaces one first round case interview.

Casey, at time of writing, is still a relatively “basic” chatbot, basically running through a pre-set script. The Whatsapp-like interface does a lot of work to make it feel like one is chatting to a “real person” - the chatbot itself, though, cannot provide feedback or nudges to candidates as would a human interviewer.

We fully expect that, as soon as BCG and other firms can train a truer AI, these online cases will become more widespread and start replacing more live interviews.

We discuss the likely impacts of advanced AI on consulting recruitment and the industry more broadly in our blog.

Here, though, the real message is that you should expect to run into digital cases as well as traditional case interviews.

Luckily, despite any changes in specific case interview format, you will still need to master the same fundamental skills and prepare in much the same way.

We’ll cover a few ways to help prepare for chatbot cases in section four. Ultimately, though, firms are looking for the same problem solving ability and mindset as a real interviewer. Especially as chatbots get better at mimicking a real interviewer, candidates who are well prepared for case cracking in general should have no problem with AI administered cases.

3.6.1. Automated fit interviews

Analogous to online cases, in recent years there has been a trend towards automated, “one way” fit interviews, with these typically being administered for consultancies by specialist contractors like HireVue or SparkHire.

These are kind of like Zoom interviews, but if the interviewer didn’t show up. Instead you will be given fit questions to answer and must record your answer in your computer webcam. Your response will then go on to be assessed by an algorithm, scoring both what you say and how you say it.

Again, with advances in AI, it is easy to imagine these automated case interviews going from fully scripted interactions, where all candidates are asked the same list of questions, to a more interactive experience. Thus, we might soon arrive at a point where you are being grilled on the details of your stories - McKinsey PEI style - but by a bot rather than a human.

We include some tips on this kind of “one way” fit interview in section six here.

4. How to solve cases with the Problem-Driven Structure?

If you look around online for material on how to solve case studies, a lot of what you find will set out framework-based approaches. However, as we have mentioned, these frameworks tend to break down with more complex, unique cases - with these being exactly the kind of tough case studies you can expect to be given in your case interviews.

To address this problem, the MyConsultingCoach team has synthesized a new approach to case cracking that replicates how top management consultants approach actual engagements.

MyConsultingCoach’s Problem Driven Structure approach is a universal problem solving method that can be applied to any business problem , irrespective of its nature.

As opposed to just selecting a generic framework for each case interview, the Problem Driven Structure approach works by generating a bespoke structure for each individual question and is a simplified version of the roadmap McKinsey consultants use when working on engagements.

The canonical seven steps from McKinsey on real projects are simplified to four for case interview questions, as the analysis required for a six-month engagement is somewhat less than that needed for a 45-minute case study. However, the underlying flow is the same (see the method in action in the video below)

Let's zoom in to see how our method actually works in more detail:

4.1. Identify the problem

Identifying the problem means properly understanding the prompt/question you are given, so you get to the actual point of the case.

This might sound simple, but cases are often very tricky, and many candidates irretrievably mess things up within the first few minutes of starting. Often, they won’t notice this has happened until they are getting to the end of their analysis. Then, they suddenly realise that they have misunderstood the case prompt - and have effectively been answering the wrong question all along!

With no time to go back and start again, there is nothing to do. Even if there were time, making such a silly mistake early on will make a terrible impression on their interviewer, who might well have written them off already. The interview is scuppered and all the candidate’s preparation has been for nothing.

This error is so galling as it is so readily avoidable.

Our method prevents this problem by placing huge emphasis on a full understanding of the case prompt. This lays the foundations for success as, once we have identified the fundamental, underlying problem our client is facing, we focus our whole analysis around finding solutions to this specific issue.

Now, some case interview prompts are easy to digest. For example, “Our client, a supermarket, has seen a decline in profits. How can we bring them up?”. However, many of the prompts given in interviews for top firms are much more difficult and might refer to unfamiliar business areas or industries. For example, “How much would you pay for a banking license in Ghana?” or “What would be your key areas of concern be when setting up an NGO?”

Don’t worry if you have no idea how you might go about tackling some of these prompts!

In our article on identifying the problem and in our full lesson on the subject in our MCC Academy course, we teach a systematic, four step approach to identifying the problem , as well as running through common errors to ensure you start off on the right foot every time!

This is summarised here:

Following this method lets you excel where your competitors mess up and get off to a great start in impressing your interviewer!

4.2. Build your problem driven structure

After you have properly understood the problem, the next step is to successfully crack a case is to draw up a bespoke structure that captures all the unique features of the case.

This is what will guide your analysis through the rest of the case study and is precisely the same method used by real consultants working on real engagements.

Of course, it might be easier here to simply roll out one an old-fashioned framework, and a lot of candidates will do so. This is likely to be faster at this stage and requires a lot less thought than our problem-driven structure approach.

However, whilst our problem driven structure approach requires more work from you, our method has the advantage of actually working in the kind of complex case studies where generic frameworks fail - that is exactly the kind of cases you can expect at an MBB interview .

Since we effectively start from first principles every time, we can tackle any case with the same overarching method. Simple or complex, every case is the same to you and you don’t have to gamble a job on whether a framework will actually work

4.2.1 Issue trees

Issue trees break down the overall problem into a set of smaller problems that you can then solve individually. Representing this on a diagram also makes it easy for both you and your interviewer to keep track of your analysis.

To see how this is done, let’s look at the issue tree below breaking down the revenues of an airline:

These revenues can be segmented as the number of customers multiplied by the average ticket price. The number of customers can be further broken down into a number of flights multiplied by the number of seats, times average occupancy rate. The node corresponding to the average ticket price can then be segmented further.

4.2.2 Hypothesis trees

Hypothesis trees are similar, the only difference being that rather than just trying to break up the issue into smaller issues you are assuming that the problem can be solved and you are formulating solutions.

In the example above, you would assume revenues can be increased by either increasing the average ticket price or the number of customers . You can then hypothesize that you can increase the average occupancy rate in three ways: align the schedule of short and long haul flights, run a promotion to boost occupancy in off-peak times, or offer early bird discounts.

4.2.3 Other structures:structured lists

Structured lists are simply subcategories of a problem into which you can fit similar elements. This McKinsey case answer starts off by identifying several buckets such as retailer response, competitor response, current capabilities and brand image and then proceeds to consider what could fit into these categories.

Buckets can be a good way to start the structure of a complex case but when using them it can be very difficult to be MECE and consistent, so you should always aim to then re-organize them into either an issue or a hypothesis tree.

It is worth noting that the same problem can be structured in multiple valid ways by choosing different means to segment the key issues. Ultimately all these lists are methods to set out a logical hierachy among elements.

4.2.4 Structures in practice

That said, not all valid structures are equally useful in solving the underlying problem. A good structure fulfils several requirements - including MECE-ness , level consistency, materiality, simplicity, and actionability. It’s important to put in the time to master segmentation, so you can choose a scheme isn’t only valid, but actually useful in addressing the problem.

After taking the effort to identify the problem properly, an advantage of our method is that it will help ensure you stay focused on that same fundamental problem throughout. This might not sound like much, but many candidates end up getting lost in their own analysis, veering off on huge tangents and returning with an answer to a question they weren’t asked.

Another frequent issue - particularly with certain frameworks - is that candidates finish their analysis and, even if they have successfully stuck to the initial question, they have not actually reached a definite solution. Instead, they might simply have generated a laundry list of pros and cons, with no clear single recommendation for action.

Clients employ consultants for actionable answers, and this is what is expected in the case interview. The problem driven structure excels in ensuring that everything you do is clearly related back to the key question in a way that will generate a definitive answer. Thus, the problem driven structure builds in the hypothesis driven approach so characteristic of real consulting practice.

You can learn how to set out your own problem driven structures in our article here and in our full lesson in the MCC Academy course.

4.2. Lead the analysis

A problem driven structure might ensure we reach a proper solution eventually, but how do we actually get there?

We call this step " leading the analysis ", and it is the process whereby you systematically navigate through your structure, identifying the key factors driving the issue you are addressing.

Generally, this will mean continuing to grow your tree diagram, further segmenting what you identify as the most salient end nodes and thus drilling down into the most crucial factors causing the client’s central problem.

Once you have gotten right down into the detail of what is actually causing the company’s issues, solutions can then be generated quite straightforwardly.

To see this process in action, we can return to our airline revenue example:

Let’s say we discover the average ticket price to be a key issue in the airline’s problems. Looking closer at the drivers of average ticket price, we find that the problem lies with economy class ticket prices. We can then further segment that price into the base fare and additional items such as food.

Having broken down the issue to such a fine-grained level and considering the 80/20 rule(see below), solutions occur quite naturally. In this case, we can suggest incentivising the crew to increase onboard sales, improving assortment in the plane, or offering discounts for online purchases.

Our article on leading the analysis is a great primer on the subject, with our video lesson in the MCC Academy providing the most comprehensive guide available.

4.4. Provide recommendations

So you have a solution - but you aren’t finished yet!

Now, you need to deliver your solution as a final recommendation.

This should be done as if you are briefing a busy CEO and thus should be a one minute, top-down, concise, structured, clear, and fact-based account of your findings.

The brevity of the final recommendation belies its importance. In real life consulting, the recommendation is what the client has potentially paid millions for - from their point of view, it is the only thing that matters.

In a case interview, your performance in this final summing up of your case is going to significantly colour your interviewer’s parting impression of you - and thus your chances of getting hired!

So, how do we do it right?

Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle elegantly sums up almost everything required for a perfect recommendation. The answer comes first , as this is what is most important. This is then supported by a few key arguments , which are in turn buttressed by supporting facts .

Across the whole recommendation, the goal isn’t to just summarise what you have done. Instead, you are aiming to synthesize your findings to extract the key "so what?" insight that is useful to the client going forward.

All this might seem like common sense, but it is actually the opposite of how we relay results in academia and other fields. There, we typically move from data, through arguments and eventually to conclusions. As such, making good recommendations is a skill that takes practice to master.

We can see the Pyramid Principle illustrated in the diagram below:

To supplement the basic Pyramid Principle scheme, we suggest candidates add a few brief remarks on potential risks and suggested next steps . This helps demonstrate the ability for critical self-reflection and lets your interviewer see you going the extra mile.

The combination of logical rigour and communication skills that is so definitive of consulting is particularly on display in the final recommendation.

Despite it only lasting 60 seconds, you will need to leverage a full set of key consulting skills to deliver a really excellent recommendation and leave your interviewer with a good final impression of your case solving abilities.

Our specific article on final recommendations and the specific video lesson on the same topic within our MCC Academy are great, comprehensive resources. Beyond those, our lesson on consulting thinking and our articles on MECE and the Pyramid Principle are also very useful.

4.5. What if I get stuck?

Naturally with case interviews being difficult problems there may be times where you’re unsure what to do or which direction to take. The most common scenario is that you will get stuck midway through the case and there are essentially two things that you should do:

• 1. Go back to your structure
• 2. Ask the interviewer for clarification

Your structure should always be your best friend - after all, this is why you put so much thought and effort into it: if it’s MECE it will point you in the right direction. This may seem abstract but let’s take the very simple example of a profitability case interview: if you’ve started your analysis by segmenting profit into revenue minus costs and you’ve seen that the cost side of the analysis is leading you nowhere, you can be certain that the declining profit is due to a decline in revenue.

Similarly, when you’re stuck on the quantitative section of the case interview, make sure that your framework for calculations is set up correctly (you can confirm this with the interviewer) and see what it is you’re trying to solve for: for example if you’re trying to find what price the client should sell their new t-shirt in order to break even on their investment, you should realize that what you’re trying to find is the break even point, so you can start by calculating either the costs or the revenues. You have all the data for the costs side and you know they’re trying to sell 10.000 pairs so you can simply set up the equation with x being the price.

As we’ve emphasised on several occasions, your case interview will be a dialogue. As such, if you don’t know what to do next or don’t understand something, make sure to ask the interviewer (and as a general rule always follow their prompts as they are trying to help, not trick you). This is especially true for the quantitative questions, where you should really understand what data you’re looking at before you jump into any calculations. Ideally you should ask your questions before you take time to formulate your approach but don’t be afraid to ask for further clarification if you really can’t make sense of what’s going on. It’s always good to walk your interviewer through your approach before you start doing the calculations and it’s no mistake to make sure that you both have the same understanding of the data. For example when confronted with the chart below, you might ask what GW (in this case gigawatt) means from the get-go and ask to confirm the different metrics (i.e. whether 1 GW = 1000 megawatts). You will never be penalised for asking a question like that.

5. What to remember in case interviews

If you’re new to case cracking you might feel a bit hopeless when you see a difficult case question, not having any idea where to start.

In fact though, cracking case interviews is much like playing chess. The rules you need to know to get started are actually pretty simple. What will make you really proficient is time and practice.

In this section, we’ll run through a high level overview of everything you need to know, linking to more detailed resources at every step.

5.1. An overall clear structure

You will probably hear this more than you care for but it is the most important thing to keep in mind as you start solving cases, as not only it is a key evaluation criterion but the greatest tool you will have at your disposal. The ability to build a clear structure in all aspects of the case inteview will be the difference between breezing through a complicated case and struggling at its every step. Let’s look a bit closer at the key areas where you should be structured!

5.1.1 Structured notes

Every case interview starts with a prompt, usually verbal, and as such you will have to take some notes. And here is where your foray into structure begins, as the notes you take should be clear, concise and structured in a way that will allow you to repeat the case back to the interviewer without writing down any unnecessary information.

This may sound very basic but you should absolutely not be dismissive about it: taking clear and organized notes will allow what we found helps is to have separate sections for:

• The case brief
• Follow-up questions and answers
• Numerical data
• Case structure (the most crucial part when solving the case)
• Any scrap work during the case (usually calculations)

When solving the case - or, as we call it here, in the Lead the analysis step, it is highly recommended to keep on feeding and integrating your structure, so that you never get lost. Maintaining a clear high level view is one of the most critical aspects in case interviews as it is a key skill in consulting: by constantly keeping track of where you are following your structure, you’ll never lose your focus on the end goal.

In the case of an interviewer-led case, you can also have separate sheets for each question (e.g. Question 1. What factors can we look at that drive profitability?). If you develop a system like this you’ll know exactly where to look for each point of data rather than rummage around in untidy notes. There are a couple more sections that you may have, depending on preference - we’ll get to these in the next sections.

5.1.2 Structured communication

There will be three main types of communication in cases:

• 1. Asking and answering questions
• 2. Walking the interviewer through your structure (either the case or calculation framework - we’ll get to that in a bit!)
• 3. Delivering your recommendation

Asking and answering questions will be the most common of these and the key thing to do before you speak is ask for some time to collect your thoughts and get organised. What you want to avoid is a ‘laundry list’ of questions or anything that sounds too much like a stream of consciousness.

Different systems work for different candidates but a sure-fire way of being organised is numbering your questions and answers. So rather than saying something like ‘I would like to ask about the business model, operational capacity and customer personas’ it’s much better to break it down and say something along the lines of ‘I’ve got three key questions. Firstly I would like to inquire into the business model of our client. Secondly I would like to ask about their operational capacity. Thirdly I would like to know more about the different customer personas they are serving’.

A similar principle should be applied when walking the interviewer through your structure, and this is especially true of online case interviews (more and more frequent now) when the interviewer can’t see your notes. Even if you have your branches or buckets clearly defined, you should still use a numbering system to make it obvious to the interviewer. So, for example, when asked to identify whether a company should make an acquisition, you might say ‘I would like to examine the following key areas. Firstly the financial aspects of this issue, secondly the synergies and thirdly the client’s expertise’

The recommendation should be delivered top-down (see section 4.4 for specifics) and should employ the same numbering principle. To do so in a speedy manner, you should circle or mark the key facts that you encounter throughout the case so you can easily pull them out at the end.

5.1.3 Structured framework

It’s very important that you have a systematic approach - or framework - for every case. Let’s get one thing straight: there is a difference between having a problem-solving framework for your case and trying to force a case into a predetermined framework. Doing the former is an absolute must , whilst doing the latter will most likely have you unceremoniously dismissed.

We have seen there are several ways of building a framework, from identifying several categories of issues (or ‘buckets’) to building an issue or hypothesis tree (which is the most efficient type of framework). For the purpose of organization, we recommend having a separate sheet for the framework of the case, or, if it’s too much to manage, you can have it on the same sheet as the initial case prompt. That way you’ll have all the details as well as your proposed solution in one place.

5.1.4 Structured calculations

Whether it’s interviewer or candidate-led, at some point in the case you will get a bunch of numerical data and you will have to perform some calculations (for the specifics of the math you’ll need on consulting interviews, have a look at our Consulting Math Guide ). Here’s where we urge you to take your time and not dive straight into calculating! And here’s why: while your numerical agility is sure to impress interviewers, what they’re actually looking for is your logic and the calculations you need to perform in order to solve the problem . So it’s ok if you make a small mistake, as long as you’re solving for the right thing.

As such, make it easy for them - and yourself. Before you start, write down in steps the calculations you need to perform. Here’s an example: let’s say you need to find out by how much profits will change if variable costs are reduced by 10%. Your approach should look something like:

• 1. Calculate current profits: Profits = Revenues - (Variable costs + Fixed costs)
• 2. Calculate the reduction in variable costs: Variable costs x 0.9
• 3. Calculate new profits: New profits = Revenues - (New variable costs + Fixed costs)

Of course, there may be more efficient ways to do that calculation, but what’s important - much like in the framework section - is to show your interviewer that you have a plan, in the form of a structured approach. You can write your plan on the sheet containing the data, then perform the calculations on a scrap sheet and fill in the results afterward.

5.2. Common business knowledge and formulas

Although some consulting firms claim they don’t evaluate candidates based on their business knowledge, familiarity with basic business concepts and formulae is very useful in terms of understanding the case studies you are given in the first instance and drawing inspiration for structuring and brainstorming.

If you are coming from a business undergrad, an MBA or are an experienced hire, you might well have this covered already. For those coming from a different background, it may be useful to cover some.

Luckily, you don’t need a degree-level understanding of business to crack case interviews , and a lot of the information you will pick up by osmosis as you read through articles like this and go through cases.

However, some things you will just need to sit down and learn. We cover everything you need to know in some detail in our Case Academy Course course. However, some examples here of things you need to learn are:

• Basic accounting (particularly how to understand all the elements of a balance sheet)
• Basic economics
• Basic marketing
• Basic strategy

Below we include a few elementary concepts and formulae so you can hit the ground running in solving cases. We should note that you should not memorise these and indeed a good portion of them can be worked out logically, but you should have at least some idea of what to expect as this will make you faster and will free up much of your mental computing power. In what follows we’ll tackle concepts that you will encounter in the private business sector as well as some situations that come up in cases that feature clients from the NGO or governmental sector.

5.2.1 Business sector concepts

These concepts are the bread and butter of almost any business case so you need to make sure you have them down. Naturally, there will be specificities and differences between cases but for the most part here is a breakdown of each of them.

5.2.1.1. Revenue

The revenue is the money that the company brings in and is usually equal to the number of products they sell multiplied to the price per item and can be expressed with the following equation:

Revenue = Volume x Price

Companies may have various sources of revenue or indeed multiple types of products, all priced differently which is something you will need to account for in your case interview. Let’s consider some situations. A clothing company such as Nike will derive most of their revenue from the number of products they sell times the average price per item. Conversely, for a retail bank revenue is measured as the volume of loans multiplied by the interest rate at which the loans are given out. As we’ll see below, we might consider primary revenues and ancillary revenues: in the case of a football club, we might calculate primary revenues by multiplying the number of tickets sold by the average ticket price, and ancillary revenues those coming from sales of merchandise (similarly, let’s say average t-shirt price times the number of t-shirts sold), tv rights and sponsorships.

These are but a few examples and another reminder that you should always aim to ask questions and understand the precise revenue structure of the companies you encounter in cases.

5.2.1.2. Costs

The costs are the expenses that a company incurs during its operations. Generally, they can be broken down into fixed and variable costs :

Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs

As their name implies, fixed costs do not change based on the number of units produced or sold. For example, if you produce shoes and are renting the space for your factory, you will have to pay the rent regardless of whether you produce one pair or 100. On the other hand, variable costs depend on the level of activity, so in our shoe factory example they would be equivalent to the materials used to produce each pair of shoes and would increase the more we produce.

These concepts are of course guidelines used in order to simplify the analysis in cases, and you should be aware that in reality often the situation can be more complicated. However, this should be enough for case interviews. Costs can also be quasi-fixed, in that they increase marginally with volume. Take the example of a restaurant which has a regular staff, incurring a fixed cost but during very busy hours or periods they also employ some part-time workers. This cost is not exactly variable (as it doesn’t increase with the quantity of food produced) but also not entirely fixed, as the number of extra hands will depend on how busy the restaurant is. Fixed costs can also be non-linear in nature. Let’s consider the rent in the same restaurant: we would normally pay a fixed amount every month, but if the restaurant becomes very popular we might need to rent out some extra space so the cost will increase. Again, this is not always relevant for case interviews.

5.2.1.3. Profit and profit margin

The profit is the amount of money a company is left with after it has paid all of its expenses and can be expressed as follows:

Profit = Revenue - Costs

It’s very likely that you will encounter a profitability issue in one of your case interviews, namely you will be asked to increase a company’s profit. There are two main ways of doing this: increasing revenues and reducing costs , so these will be the two main areas you will have to investigate. This may seem simple but what you will really need to understand in a case are the key drivers of a business (and this should be done through clarifying questions to the interviewer - just as a real consultant would question their client).

For example, if your client is an airline you can assume that the main source of revenue is sales of tickets, but you should inquire how many types of ticket the specific airline sells. You may naturally consider economy and business class tickets, but you may find out that there is a more premium option - such as first class - and several in-between options. Similarly to our football club example, there may be ancillary revenues from selling of food and beverage as well as advertising certain products or services on flights.

You may also come across the profit margin in case interviews. This is simply the percentage of profit compared to the revenue and can be expressed as follows:

Profit margin = Profit/Revenue x 100

5.2.1.4. Break-even point

An ancillary concept to profit, the break-even point is the moment where revenues equal costs making the profit zero and can be expressed as the following equation:

Revenues = Costs (Fixed costs + Variable costs)

This formula will be useful when you are asked questions such as ‘What is the minimum price I should sell product X?’ or ‘What quantity do I need to sell in order to recoup my investment?’. Let’s say in a case interview an owner of a sandwich store asks us to figure out how many salami and cheese salami sandwiches she needs to sell in order to break even. She’s spending $4 on salami and $2 for cheese and lettuce per sandwich, and believes she can sell the sandwiches at around $7. The cost of utilities and personnel is around $5000 per month. We could lay this all out in the break-even equation:

7 x Q ( quantity ) = (4+2) x Q + 5000 ( variable + fixed costs )

In a different scenario, we may be asked to calculate the break-even price . Let’s consider our sandwich example and say our owner knows she has enough ingredients for about 5000 sandwiches per month but is not sure how much to sell them for. In that case, if we know our break-even equation, we can simply make the following changes:

P ( price ) x 5000 = (4+2) x 5000 + 5000

By solving the equation we get to the price of $7 per sandwich.

5.2.1.5. Market share and market size

We can also consider the market closely with profit, as in fact the company’s performance in the market is what drives profits. The market size is the total number of potential customers for a certain business or product, whereas the market share is the percentage of that market that your business controls (or could control, depending on the case).

There is a good chance you will have to estimate the market size in one of your case interviews and we get into more details on how to do that below. You may be asked to estimate this in either number of potential customers or total value . The latter simply refers to the number of customers multiplied by the average value of the product or service.

To calculate the market share you will have to divide the company’s share by the total market size and multiply by 100:

Note, though, that learning the very basics of business is the beginning rather than the end of your journey. Once you are able to “speak business” at a rudimentary level, you should try to “become fluent” and immerse yourself in reading/viewing/listening to as wide a variety of business material as possible, getting a feel for all kinds of companies and industries - and especially the kinds of problems that can come up in each context and how they are solved. The material put out by the consulting firms themselves is a great place to start, but you should also follow the business news and find out about different companies and sectors as much as possible between now and interviews. Remember, if you’re going to be a consultant, this should be fun rather than a chore!

5.3 Public sector and NGO concepts

As we mentioned, there will be some cases (see section 6.6 for a more detailed example) where the key performance indicators (or KPIs in short) will not be connected to profit. The most common ones will involve the government of a country or an NGO, but they can be way more diverse and require more thought and application of first principles. We have laid out a couple of the key concepts or KPIs that come up below

5.3.1 Quantifiability

In many such scenarios you will be asked to make an important strategic decision of some kind or to optimise a process. Of course these are not restricted to non-private sector cases but this is where they really come into their own as there can be great variation in the type of decision and the types of field.

While there may be no familiar business concepts to anchor yourself onto, a concept that is essential is quantifiability . This means, however qualitative the decision might seem, consultants rely on data so you should always aim to have aspects of a decision that can be quantified, even if the data doesn’t present itself in a straightforward manner.

Let’s take a practical example. Your younger sibling asks you to help them decide which university they should choose if they want to study engineering. One way to structure your approach would be to segment the problem into factors affecting your sibling’s experience at university and experience post-university. Within the ‘at uni’ category you might think about the following:

• Financials : How much are tuition costs and accommodation costs?
• Quality of teaching and research : How are possible universities ranked in the QS guide based on teaching and research?
• Quality of resources : How well stocked is their library, are the labs well equipped etc.?
• Subject ranking : How is engineering at different unis ranked?
• Life on campus and the city : What are the living costs in the city where the university is based? What are the extracurricular opportunities and would your sibling like to live in that specific city based on them?

Within the ‘out of uni’ category you might think about:

• Exit options : What are the fields in which your sibling could be employed and how long does it take the average student of that university to find a job?
• Alumni network : What percentage of alumni are employed by major companies?
• Signal : What percentage of applicants from the university get an interview in major engineering companies and related technical fields?

You will perhaps notice that all the buckets discussed pose quantifiable questions meant to provide us with data necessary to make a decision. It’s no point to ask ‘Which university has the nicest teaching staff?’ as that can be a very subjective metric.

5.3.1 Impact

Another key concept to consider when dealing with sectors other than the private one is how impactful a decision or a line of inquiry is on the overarching issue , or whether all our branches in our issue tree have a similar impact. This can often come in the form of impact on lives, such as in McKinsey’s conservation case discussed below, namely how many species can we save with our choice of habitat.

5.4 Common consulting concepts

Consultants use basic business concepts on an every day basis, as they help them articulate their frameworks to problems. However, they also use some consulting specific tools to quality check their analysis and perform in the most efficient way possible. These principles can be applied to all aspects of a consultant’s work, but for brevity we can say they mostly impact a consultant’s systematic approach and communication - two very important things that are also tested in case interviews. Therefore, it’s imperative that you not only get to know them, but learn how and when to use them as they are at the very core of good casing. They are MECE-ness, the Pareto Principle and the Pyramid principle and are explained briefly below - you should, however, go on to study them in-depth in their respective articles.

Perhaps the central pillar of all consulting work and an invaluable tool to solve cases, MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive . It can refer to any and every aspect in a case but is most often used when talking about structure. We have a detailed article explaining the concept here , but the short version is that MECE-ness ensures that there is no overlap between elements of a structure (i.e. the Mutually Exclusive component) and that it covers all the drivers or areas of a problem (Collectively Exhaustive). It is a concept that can be applied to any segmentation when dividing a set into subsets that include it wholly but do not overlap.

Let’s take a simple example and then a case framework example. In simple terms, when we are asked to break down the set ‘cars’ into subsets, dividing cars into ‘red cars’ and ‘sports cars’ is neither mutually exclusive (as there are indeed red sports cars) nor exhaustive of the whole set (i.e. there are also yellow non-sports cars that are not covered by this segmentation). A MECE way to segment would be ‘cars produced before 2000’ and ‘cars produced after 2000’ as this segmentation allows for no overlap and covers all the cars in existence.

Dividing cars can be simple, but how can we ensure MECEness in a case-interview a.k.a. a business situation. While the same principles apply, a good tip to ensure that your structure is MECE is to think about all the stakeholders - i.e. those whom a specific venture involves.

Let’s consider that our client is a soda manufacturer who wants to move from a business-to-business strategy, i.e. selling to large chains of stores and supermarkets, to a business-to-consumer strategy where it sells directly to consumers. In doing so they would like to retrain part of their account managers as direct salespeople and need to know what factors to consider.

A stakeholder-driven approach would be to consider the workforce and customers and move further down the issue tree, thinking about individual issues that might affect them. In the case of the workforce, we might consider how the shift would affect their workload and whether it takes their skillset into account. As for the customers, we might wonder whether existing customers would be satisfied with this move: will the remaining B2B account managers be able to provide for the needs of all their clients and will the fact that the company is selling directly to consumers now not cannibalise their businesses? We see how by taking a stakeholder-centred approach we can ensure that every single perspective and potential issue arising from it is fully covered.

5.4.2 The Pareto Principle

Also known as the 80/20 rule, this principle is important when gauging the impact of a decision or a factor in your analysis. It simply states that in business (but not only) 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. What this means is you can make a few significant changes that will impact most of your business organisation, sales model, cost structure etc.

Let’s have a look at 3 quick examples to illustrate this:

• 80% of all accidents are caused by 20% of drivers
• 20% of a company’s products account for 80% of the sales
• 80% of all results in a company are driven by 20% of its employees

The 80/20 rule will be a very good guide line in real engagements as well as case interviews, as it will essentially point to the easiest and most straightforward way of doing things. Let’s say one of the questions in a case is asking you to come up with an approach to understand the appeal of a new beard trimmer. Obviously you can’t interview the whole male population so you might think about setting up a webpage and asking people to comment their thoughts. But what you would get would be a laundry list of difficult to sift through data.

Using an 80/20 approach you would segment the population based on critical factors (age groups, grooming habits etc.) and then approach a significant sample size of each (e.g. 20), analysing the data and reaching a conclusion.

5.4.3 The Pyramid Principle

This principle refers to organising your communication in a top-down , efficient manner. While this is generally applicable, the pyramid principle will most often be employed when delivering the final recommendation to your client. This means - as is implicit in the name - that you would organise your recommendation (and communication in general) as a pyramid, stating the conclusion or most important element at the top then go down the pyramid listing 3 supporting arguments and then further (ideally also 3) supporting arguments for those supporting arguments.

Let’s look at this in practice in a case interview context: your client is a German air-conditioning unit manufacturer who was looking to expand into the French market. However, after your analysis you’ve determined that the market share they were looking to capture would not be feasible. A final recommendation using the Pyramid Principle would sound something like this: ‘I recommend that we do not enter the German market for the following three reasons. Firstly, the market is too small for our ambitions of $50 million. Secondly the market is heavily concentrated, being controlled by three major players and our 5 year goal would amount to controlling 25% of the market, a share larger than that of any of the players. Thirdly, the alternative of going into the corporate market would not be feasible, as it has high barriers to entry.Then, if needed, we could delve deeper into each of our categories

6. Case examples or building blocks?

As we mentioned before, in your case interview preparation you will undoubtedly find preparation resources that claim that there are several standard types of cases and that there is a general framework that can be applied to each type of case. While there are indeed cases that are straightforward at least in appearance and seemingly invite the application of such frameworks, the reality is never that simple and cases often involve multiple or more complicated components that cannot be fitted into a simple framework.

At MCC we don’t want you to get into the habit of trying to identify which case type you’re dealing with and pull out a framework, but we do recognize that there are recurring elements in frameworks that are useful - such as the profitability of a venture (with its revenues and costs), the valuation of a business, estimating and segmenting a market and pricing a product.

We call these building blocks because they can be used to build case frameworks but are not a framework in and of themselves, and they can be shuffled around and rearranged in any way necessary to be tailored to our case. Hence, our approach is not to make you think in terms of case types but work from first principles and use these building blocks to build your own framework. Let’s take two case prompts to illustrate our point.

The first is from the Bain website, where the candidate is asked whether they think it’s a good idea for their friend to open a coffee shop in Cambridge UK (see the case here ). The answer framework provided here is a very straightforward profitability analysis framework, examining the potential revenues and potential costs of the venture:

While this is a good point to start for your case interview (especially taken together with the clarifying questions), we will notice that this approach will need more tailoring to the case - for example the quantity of coffee will be determined by the market for coffee drinkers in Cambridge, which we have to determine based on preference. We are in England so a lot of people will be drinking tea but we are in a university town so perhaps more people than average are drinking coffee as it provides a better boost when studying. All these are some much needed case-tailored hypotheses that we can make based on the initial approach.

Just by looking at this case we might be tempted to say that we can just take a profitability case and apply it without any issues. However, this generic framework is just a starting point and in reality we would need to tailor it much further in the way we had started to do in order to get to a satisfactory answer. For example, the framework for this specific case interview doesn’t cover aspects such as the customer’s expertise: does the friend have any knowledge of the coffee business, such as where to source coffee and how to prepare it? Also, we could argue there may be some legal factors to consider here, such as any approvals that they might need from the city council to run a coffee shop on site, or some specific trade licences that are not really covered in the basic profitability framework.

Let’s take a different case , however, from the McKinsey website. In this scenario, the candidate is being asked to identify some factors in order to choose where to focus the client’s conservation efforts. Immediately we can realise that this case doesn’t lend itself to any pre-packaged framework and we will need to come up with something from scratch - and take a look at McKinsey’s answer of the areas to focus on:

We notice immediately that this framework is 100% tailored to the case - of course there are elements which we encounter in other cases, such as costs and risks but again these are applied in an organic way. It’s pretty clear that while no standard framework would work in this case, the aforementioned concepts - costs and risks - and the way to approach them (a.k.a building blocks ) are fundamentally similar throughout cases (with the obvious specificities of each case).

In what follows, we’ll give a brief description of each building block starting from the Bain example discussed previously, in order to give you a general idea of what they are and their adaptability, but you should make sure to follow the link to the in-depth articles to learn all their ins and outs.

6.1 Estimates and segmentation

This building block will come into play mostly when you’re thinking about the market for a certain product (but make sure to read the full article for more details). Let’s take our Bain Cambridge coffee example. As we mentioned under the quantity bucket we need to understand what the market size for coffee in Cambridge would be - so we can make an estimation based on segmentation .

The key to a good estimation is the ability to logically break down the problem into more manageable pieces. This will generally mean segmenting a wider population to find a particular target group. We can start off with the population of Cambridge - which we estimate at 100.000. In reality the population is closer to 150.000 but that doesn’t matter - the estimation has to be reasonable and not accurate , so unless the interviewer gives you a reason to reconsider you can follow your instinct. We can divide that into people who do and don’t drink coffee. Given our arguments before, we can conclude that 80% of those, so 80.000 drink coffee. Then we can further segment into those who drink regularly - let’s say every day - and those who drink occasionally - let’s say once a week. Based on the assumptions before about the student population needing coffee to function, and with Cambridge having a high student population, we can assume that 80% of those drinking coffee are regular drinkers, so that would be 64.000 regular drinkers and 16.000 occasional drinkers. We can then decide whom we want to target what our strategy needs to be:

This type of estimation and segmentation can be applied to any case specifics - hence why it is a building block.

6.2 Profitability

We had several looks at this building block so far (see an in-depth look here ) as it will show up in most case interivew scenarios, since profit is a key element in any company’s strategy. As we have seen, the starting point to this analysis is to consider both the costs and revenues of a company, and try to determine whether revenues need to be improved or whether costs need to be lowered. In the coffee example, the revenues are dictated by the average price per coffe x the number of coffees sold , whereas costs can be split into fixed and variable .

Some examples of fixed costs would be the rent for the stores and the cost of the personnel and utilities, while the most obvious variable costs would be the coffee beans used and the takeaway containers (when needed). We may further split revenues in this case into Main revenues - i.e. the sales of coffee - and Ancillary revenues , which can be divided into Sales of food products (sales of pastries, sandwiches etc., each with the same price x quantity schema) and Revenues from events - i.e renting out the coffee shop to events and catering for the events themselves. Bear in mind that revenues will be heavily influenced by the penetration rate , i.e. the share of the market which we can capture.

6.3 Pricing

Helping a company determine how much they should charge for their goods or services is another theme that comes up frequently in cases. While it may seem less complicated than the other building blocks, we assure you it’s not - you will have to understand and consider several factors, such as the costs a company is incurring, their general strategic positioning, availability, market trends as well as the customers’ willingness to pay (or WTP in short) - so make sure to check out our in-depth guide here .

In our example, we may determine that the cost per cup (coffee beans, staff, rent) is £1. We want to be student friendly so we should consider how much students would want to pay for a coffee as well as how much are competitors are charging. Based on those factors, it would be reasonable to charge on average £2 per cup of coffee. It’s true that our competitors are charging £3 but they are targeting mostly the adult market, whose willingness to pay is higher, so their pricing model takes that into account as well as the lower volume of customers in that demographic.

6.4. Valuation

A variant of the pricing building block, a valuation problem generally asks the candidate to determine how much a client should pay for a specific company (the target of an acquisition) as well as what other factors to consider. The two most important factors (but not the only ones - for a comprehensive review see our Valuation article ) to consider are the net present value (in consulting interviews usually in perpetuity) and the synergies .

In short, the net present value of a company is how much profit it currently brings in, divided by how much that cash flow will depreciate in the future and can be represented with the equation below:

The synergies refer to what could be achieved should the companies operate as one, and can be divided into cost and revenue synergies .

Let’s expand our coffee example a bit to understand these. Imagine that our friend manages to open a chain of coffee shops in Cambridge and in the future considers acquiring a chain of take-out restaurants. The most straightforward example of revenue synergies would be cross-selling, in this case selling coffee in the restaurants as well as in the dedicated stores, and thus getting an immediate boost in market share by using the existing customers of the restaurant chain. A cost synergy would be merging the delivery services of the two businesses to deliver both food and coffee, thus avoiding redundancies and reducing costs associated with twice the number of drivers and vehicles.

6.5. Competitive interaction

This component of cases deals with situations where the market in which a company is operating changes and the company must decide what to do. These changes often have to do with a new player entering the market (again for more details make sure to dive into the Competitive Interaction article ).

Let’s assume that our Cambridge coffee shop has now become a chain and has flagged up to other competitors that Cambridge is a blooming market for coffee. As such, Starbucks has decided to open a few stores in Cambridge themselves, to test this market. The question which might be posed to a candidate is what should our coffee chain do. One way (and a MECE one) to approach the problem is to decide between doing something and doing nothing . We might consider merging with another coffee chain and pooling our resources or playing to our strengths and repositioning ourselves as ‘your student-friendly, shop around the corner’. Just as easily we may just wait the situation out and see whether indeed Starbucks is cutting into our market share - after all, the advantages of our product and services might speak for themselves and Starbucks might end up tanking. Both of these are viable options if argued right and depending on the further specifics of the case.

6.6. Special cases

Most cases deal with private sectors, where the overarching objective entails profit in some form. However, as hinted before, there are cases which deal with other sectors where there are other KPIs in place . The former will usually contain one or several of these building blocks whereas the latter will very likely have neither. This latter category is arguably the one that will stretch your analytical and organisational skills to the limit, since there will be very little familiarity that you can fall back on (McKinsey famously employs such cases in their interview process).

So how do we tackle the structure for such cases? The short answer would be starting from first principles and using the problem driven structure outlined above, but let’s look at a quick example in the form of a McKinsey case :

The first question addressed to the candidate is the following:

This is in fact asking us to build a structure for the case. So what should we have in mind here? Most importantly, we should start with a structure that is MECE and we should remember to do that by considering all the stakeholders . They are on the one hand the government and affiliated institutions and on the other the population. We might then consider which issues might arise for each shareholder and what the benefits for them would be, as well as the risks. This approach is illustrated in the answer McKinsey provides as well:

More than anything, this type of case shows us how important it is to practise and build different types of structures, and think about MECE ways of segmenting the problem.

7. How Do I prepare for case interviews

In consulting fashion, the overall preparation can be structured into theoretical preparation and practical preparation , with each category then being subdivided into individual prep and prep with a partner .

As a general rule, the level and intensity of the preparation will differ based on your background - naturally if you have a business background (and have been part of a consulting club or something similar) your preparation will be less intensive than if you’re starting from scratch. The way we suggest you go about it is to start with theoretical preparation , which means learning about case interviews, business and basic consulting concepts (you can do this using free resources - such as the ones we provide - or if you want a more through preparation you can consider joining our Case Academy as well).

You can then move on to the practical preparation which should start with doing solo cases and focusing on areas of improvement, and then move on to preparation with a partner , which should be another candidate or - ideally - an ex-consultant.

Let’s go into more details with respect to each type of preparation.

7.1. Solo practice

The two most important areas of focus in sole preparation are:

• Mental math

As we mentioned briefly, the best use of your time is to focus on solving cases. You can start with cases listed on MBB sites since they are clearly stated and have worked solutions as well (e.g. Bain is a good place to start) and then move to more complex cases (our Case Library also offers a range of cases of different complexities). To build your confidence, start out on easier case questions, work through with the solutions, and don't worry about time. As you get better, you can move on to more difficult cases and try to get through them more quickly. You should practice around eight case studies on your own to build your confidence.

Another important area of practice is your mental mathematics as this skill will considerably increase your confidence and is neglected by many applicants - much to their immediate regret in the case interview. Find our mental math tool here or in our course, and practice at least ten minutes per day, from day one until the day before the interview.

7.2. Preparation with a partner

There are aspects of a case interview - such as asking clarifying questions - which you cannot do alone and this is why, after you feel comfortable, you should move on to practice with another person. There are two options here:

• Practicing with a peer
• Practicing with an ex-consultant

In theory they can be complementary - especially if you’re peer is also preparing for consulting interviews - and each have advantages and disadvantages. A peer is likely to practice with you for free for longer, however you may end up reinforcing some bad habits or unable to get actionable feedback. A consultant will be able to provide you the latter but having their help for the same number of hours as a peer will come at a higher cost. Let’s look at each option in more detail.

7.2.1. Peer preparation

Once you have worked through eight cases solo, you should be ready to simulate the case interview more closely and start working with another person.

Here, many candidates turn to peer practice - that is, doing mock case interviews with friends, classmates or others also applying to consulting. If you’re in university, and especially in business school, there will very likely be a consulting club for you to join and do lots of case practice with. If you don’t have anyone to practice, though, or if you just want to get a bit more volume in with others, our free meeting board lets you find fellow applicants from around the world with whom to practice. We recommend practicing around 10 to 15 ‘live’ cases to really get to a point where you feel comfortable.

7.2.2. Preparation with a consultant

You can do a lot practising by yourself and with peers. However, nothing will bring up your skills so quickly and profoundly as working with a real consultant.

Perhaps think about it like boxing. You can practice drills and work on punch bags all you want, but at some point you need to get into the ring and do some actual sparring if you ever want to be ready to fight.

Practicing with an ex consultant is essentialy a simulation of a case interview. Of course, it isn’t possible to secure the time of experienced top-tier consultants for free. However, when considering whether you should invest to boost your chances of success, it is worth considering the difference in your salary over even just a few years between getting into a top-tier firm versus a second-tier one. In the light of thousands in increased annual earnings (easily accumulating into millions over multiple years), it becomes clear that getting expert interview help really is one of the best investments you can make in your own future.

Should you decide to make this step, MyConsultingCoach can help, offering bespoke mentoring programmes , where you are paired with a 5+ year experienced, ex-MBB mentor of your choosing, who will then oversee your whole case interview preparation from start to finish - giving you your best possible chance of landing a job!

7.3. Practice for online interviews

Standard preparation for interview case studies will carry directly over to online cases.

However, if you want to do some more specific prep, you can work through cases solo to a timer and using a calculator and/or Excel (online cases generally allow calculators and second computers to help you, whilst these are banned in live case interviews).

Older PST-style questions also make great prep, but a particularly good simulation is the self-assessment tests included in our Case Academy course . These multiple choice business questions conducted with a strict time limit are great preparation for the current crop of online cases.

7.4. Fit interviews

As we’ve noted, even something billed as a case interview is very likely to contain a fit interview as a subset.

We have an article on fit interviews and also include a full set of lessons on how to answer fit questions properly as a subset of our comprehensive Case Academy course .

Here though, the important thing to convey is that you take preparing for fit questions every bit as seriously as you do case prep.

Since they sound the same as you might encounter when interviewing for other industries, the temptation is to regard these as “just normal interview questions”.

However, consulting firms take your answers to these questions a good deal more seriously than elsewhere.

This isn’t just for fluffy “corporate culture” reasons. The long hours and close teamwork, as well as the client-facing nature of management consulting, mean that your personality and ability to get on with others is going to be a big part of making you a tolerable and effective co-worker.

If you know you’ll have to spend 14+ hour working days with someone you hire and that your annual bonus depends on them not alienating clients, you better believe you’ll pay attention to their character in interview.

There are also hard-nosed financial reasons for the likes of McKinsey, Bain and BCG to drill down so hard on your answers.

In particular, top consultancies have huge issues with staff retention. The average management consultant only stays with these firms for around two years before they have moved on to a new industry.

In some cases, consultants bail out because they can’t keep up with the arduous consulting lifestyle of long hours and endless travel. In many instances, though, departing consultants are lured away by exit opportunities - such as the well trodden paths towards internal strategy roles, private equity or becoming a start-up founder.

Indeed, many individuals will intentionally use a two year stint in consulting as something like an MBA they are getting paid for - giving them accelerated exposure to the business world and letting them pivot into something new.

Consulting firms want to get a decent return on investment for training new recruits. Thus, they want hires who not only intend to stick with consulting longer-term, but also have a temperament that makes this feasible and an overall career trajectory where it just makes sense for them to stay put.

This should hammer home the point that, if you want to get an offer, you need to be fully prepared to answer fit questions - and to do so excellently - any time you have a case interview.

8. Interview day - what to expect, with tips

Of course, all this theory is well and good, but a lot of readers might be concerned about what exactly to expect in real life . It’s perfectly reasonable to want to get as clear a picture as possible here - we all want to know what we are going up against when we face a new challenge!

Indeed, it is important to think about your interview in more holistic terms, rather than just focusing on small aspects of analysis. Getting everything exactly correct is less important than the overall approach you take to reasoning and how you communicate - and candidates often lose sight of this fact.

In this section, then, we’ll run through the case interview experience from start to finish, directing you to resources with more details where appropriate. As a supplement to this, the following video from Bain is excellent. It portrays an abridged version of a case interview, but is very useful as a guide to what to expect - not just from Bain, but from McKinsey, BCG and any other high-level consulting firm.

8.1. Getting started

Though you might be shown through to the office by a staff member, usually your interviewer will come and collect you from a waiting area. Either way, when you first encounter them, you should greet your interviewer with a warm smile and a handshake (unless they do not offer their hand). Be confident without verging into arrogance. You will be asked to take a seat in the interviewer’s office, where the case interview can then begin.

8.1.1. First impressions

In reality, your assessment begins before you even sit down at your interviewer’s desk. Whether at a conscious level or not, the impression you make within the first few seconds of meeting your interviewer is likely to significantly inform the final hiring decision (again, whether consciously or not).

Your presentation and how you hold yourself and behave are all important . If this seems strange, consider that, if hired, you will be personally responsible for many clients’ impressions of the firm. These things are part of the job! Much of material on the fit interview is useful here, whilst we also cover first impressions and presentation generally in our article on what to wear to interview .

As we have noted above, your interview might start with a fit segment - that is, with the interviewer asking questions about your experiences, your soft skills, and motivation to want to join consulting generally and that firm in particular. In short, the kinds of things a case study can’t tell them about you. We have a fit interview article and course to get you up to speed here.

8.1.2. Down to business

Following an initial conversation, your interviewer will introduce your case study , providing a prompt for the question you have to answer. You will have a pen and paper in front of you and should (neatly) note down the salient pieces of information (keep this up throughout the interview).

It is crucial here that you don’t delve into analysis or calculations straight away . Case prompts can be tricky and easy to misunderstand, especially when you are under pressure. Rather, ask any questions you need to fully understand the case question and then validate that understanding with the interviewer before you kick off any analysis. Better to eliminate mistakes now than experience that sinking feeling of realising you have gotten the whole thing wrong halfway through your case!

This process is covered in our article on identifying the problem and in greater detail in our Case Academy lesson on that subject.

8.1.3. Analysis

Once you understand the problem, you should take a few seconds to set your thoughts in order and draw up an initial structure for how you want to proceed. You might benefit from utilising one or more of our building blocks here to make a strong start. Present this to your interviewer and get their approval before you get into the nuts and bolts of analysis.

We cover the mechanics of how to structure your problem and lead the analysis in our articles here and here and more thoroughly in the MCC Case Academy . What it is important to convey here, though, is that your case interview is supposed to be a conversation rather than a written exam . Your interviewer takes a role closer to a co-worker than an invigilator and you should be conversing with them throughout.

Indeed, how you communicate with your interviewer and explain your rationale is a crucial element of how you will be assessed. Case questions in general, are not posed to see if you can produce the correct answer, but rather to see how you think . Your interviewer wants to see you approach the case in a structured, rational fashion. The only way they are going to know your thought processes, though, is if you tell them!

To demonstrate this point, here is another excellent video from Bain, where candidates are compared.

Note that multiple different answers to each question are considered acceptable and that Bain is primarily concerned with the thought processes of the candidate’s exhibit .

Another reason why communication is absolutely essential to case interview success is the simple reason that you will not have all the facts you need to complete your analysis at the outset. Rather, you will usually have to ask the interviewer for additional data throughout the case to allow you to proceed .

NB: Don't be let down by your math!

Your ability to quickly and accurately interpret these charts and other figures under pressure is one of the skills that is being assessed. You will also need to make any calculations with the same speed and accuracy (without a calculator!). As such, be sure that you are up to speed on your consulting math .

8.1.4. Recommendation

Finally, you will be asked to present a recommendation. This should be delivered in a brief, top-down "elevator pitch" format , as if you are speaking to a time-pressured CEO. Again here, how you communicate will be just as important as the details of what you say, and you should aim to speak clearly and with confidence.

For more detail on how to give the perfect recommendation, take a look at our articles on the Pyramid Principle and providing recommendations , as well the relevant lesson within MCC Academy .

8.1.5. Wrapping up

After your case is complete, there might be a few more fit questions - including a chance for you to ask some questions of the interviewer . This is your opportunity to make a good parting impression.

We deal with the details in our fit interview resources. However, it is always worth bearing in mind just how many candidates your interviewers are going to see giving similar answers to the same questions in the same office. A pretty obvious pre-requisite to being considered for a job is that your interviewer remembers you in the first place. Whilst you shouldn't do something stupid just to be noticed, asking interesting parting questions is a good way to be remembered.

Now, with the interview wrapped up, it’s time to shake hands, thank the interviewer for their time and leave the room .

You might have other case interviews or tests that day or you might be heading home. Either way, if know that you did all you could to prepare, you can leave content in the knowledge that you have the best possible chance of receiving an email with a job offer. This is our mission at MCC - to provide all the resources you need to realise your full potential and land your dream consulting job!

8.2. Remote and one-way interview tips

Zoom case interviews and “one-way” automated fit interviews are becoming more common as selection processes are increasingly remote, with these new formats being accompanied by their own unique challenges.

Obviously you won’t have to worry about lobbies and shaking hands for a video interview. However, a lot remains the same. You still need to do the same prep in terms of getting good at case cracking and expressing your fit answers. The specific considerations around remote case interviews are, in effect, around making sure you come across as effectively as you would in person.

8.2.1. Connection

It sounds trivial, but a successful video case interview of any kind presupposes a functioning computer with a stable and sufficient internet connection.

Absolutely don’t forget to have your laptop plugged in, as your battery will definitely let you down mid-interview. Similarly, make sure any housemates or family know not to use the microwave, vacuum cleaner or anything else that makes wifi cut out (or makes a lot of noise, obviously)

If you have to connect on a platform you don’t use much (for example, if it’s on Teams and you’re used to Zoom), make sure you have the up to date version of the app in advance, rather than having to wait for an obligatory download and end up late to join. Whilst you’re at it, make sure you’re familiar with the controls etc. At the risk of being made fun of, don’t be afraid to have a practice call with a friend.

8.2.2. Dress

You might get guidance on a slightly more relaxed dress code for a Zoom interview. However, if in doubt, dress as you would for the real thing (see our article here ).

Either way, always remember that presentation is part of what you are being assessed on - the firm needs to know you can be presentable for clients. Taking this stuff seriously also shows respect for your interviewer and their time in interviewing you.

8.2.3. Lighting

An aspect of presentation that you have to devote some thought to for a Zoom case interview is your lighting.

Hopefully, you long ago nailed a lighting set-up during the Covid lockdowns. However, make sure to check your lighting in advance with your webcam - bearing in mind what time if day your case interview actually is. If your case interview is late afternoon, don’t just check in the morning. Make sure you aren’t going to be blinded from light coming in a window behind your screen, or that you end up with the weird shadow stripes from blinds all over your face.

Natural light is always best, but if there won’t be much of that during your interview, you’ll likely want to experiment with moving some lamps around.

8.2.4. Clarity

The actual stories you tell in an automated “one-way” fit interview will be the same as for a live equivalent. If anything, things should be easier, as you can rattle off a practised monologue without an interviewer interrupting you to ask for clarifications.

You can probably also assume that the algorithm assessing your performance is sufficiently capable that it will be observing you at much the same level as a human interviewer. However, it is probably still worth speaking as clearly as possible with these kinds of interviews and paying extra attention to your lighting to ensure that your face is clearly visible.

No doubt the AIs scoring these interviews are improving all the time, but you still want to make their job as easy as possible. Just think about the same things as you would with a live Zoom case interview, but more so.

9. How we can help

There are lots of great free resources on this site to get you started with preparation, from all our articles on case solving and consulting skills to our free case library and peer practice meeting board .

To step your preparation up a notch, though, our Case Academy course will give you everything you need to know to solve the most complex of cases - whether those are in live case interviews, with chatbots, written tests or any other format.

Whatever kind of case you end up facing, nothing will bring up your skillset faster than the kind of acute, actionable feedback you can get from a mock case interview a real, MBB consultant. Whilst it's possible to get by without this kind of coaching, it does tend to be the biggest single difference maker for successful candidates.

You can find out more on our coaching page:

Explore Coaching

Of course, for those looking for a truly comprehensive programme, with a 5+ year experienced MBB consultant overseeing their entire prep personally, from networking and applications right through to your offer, we have our mentoring programmes.

You can read more here:

Comprehensive Mentoring

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Home » Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Case Study – Methods, Examples and Guide

Table of Contents

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth examination and analysis of a particular phenomenon or case, such as an individual, organization, community, event, or situation.

It is a qualitative research approach that aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the case being studied. Case studies typically involve multiple sources of data, including interviews, observations, documents, and artifacts, which are analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, and grounded theory. The findings of a case study are often used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Types of Case Study

Types and Methods of Case Study are as follows:

Single-Case Study

A single-case study is an in-depth analysis of a single case. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand a specific phenomenon in detail.

For Example , A researcher might conduct a single-case study on a particular individual to understand their experiences with a particular health condition or a specific organization to explore their management practices. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a single-case study are often used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Multiple-Case Study

A multiple-case study involves the analysis of several cases that are similar in nature. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to identify similarities and differences between the cases.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a multiple-case study on several companies to explore the factors that contribute to their success or failure. The researcher collects data from each case, compares and contrasts the findings, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as comparative analysis or pattern-matching. The findings of a multiple-case study can be used to develop theories, inform policy or practice, or generate new research questions.

Exploratory Case Study

An exploratory case study is used to explore a new or understudied phenomenon. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to generate hypotheses or theories about the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an exploratory case study on a new technology to understand its potential impact on society. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as grounded theory or content analysis. The findings of an exploratory case study can be used to generate new research questions, develop theories, or inform policy or practice.

Descriptive Case Study

A descriptive case study is used to describe a particular phenomenon in detail. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to provide a comprehensive account of the phenomenon.

For Example, a researcher might conduct a descriptive case study on a particular community to understand its social and economic characteristics. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of a descriptive case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Instrumental Case Study

An instrumental case study is used to understand a particular phenomenon that is instrumental in achieving a particular goal. This type of case study is useful when the researcher wants to understand the role of the phenomenon in achieving the goal.

For Example, a researcher might conduct an instrumental case study on a particular policy to understand its impact on achieving a particular goal, such as reducing poverty. The researcher collects data from multiple sources, such as interviews, observations, and documents, and uses various techniques to analyze the data, such as content analysis or thematic analysis. The findings of an instrumental case study can be used to inform policy or practice or generate new research questions.

Case Study Data Collection Methods

Here are some common data collection methods for case studies:

Interviews involve asking questions to individuals who have knowledge or experience relevant to the case study. Interviews can be structured (where the same questions are asked to all participants) or unstructured (where the interviewer follows up on the responses with further questions). Interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing.

Observations

Observations involve watching and recording the behavior and activities of individuals or groups relevant to the case study. Observations can be participant (where the researcher actively participates in the activities) or non-participant (where the researcher observes from a distance). Observations can be recorded using notes, audio or video recordings, or photographs.

Documents can be used as a source of information for case studies. Documents can include reports, memos, emails, letters, and other written materials related to the case study. Documents can be collected from the case study participants or from public sources.

Surveys involve asking a set of questions to a sample of individuals relevant to the case study. Surveys can be administered in person, over the phone, through mail or email, or online. Surveys can be used to gather information on attitudes, opinions, or behaviors related to the case study.

Artifacts are physical objects relevant to the case study. Artifacts can include tools, equipment, products, or other objects that provide insights into the case study phenomenon.

How to conduct Case Study Research

Conducting a case study research involves several steps that need to be followed to ensure the quality and rigor of the study. Here are the steps to conduct case study research:

• Define the research questions: The first step in conducting a case study research is to define the research questions. The research questions should be specific, measurable, and relevant to the case study phenomenon under investigation.
• Select the case: The next step is to select the case or cases to be studied. The case should be relevant to the research questions and should provide rich and diverse data that can be used to answer the research questions.
• Collect data: Data can be collected using various methods, such as interviews, observations, documents, surveys, and artifacts. The data collection method should be selected based on the research questions and the nature of the case study phenomenon.
• Analyze the data: The data collected from the case study should be analyzed using various techniques, such as content analysis, thematic analysis, or grounded theory. The analysis should be guided by the research questions and should aim to provide insights and conclusions relevant to the research questions.
• Draw conclusions: The conclusions drawn from the case study should be based on the data analysis and should be relevant to the research questions. The conclusions should be supported by evidence and should be clearly stated.
• Validate the findings: The findings of the case study should be validated by reviewing the data and the analysis with participants or other experts in the field. This helps to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Write the report: The final step is to write the report of the case study research. The report should provide a clear description of the case study phenomenon, the research questions, the data collection methods, the data analysis, the findings, and the conclusions. The report should be written in a clear and concise manner and should follow the guidelines for academic writing.

Examples of Case Study

Here are some examples of case study research:

• The Hawthorne Studies : Conducted between 1924 and 1932, the Hawthorne Studies were a series of case studies conducted by Elton Mayo and his colleagues to examine the impact of work environment on employee productivity. The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne Works plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago and included interviews, observations, and experiments.
• The Stanford Prison Experiment: Conducted in 1971, the Stanford Prison Experiment was a case study conducted by Philip Zimbardo to examine the psychological effects of power and authority. The study involved simulating a prison environment and assigning participants to the role of guards or prisoners. The study was controversial due to the ethical issues it raised.
• The Challenger Disaster: The Challenger Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. The study included interviews, observations, and analysis of data to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.
• The Enron Scandal: The Enron Scandal was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the Enron Corporation’s bankruptcy in 2001. The study included interviews, analysis of financial data, and review of documents to identify the accounting practices, corporate culture, and ethical issues that led to the company’s downfall.
• The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster : The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was a case study conducted to examine the causes of the nuclear accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011. The study included interviews, analysis of data, and review of documents to identify the technical, organizational, and cultural factors that contributed to the disaster.

Application of Case Study

Case studies have a wide range of applications across various fields and industries. Here are some examples:

Business and Management

Case studies are widely used in business and management to examine real-life situations and develop problem-solving skills. Case studies can help students and professionals to develop a deep understanding of business concepts, theories, and best practices.

Case studies are used in healthcare to examine patient care, treatment options, and outcomes. Case studies can help healthcare professionals to develop critical thinking skills, diagnose complex medical conditions, and develop effective treatment plans.

Case studies are used in education to examine teaching and learning practices. Case studies can help educators to develop effective teaching strategies, evaluate student progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Social Sciences

Case studies are widely used in social sciences to examine human behavior, social phenomena, and cultural practices. Case studies can help researchers to develop theories, test hypotheses, and gain insights into complex social issues.

Law and Ethics

Case studies are used in law and ethics to examine legal and ethical dilemmas. Case studies can help lawyers, policymakers, and ethical professionals to develop critical thinking skills, analyze complex cases, and make informed decisions.

Purpose of Case Study

The purpose of a case study is to provide a detailed analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. A case study is a qualitative research method that involves the in-depth exploration and analysis of a particular case, which can be an individual, group, organization, event, or community.

The primary purpose of a case study is to generate a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the case, including its history, context, and dynamics. Case studies can help researchers to identify and examine the underlying factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and detailed understanding of the case, which can inform future research, practice, or policy.

Case studies can also serve other purposes, including:

• Illustrating a theory or concept: Case studies can be used to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and frameworks, providing concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Developing hypotheses: Case studies can help to generate hypotheses about the causal relationships between different factors and outcomes, which can be tested through further research.
• Providing insight into complex issues: Case studies can provide insights into complex and multifaceted issues, which may be difficult to understand through other research methods.
• Informing practice or policy: Case studies can be used to inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.

Advantages of Case Study Research

There are several advantages of case study research, including:

• In-depth exploration: Case study research allows for a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific phenomenon, issue, or problem in its real-life context. This can provide a comprehensive understanding of the case and its dynamics, which may not be possible through other research methods.
• Rich data: Case study research can generate rich and detailed data, including qualitative data such as interviews, observations, and documents. This can provide a nuanced understanding of the case and its complexity.
• Holistic perspective: Case study research allows for a holistic perspective of the case, taking into account the various factors, processes, and mechanisms that contribute to the case and its outcomes. This can help to develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the case.
• Theory development: Case study research can help to develop and refine theories and concepts by providing empirical evidence and concrete examples of how they can be applied in real-life situations.
• Practical application: Case study research can inform practice or policy by identifying best practices, lessons learned, or areas for improvement.
• Contextualization: Case study research takes into account the specific context in which the case is situated, which can help to understand how the case is influenced by the social, cultural, and historical factors of its environment.

Limitations of Case Study Research

There are several limitations of case study research, including:

• Limited generalizability : Case studies are typically focused on a single case or a small number of cases, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The unique characteristics of the case may not be applicable to other contexts or populations, which may limit the external validity of the research.
• Biased sampling: Case studies may rely on purposive or convenience sampling, which can introduce bias into the sample selection process. This may limit the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the findings.
• Subjectivity: Case studies rely on the interpretation of the researcher, which can introduce subjectivity into the analysis. The researcher’s own biases, assumptions, and perspectives may influence the findings, which may limit the objectivity of the research.
• Limited control: Case studies are typically conducted in naturalistic settings, which limits the control that the researcher has over the environment and the variables being studied. This may limit the ability to establish causal relationships between variables.
• Time-consuming: Case studies can be time-consuming to conduct, as they typically involve a detailed exploration and analysis of a specific case. This may limit the feasibility of conducting multiple case studies or conducting case studies in a timely manner.
• Resource-intensive: Case studies may require significant resources, including time, funding, and expertise. This may limit the ability of researchers to conduct case studies in resource-constrained settings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Case Interview 101: The Online Guidebook

“Case Interview” is the cornerstone of consulting recruitment, playing a decisive role in final results. In 30 minutes, your “consulting” qualities will be tested to the limit as you cruise through a hypothetical “consulting project” with the interviewer.

Yes, this is a BIG topic. The depth of content in this single article is HUGE with various chapters ranging from beginner’s topics to more advanced ones. You would want to bookmark this page and go back often throughout your whole preparation journey.

What is a case interview?

A case interview is a job interview where the candidate is asked to solve a business problem. They are often used by consulting firms, and are among the hardest job interviews, testing both problem-solving skills and “soft” skills. Case interviews often last 30-45 minutes each, and firms can utilize up to 6 case interviews, usually divided into 2 rounds.

Example case questions:

• “We have a restaurant called “In-and-out Burger” with recently falling profits. How can you help?”
• “The CEO of a cement company wants to close one of its plants. Should they do it?”
• “A top 20 bank wants to get in top 5. How can the bank achieve that goal?”

Case interviews are modeled after the course of actions real consultants do in real projects – so success in case interviews is seen by consulting firms as a (partial) indication of a good management consultant.

During the interview, the interviewer will assess your ability to think analytically, probe appropriate questions, and make the most client-friendly pitches. Be noted that the analytical thought process is more important than arriving at correct answers.

Generally, there are 2 styles of conducting cases:  Candidate-led and Interviewer-led. 

Candidate-led cases

On this end, the interviewer rarely intervenes; the candidate will lead the approach from structuring the problem, drawing frameworks, asking for data, synthesizing findings, to proposing solutions. This format can be difficult for beginners but it provides you with much control over the case.

Interviewer-led cases

On this end, the interviewer controls the process in significant ways. He or she has the candidate work on specific parts of the overall problem and sometimes disregards the natural flow of the case. The game here is not to solve the one big problem, but rather to nail every question, every pitch, every mini-case perfectly. Because the evaluation is done on a question basis, the level of insightfulness required is higher.

Most cases will fall somewhere in the middle section of that spectrum, but for educational purposes, we need to learn case interviews from both extremes ends.

Great details in each and every aspect of the case, as well as tips, techniques and study plans are coming in the chapters below. You may skip straight to Chapter 3 if you have business background and confidence in your own understanding of the terminology used in case interviews. 

To better understand or practice candidate-led and interview-led cases, let’s book a personal meeting with our coaches . At MConsultingPrep, you can connect with consulting experts who will help you learn the ins and outs of both cases and the solving approach to each one. Get “real” practice now!

Case interview starter guide for non-business students

All consulting firms claim that all educational backgrounds have equal chances. But no matter what, case interview reflects  real-life business problems and you will, therefore, come across business concepts .

Not everybody has the time to go to a full Business Undergraduate program all over. So through this compact Chapter 2, I will provide you, the non-business people, with every business concept you need in case interviews.

Accounting and financial terms – The language of business

Accounting & Financial Terms are often called the language of business, which is used to communicate the firm’s financial and economic information to external parties such as shareholders and creditors.

There are three basic financial statements : Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement.

Balance Sheet

A snapshot of the current stage of the company’s property, debt, and ownership at one given point in time, showing:

• Assets: what the company owns: Building, Equipment, Cash, Inventory, along with some other intangible items.
• Liabilities: what the company owes: Loans, overdrafts, bills to be paid, etc. Debt is like negative assets.
• Equity (Net worth): Calculate by taking Assets subtract Liabilities.

The neat thing about the Balance sheet is that it’s always balanced. Every action, every transaction changes the three components but it’s always in harmony.

Income Statement

A record of the business performance through a period of time , given it a quarter or a year. The Income Statement directly tells you how the company is doing in terms of making money, the heart of any business.

From the top to bottom, the Income Statement shows the Revenues, Costs, and Profits. That’s why often, Profits are referred to as the “bottom line”.

There are a few types of costs to notice – see the two pictures below this table.

One important thing to notice is that even though it may seem like, the Income Statement does NOT necessarily relate to cash. Many times, especially for B2B transactions, the selling happens before the money flow. Therefore, we may have to record revenue without having the cash.

Cash Flow Statement

There’s a famous saying that: Income statement is an opinion, Cash Flow statement is a fact.

The Cash Flow statement just strictly monitors the cash flow in or out, categorized into different sections. Three of them are:

• Operation: illustrates how much cash the company can generate from its products and services.
• Financial: includes the sources of cash from investors or banks and the uses of cash paid to shareholders.
• Investing: includes any sources and uses of cash from a company’s investments.

Upon completion this section, you should be able to read and interpret financial statements for business diagnosis and decision-making.

More importantly, you possess the conceptual base to start solving case interviews on your own. Do not forget that, as with any other language, becoming proficient with accounting and financial terms require constant practice.

Organizational structure – The heart of a company

When it comes to organizational structure, it is important to notice the fine line between the company’s ownership and management .

Technically, at the highest level, there are shareholders . For private companies, the group of shareholders and their shares are not necessarily disclosed and publicly tradable. For public companies, on the other hand, shares are publicly traded on different stock exchanges. One of the most famous is the NYSE, which stands for New York Stock Exchange.

• A company can have one, a few, or millions of individual owners, but being governed by the Board of Directors – a group of people elected by owners, with the President or Chairman being their highest leader.
• The Board usually hires a management team to manage the company. They are led by the Chief Executive Officer – CEO , who makes every decision on day-to-day work. Most of the time, the Board of Directors doesn’t directly intervene in the CEO’s work, but they reserve the right to fire CEOs.
• Besides that, there’s a committee called Supervisors. The supervisor’s job is to independently monitor the CEO and the management team and report to the Board.

Below CEOs, there are two general two ways of structuring the company. One way is through business lines and the other one is through functions. Think of business lines as mini-companies themselves inside the big company.

Within functions, here are a few most typical divisions most companies have:

Business strategy concepts

Even with business students, strategy is a challenging topic – especially with those without a strategy major. These fundamental concepts will get you started.

• Organization: In general, this refers to how a company is organized, what are different components that make up a company
• Governance refers to how a company is managed and directed, how well the leader team runs. The leader team includes the Board of Directors and Board of Managers. A company with good governance has good leadership people, tight control, and effective check & balance processes, etc.
• Process looks like rules and common practices of having a number of processes, entailing every single activity. Process design should include 4 factors: who, what, when, and accompanied tools.

For example, let’s look at Kim’s family picnic process.

• The who part is presented on the y-axis, left-hand side, labeling all departments, a.k.a: family members, involved.
• The what part is presented through the big mid-session with each box represents every single activity.
• The when and tools parts are presented at the bottom

B2B  vs B2C : stand for “business-to-business” and “business-to-customer”. These two terms refer to two types of transactions a company typically does: transactions with other companies and transactions with individual customers.

Bottom-up vs Top-down: this refers to two opposite schools of thought or action. Top-down usually encompasses various general branches while bottom-up tends to narrowly focus. 

Management consulting terms & concepts

These are the most common consulting terms you may encounter not just in case interviews but also in consulting tasks .

• Lever: Think of this as one or a group of initiatives, actions to perform to meet certain goals. e.g. some levers to help increase customer experience in a hotel are free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, 24/7 support, etc.
• Best practice: Refers to how things should be done, especially if it has been successfully implemented elsewhere.
• Granular: This refers to how specific and detailed a break-down or an issue goes. For example, a not-so-granular breakdown of the NBA is the West and the East conferences. A much more granular is something like this: Leagues, Conferences, Divisions, and Teams.
• MECE: MECE is so important and we explain it in detail in this article. In short, MECE is the standard, per which we can divide things down in a systematic, comprehensive, and non-overlapping way.

There are three parameters the consulting world uses in the categorization of businesses.

• Industry: used to group different companies mostly based on their product (Banking, Construction, Education, Steel Industry, etc.)
• Function: is the categorization mostly based on missions and the type of roles of different parts of a company. We can count some as Human Resource, Finance, Strategy, Operation, Product Development, etc.
• Location: is where things are, geographically.

Normally two consultants ask each other “What do you work on?”, they need to give 3 pieces of information in all of those three parameters, such as “I worked on a Cement project, focusing on Finance, in Southeast Asia”. In fact, all of the McKinsey support networks are organized in this way. During my projects, I would need to speak to some Cement experts, some Finance experts, and some local experts as well.

This chapter is relatively long, yet it is still way shorter than 4 years at business college. I hope this will act as a great prerequisite to your case interview study. Make sure that you have mastered all of these content before really tackling the Case Interview.

Case interview example – The typical flow

In a simplified way, a typical case would go through these phrases (we will talk about exceptions in great detail later):

Case question -> Recap -> Clarification -> Timeout -> Propose issue tree -> Analyze issue tree -> Identify root-causes -> Solutions -> Closing pitch

Problem-solving fundamentals – Candidate-led cases

Though most cases will be conducted in mixed format, let’s dive deep and learn about each extreme end of the spectrum to get the full picture.

Even though this is the harder format, it shows us the foundation of how management consulting works, i.e: the consulting problem-solving logics!

If you were exposed to case interviews, you have probably heard about some of these concepts: framework, issue tree, benchmark, data, root cause, solutions, etc. But how do they all fit into the picture?

It all starts with the PROBLEM

Before getting into anything fancy, the first step is to define and be really clear about the problem.

This sounds easy but can be quite tricky. Here are a few guidelines:

1. What’s the objective?

2. What’s the timeline required?

3. Any quantified or well-described goals?

For example, one client can state a problem as: “I lost my car key”. In normal contexts, this is a perfectly simple and straightforward problem. But a consultant tackling this would go ask clarification questions to achieve even more details:

1. Objective: the client in fact just needs to be able to use the car.

2. Timeline: this is an urgent need. He is happy only if we can help him within the next hour.

3. Specificity: help the client put his car into normal operation like before he lost the key.

Find the ROOT-CAUSE, don’t just fix the symptom

To completely wipe out the problem and create long-lasting impacts, consultants always  search and find the root causes.

For example, fixing the symptom is like you breaking the door lock, getting into the ignition electrics behind the wheel, and connecting the wires to start the car.

That does fix the surface symptom: the client can drive the car. But it does NOT create a long-lasting impact because without you there, the car can’t be started. The client will need to rely on you every single time. Plus, more problems even arise (now he needs to fix the broken door lock too).

A much better approach is to find the root cause. What is the bottom-line reason causing the problem? Once we trace, find, and fix it, the problem will be gone for good.

In this example, the root cause is “the lost key”. We need to find its location!

Use ISSUE TREE to isolate potential root-causes into groups

There could be thousands of possible root-causes. How do we make sure every possible one is examined? If we are to list out all thousands and test one by one, there is simply not enough time. On the other hand, if we just list out some of the most “possible” ones, we run a high risk of missing the true root-cause.

This is where we need issue trees ! We would group possible root-causes into big groups. Those big groups will have smaller sub-groups and so on. All is done in the spirit of top-down and MECE. By doing this, we have an organized way to include all possible root-causes.

Continue with the example: A “bottom-up” approach to search for the car key is to go straight to specific places like the microwave’s top, the black jacket pocket, under the master bed, etc. There can be thousands of these possible locations.

The top-down approach is to draw an issue tree, breaking the whole house into groups and examine the whole group one by one. For example: first floor, second floor, and the basement.

Issue Tree only works if it’s MECE

What happens if we break down the search area into the First floor and East wing? The search area would not cover the whole house and there will be some overlapping which creates inefficiencies.

So for an issue tree to work properly, it has to be MECE – Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive … which in simple language just mean 2 things: no overlap and no gap

How to draw MECE issue trees? Use FRAMEWORKS!

Each problem requires a unique issue tree. Coming up with MECE and spot-on issue trees for each problem can be really difficult. This is where “framework” helps.

Think of frameworks as “frequently used templates” to draw issue trees in any particular context. Many people use the word “framework” to refer to “issue tree” but this is conceptually incorrect.

We will talk about frameworks in more detail in the below chapters. You can also check out this deep-dive article on Frameworks.

Choosing which branch to go to first? Use HYPOTHESES!

So let’s say you have an issue tree of First floor, Second floor, and Third floor. Now what?

To make the problem-solving process even faster and more efficient, we use hypotheses. In simple language, it’s the educated guess of where the root cause may lie in. So we can prioritize the branch with the highest chance.

So let’s say, the client spends most time on the first floor, it’s where he/she most likely leaves the car key. Any consultant would hypothesize that the root cause is in the first-floor branch and go search there first.

Notice: hypothesis and issue tree always go together. It doesn’t make sense to draw an issue of First, Second, and Third floor and hypothesize that the key is in the East wing. Many times, hypotheses are even the inspiration to draw issue trees.

How to test a branch? Use DATA and compare it with BENCHMARK

Now that we decide to test the branch “First floor”, how do we do that?

We prove or disprove our hypothesis by collecting DATA. That data is then compared with benchmarks to shed more meaning. Two main types of benchmarks are: historical and competitive. For example, let’s say by some magic, the client has a metal detection machine that can measure the metal concentration of any space.

To test the “first-floor” branch, the consultant would come to the first floor, measure the metal concentration and compare it with the data before the car key is lost, a.k.a: historical benchmark.

If a hypothesis is true, drill down; if it’s false, go sideways

What happens when we test a hypothesis?

Assuming that we have access to enough data, it either gets proven TRUE or proven FALSE. How do we proceed from here? 

• Proven True: go DOWN the issue tree to sub-branches! Let’s say the metal detector identified the key IS indeed on the first floor. Go deeper. Draw sub-branches of that first-floor branch and repeat the process.
• Proven False: go HORIZONTAL to other big branches! Let’s say the metal detector denies the key presence on the first floor. We then can cross out this branch and go test others, a.k.a: the second and third floor.

Test, Sleep, Test, Repeat … until the ROOT-CAUSE shows up!

Once identified the ROOT-CAUSES, go for SOLUTIONS

With all proven root causes identified, the last step is to come up with solutions to kill the problem … and we are done! There can be multiple solutions to each root cause. These solutions should attack straight to the root cause.

Case interview questions – Interviewer-led cases

While candidate-led cases are all about the logical foundation of problem-solving, interviewer-led cases are more about tackling each individual question itself. The structure of the whole case is relatively loose and flexible.

In this chapter, we touch on some of the most popular ones. You can read in-depth about each in this designated article.

Framework/Issue Tree questions

“Which factors would you consider when tackling this problem?”

This is one of the most popular question types in case interviews, often asked in the beginning. It comes with several shapes and forms, but the real meaning is always: “Give me the bloody issue tree!”

So how do you tackle it? Just like in candidate-led cases. Take a timeout; brainstorm about the problem and how it should be broken down into; plug a few frameworks to see how it looks; and go for the most appropriate issue tree.

Unlike in candidate-led cases where you only present the upper-most layer, here you should walk the interviewer through the whole issue tree, covering at least 2 layers. Interviewer-led cases are much less interactive. It’s more like they ask you a question, and you deliver a comprehensive and big answer. They ask you another one. And so on.

Market-sizing / Guesstimate questions

“How many face masks are being produced in the whole world today?”

This is among  the most popular question types and you will likely face a few of them throughout several interview rounds. These questions ask you to “guess” and come up with number estimations in non-conventional contexts. These questions are called “Guesstimate”.

When a guesstimate question asks you to “guess” the size of a market, it’s called a “Market-sizing” question. Though this variation is very popular in consulting, the nature is nothing different from other Guesstimate questions.

It can be intimidating to face a question like this. Where to start? Where to go? What clues to hold on to?

The key is to understand that you don’t have to provide an exact correct answer. In fact, nobody knows or even cares. What matters is HOW you get there. Can you show off consulting traits, using a sound approach to come up with the best “estimate” possible?

Read the designated article on this for great details. Here, let’s walk through the 4-step approach that you can apply to absolutely every market-sizing question.

Step 1: Clarify

Make sure you and the interviewer are on the same page regarding every detail and terminology, so you won’t be answering the wrong question.

Step 2: Break down the problem

Break the item in the question (number of trees in Central Park, market size of pickup trucks) down into smaller, easy-to-estimate pieces.

Step 3: Solve each piece

Estimate each small piece one at a time; each estimation should be backed by facts, figures, or at least observations.

Step 4: Consolidate the pieces

Combine the previous estimations to arrive at a final result; be quick with the math, but don’t rush it if you aren’t confident.

Math questions

“If the factory can lower the clinker factor by 0.2, how much money will they save on production cost?”

Almost all cases involve some math. So you will face math questions for sure. These “questions” can go at you either explicitly and implicitly. Sometimes, the case interviewer will ask out loud a math problem and have you solve. But sometimes, you have to do multiple calculations on the background to push the analysis forward.

Either way, a strong math capability will help you a lot during cases and the future career in consulting. See this Consulting Math article for more details.

Chart insight questions

“What insights can you draw from this chart?”

Consultant works with data and a big chunk of those data are presented by charts. Many times, the interviewer would pull out a sanitized exhibit from an actual project and have you list out insights you can see from it.

There are many types of charts. Getting yourselves familiar with the most popular ones is not a bad idea.

• Bar charts simply compare the values of items that are somewhat parallel in nature.

• Line charts illustrate the continuous nature of a data series, e.g: how my heart rate evolved through time.

• Pie charts illustrate proportions, i.e “parts of a whole” analyses.

• Scatter-plots use data points to visualize how two variables relate to each other. Correlation for example.

Tips on tackling chart-insights questions:

1. Read labels first: from Chart titles, Axis titles, Legend titles, etc. Don’t jump straight to the content of the chart. It takes more time to get lost there and has to go back to read the label. Besides, you may also run a risk of misunderstanding the content.

2. Look for abnormalities: important insights always lie in those unexpected and abnormal data. Look for them!

Value proposition questions

“What factors does a customer consider when deciding which car insurance company to buy from?”

In simple language, this question type asks you: what do the customers want? Understanding exactly this need will put any company in the best position to tailor products/services.

Like any other questions, Value-proposition questions are not only about correctly identifying customer preferences (insights) but also about analyzing and delivering the answer in a structured fashion. Here are a few tips for you to do that:

How to be more insightful: 

• It always helps to break customers into groups and provide different substances for each.
• Put yourselves into the customers’ shoes. Think from the first-view perspective and more insights will arrive.
• If there is any data/ information previously provided in the case, definitely use it.
• A library of factors? Safety, speed, convenience, affordability, flexibility, add-on services, durability, fashion, ease of use, location, freshness, etc.

How to appear more structured:

• Follow this structure: Customer group 1, Customer group 2, etc. Under each: Factor A, factor B, factor C.
• Develop your personal script for this question type. Make sure it’s easy to follow and structured in nature.

Information questions

What kind of data do you need to test this hypothesis? How do you get data

Consulting is a data-driven industry. As consultants, we spent most of our time gathering and presenting data to clients ( see the What the heck does a consultant do video ). No surprise information questions are relatively popular in cases.

The best way to tackle this question type is to understand inside out the types of data actual consultants use in real projects. Because almost no candidate knows about this. This is also a very quick way to build rapport. The interviewer will feel like he/she is talking to a real consultant.

Case interview example video – Pandora case

Enough theory! Enough cute little illustrations here and there. Time to get our hands into a serious case interview example.

Notice the following when watching the video:

• How the problem is given and clarified
• How the problem-solving approach is layouted and executed
• How the candidate use wording and frame the pitches
• The dynamic of a case. How energy transfers from one to another person.

Every case is unique in its own way but principles are universal. The more examples you see, the better. This video is extracted from our  Case Interview End-to-end Secrets program, where you can find 10 complete examples like this and many other supplement contents.

How to prepare for case interviews

Case Interview preparation is a long and tough process. In an ocean of books, videos, programs, how do we navigate to maximize learning? Most materials floating around are quite good, at least in terms of substance. But the timing and the organization of them can be confusing.

• Too much theory in the beginning can burn brain power very quickly.
• Tackling cases without basics can develop bad habits, which eventually cost more time to unlearn.
• Practicing complicated (or even just normal) cases in the beginning can destroy morale drastically.

So a good study plan is constantly switching between 3 activities: reading theory, watching examples, and practicing, with cases increasing difficulty level. It’s so crucial to start with super easy cases, be patient, and stay on that level until you are ready to move up. There are so many skills, habits, and scripts to develop and these take time.

“The quickest way to do just about everything is … Step by Step”

Even for candidates with cases coming up urgently, I still strongly recommend spending the most valuable time practicing cases that match your level. After all, cases are just the context. What you will be evaluated on is your approach, your skills, your techniques, etc.

So, this is a sample study plan you can adopt for yourselves:

Step 1: Learn the basics of case interview theory

• Read this article thus far
• Watch this  Case Interview 101 video

Step 2: Watch a simple case interview example

• Read the sample case flow above.
• Watch this  Case Interview Example video
• Go to this list of free case examples and try to select a very simple one. If you can’t follow one, it’s probably not good for you. Just skip it.
• Watch the first example in the  End-to-end Program

Step 3: Review the theory of case interview approaches  

• Read deeply about the logical foundation of problem-solving in this BCG & Bain Case Interview article.
• Watch intensively the logical foundation of problem-solving in this Candidate-led cases video.

Step 4: Do one mock case interview

• Practice with consultants. They have the insight and knowledge to help you pass the interview. Discover our experienced coaches from McKinsey, BCG and Bain here .
• Find a partner to practice with. Make sure you both watch this  Guide on how to conduct a case. A bad coach can do more harm than good.
• Get your hand on another example in the  End-to-end Program. But this time, don’t just watch. Actively solve the case as you see it! Try to say out loud your version, then listen to the candidate, then hear the feedback!

Step 5: Start improving your business intuition

Business Intuition is like your natural sense of the business world: how to be insightful and creative in various business contexts, how to feed the “content” into your approach, etc. Think of this as a basketball player trained for muscle strength, agility, or durability. Intuition can be improved gradually through constantly exposing yourselves to a wide range of business situations and contexts.

You can do this by:

• Read consulting publications. One article per day for example. Three wonderful sources are: McKinsey Insights, BCG Perspectives, and Bain Publications
• Train  case interview questions individually. By isolating each part of the case, you can focus more on the substance. Hit that link or get more question training on the End-to-end Secret Program .

Step 6: Start training consulting math

• Visit this in-depth consulting math article.
• Train our  Mental Math methodology.

Step 7: Practice another mock case interview

At this stage, please still stick to very basic cases. The goal is to see all of the knowledge and skills above in real action. Again, this can be done by either:

• Book a meeting with coaches
• Find another partner to practice with. Just make sure you both watch this Guide on how to conduct a case. A bad coach is always more harmful than not practicing at all.
• See another example in the End-to-end Program. Like the previous one, try actively solving the case as you see it! Say out loud your version, then listen to the candidate, then hear the feedback!

Step 8: Equip yourself with tips, techniques, and advance theory

• Read on! The below chapters of this very article will provide you with more advanced theory and killer tips.
• Watch the whole Tips & Techniques sections of the End-to-end Program. You will find 10 examples with clear walkthroughs of tips and techniques right in the middle of real action.

Step 9: Do further mock cases, review, and improve

Practicing for case interviews is a time consuming process – but as long as you have the right method, you will make it!

• First, brush up on knowledge related to case interviews with the Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program .
• Second, get personalized practice with ex-consultants. That way, you’ll receive clear and tuned feedback to understand what to improve, building your own proper case approaches.  See a list of experienced coaches here .

Stay tuned with us on this website and our Youtube channel for continuously updated information on case interviews and management consulting recruitment; you can also subscribe to the newsletter below for free materials and other insightful content!

Good luck with your case prep!

Case interview tips – With instant results

Imagine a case interview just falls out of the sky and into your lap, scheduled for tomorrow – how can you even prepare?

The answer lies in a few “quick and dirty” tips, which I’ll share with you in a moment.

I am a firm believer in the 80-20 rule – which states that 20% of the causes lead to 80% of the consequences.

In the case interview prep context, 20% of your learning efforts will bring about 80% of the improvements – so the key to instantly and dramatically improving your case performance is to identify and focus on that 20%.

In the next 8 chapters, I’ll tell you the killer tips and tricks that helped me get a McKinsey offer, the majority of which were previously only available in the premium End-to-End Secrets Program , including:

• Chapter 9: Delivering the perfect case opening
• Chapter 10: Remaining absolutely structured throughout the case
• Chapter 11: Taking the best notes
• Chapter 12: Getting out if stuck
• Chapter 13: How to ask for data
• Chapter 14: What to do when receiving data
• Chapter 15: Deliver the most convincing closing pitch
• Chapter 16: Developing your personal scripts

One thing before you proceed: don’t forget to learn the fundamentals, the question types, and the frameworks. Remember, these 20% tips can only get you 80% performance; if you want 100%, there’s  no substitute for hard work.

How to deliver the perfect case opening

The result of a case interview is determined  the first 3 minutes – and I’m not even exaggerating.

Most people will be put off by this fact – indeed, with all those efforts spent on learning for the later part of the case, and the hiring decision is made when you’re not even properly warmed up yet.

However, putting a spin on it, this is the 20% to focus on – if you nail the opening, you’ll make a better impression than most candidates; it’s also easier to perform well in 3 minutes than in 30 minutes, especially when the case hasn’t gotten tricky. Additionally, you can prepare the opening in a formulaic manner – essentially learning by heart until it becomes natural.

There are 7 steps in the perfect case opening formula:

1. Show appreciation

2. Announce case introduction

5. Announce case approach

7. Ask for a timeout

In this chapter, I’ll walk you through each of those steps.

Step 1: Show appreciation

The quickest way to score the first points with any interviewer is to  sincerely compliment them. Everybody loves compliments.

Case interviewers are not dedicated HR staff, but Engagement Managers, Partners, and Directors who conduct interviews ON TOP OF their projects as goodwill for the firm, so you should at least be thankful for the time they spend with you.

Begin your interview with a sincere “thank you” for the interesting case (if you have to fake these words because deep down you don’t like case interviews, you aren’t exactly cut out for the job).

Step 2: Announce case introduction

Announce you’re going to do  steps 3, 4, and 5.

This step is related to what I call the “map habit”, which I’ll describe in detail in the next chapter. For now, just understand that it  helps the interviewer follow your introduction, and shows you’re a structured person.

Step 3: Recap  

What is the key question of the case?

On a side note: one common mistake is to mix up step 3 with step 4 (clarify) – remember, don’t ask anything , just rephrase the case to ensure that you get it right.

Step 4:  Clarify

Ask questions to clear up any  potential confusion about the details of the case.

Case questions are always very short with a lot of vague details; if you don’t see the need to ask anything, you’re doing it wrong.

Run this checklist through your mind to help you clarify as many unclear points as possible:

• Definitions: are there words you don’t understand or can be interpreted in multiple ways?
• Timeframe: what is the “deadline” for solving this problem?
• Measurement: how are the important variables (performance, revenue, etc.) measured?

Additionally, number your questions so it’s easier for you and the interviewer to keep track.

Step 5: Announce case approach

Roughly sum up  how you’ll analyze the problem.

Again, this is related to the map habit, which makes the overall case progress easier to follow.

There are 3 types of cases: (1) problem-solution, (2) should I choose A or B, and (3) how to do C. For each type, there is a different approach. The latter two are discussed in the “Advanced Logic” chapter, for now, we’ll continue with the first type: tell the interviewer you’re going to find the root cause to ensure long-lasting solutions, and to do that you’ll develop an issue tree.

Step 6: Align

Check if the interviewer  approves of your case approach.

This is an important habit of real consultants  because nobody wants to waste resources going in the wrong direction; interviewers expect candidates to show it in the case interview.

Simply ask “Does this sound like a reasonable approach to you?” – most likely the interviewer will give you the green light, but if you’re lucky he/she may even suggest a better approach.

Step 7: Ask for timeout

After you’ve gone continuously through the 6 steps above, ask the interviewer for timeout to (make this explicit) gather your thoughts and develop the first part of the issue tree.

Make the most of your timeout session, and keep it as short as possible. Any unnecessary silence will damage the impression and hurt your chances (refer to the End-to-End Program example in Chapter 6 to “feel” how awkward a lengthy timeout session is).

Case opening – Example script

Now it’s time to see how you can put all those steps into action!

Thank you for this very interesting case, I am really happy to get a chance to solve it!

The first step in solving any business problem is to make sure we solve the right one, so before diving into the problem, I would like to first recap the case, then ask a few clarification questions to make sure we’re both on the same page, and lastly announce my overall case approach.

So here is my understanding of the case:

• [facts regarding the client and situation]
• [key case question]

Does that correctly summarize the case?

<assume the interview confirms that your playback is correct>

Great, now I’d like to ask my three clarification questions:

• [question 1]
• [question 2]
• [question 3]

<wait for answers>

Thank you for the clarification. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks for all the insights. It’s great that we all agree on the key details.

For the overall approach to this case, to completely wipe out the problem for a long-lasting impact, we will need to find out the root causes of this problem. To do that I will try to break the problem down into bite-size pieces with issue trees, in order to quickly isolate the root causes inside the branches, then drill down accordingly to gather information until we can draw actionable solutions.

So before I go on to establish my first issue tree, does that approach sound reasonable to you?

<assumes the interviewer agrees with your approach>

It’s great to see that we’re on the same page regarding the key details as well as the overall approach to the case. I do need some time to gather my thoughts, so may I have a short timeout?

Being structured throughout the case

The high stress and large amount of information in case interviews make it easy for even the brightest candidates to derail from the objective or present in an unstructured manner.

I’ll be sharing with you my 3 most impactful tips for keeping the structure in case interview:

1. The map habit

2. Numbering your items

3. Sticking to the big problem

The map habit

It means regularly and explicitly checking where you are, and where you’re doing next.

I call it the map habit because it’s similar to using a map while traveling – pausing every once in a while to check your location, destination, and direction.

This habit gives you a sense of direction and authority while making it easier for the interviewer to follow your case progress. It also makes you sound organized and systematic – a definitive mark of management consultants – and the interviewer will love it!

You’ll see this habit a lot in our Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program, where candidates would often pause at each key step during the case. Do the same thing in your own case interviews, and you’ll greatly impress the interviewer.

Numbering your items

A very easy and effective way to make your pitches sound structured is to number each item.

The formula is simple: “There are X items that I’m going to say; they are: No.1 … No.2 … No.3 …”

By now you may have noticed that I use this structure many times throughout this guidebook – it’s already quite effective in written language, but it’s even more impactful in spoken communications!

Having this numbering habit will make it very easy for the listener to follow your speech, and it creates an impression of MECE (even if content-wise it’s not MECE).

Sticking to the big problem

There are two ways to keep yourself on track  all the time in those high-stress case interviews

1. Occasionally check your position on the issue tree, and quickly get back on track if it seems you’re “derailing”. If this sounds like the previous map habit, you’re right, it is the map habit.

2. Take good notes, with the case question being written big and bold on top of your scratch paper. That way you’ll be reminded every few seconds.

That last point brings us to the next issue: how to take notes.

How to take notes in case interviews

The best notes for case interviews are always  clear-cut, structured, and relevant.

Even the smartest candidates suffer from seemingly silly problems in case interviews – forgetting data, messing up the numbers, getting stuck with frameworks, losing sight of the original objective, etc. And in the true management consulting spirit, I set out to find the root causes.

And looking back at hundreds of coaching sessions I did, I found one thing in common – none of those candidates could take good notes.

I’ll tell you precisely how I took notes to get a McKinsey offer; however, I hope that after this chapter, you can install the spirit of the method, not just the method itself.

So here we are, with the 3 groups of sheets laid out for the ideal note-taking:

1. Data sheets

2. Presentation sheets

3. Scratch sheets

Data sheets

Data sheets are used to store and process every piece of incoming data .

Try to draw tables for these sheets, because this not only makes the calculation process easier but also gives the impression that you’re a careful and organized person.

Also, remember to write only the results of calculations on this sheet, to keep it neat and tidy. Most of your calculations should be done mentally (see the article on Consulting Math for more details); if you really need to jot down the calculations, do it on the scratch sheets.

Presentation sheets

Presentation sheets are used to develop and present any “outgoing” content.

Your issue trees should be drawn on these sheets, along with the big-and-bold case question/objective right on top. When delivering your pitches, always turn around the presentation sheets so the interviewer can clearly read what’s on them.

As with the data sheets, avoid any messy “mid-process” drawings. Put them on the scratch sheets instead.

Scratch sheets

Scratch sheets exist to keep other sheets clean.

Ever felt irritated receiving a notebook full of correction marks? That’s exactly how the interviewer feels if you present with untidy notes. You should try your best to hide all the unorganized, messy parts of your thought process.

The scratch sheets provide a sanctuary for that unstructured part of yours – it’s okay to go all over the place for brainstorming, as long as you can organize the incoming resources and present in a systematic manner.

“I took the notes just as you instructed, but I still get stuck in cases. How can I avoid it?” – Well, that’s the subject for our next chapter – “Stuck” situations and how to get out of them.

Stuck in cases – What to do

We’ve all been there – that scarily awkward feeling when you don’t know what to do next in a case interview, that fear of being rejected.

In every “stuck” situation, the most important thing is to remain calm and collected (you’ll lose points if you panic) – then methodically work your way out. I’ll teach you how to get out of those situations, with style.

There are actually 3 different kinds of “stuck”, and for each, I have a different solution:

1. The “Framework” stuck

2. The “Data” stuck

3. The “I-Cannot-Find-The-Problem” stuck

Let’s go through each in detail.

The framework stuck

This situation happens when the candidate does not know which framework to use, and the secret tool for it, is “segmentation”.

Segmentation works just like any framework, and like a Swiss Army knife, it’s usually safe and easy to use. So if you’re unsure how to break things down, say these magic words:

“At this point, I’d like to break down this X item, and one good way is to use the natural segmentation within this line of business. So may I ask how they break this X item in this industry?”

If you get it right, the interviewer will reply with the most industry-relevant way to segment the item.

You may be wondering why I’m not talking about issue trees and frameworks here, after all the theory at the beginning of the guidebook.

The answer is that the textbook and “ideal” solution – learning the problem-solving fundamentals and deep-diving the frameworks to increase your flexibility – takes a lot of time, while the “cliched” solution – learning as many frameworks as possible, usually at the cost of depth – is inherently dangerous.

The data stuck

The “data stuck” happens when the candidate can’t extract relevant insights from the given data. And when this happens, ask for benchmarks.

Comparing with benchmarks is the quickest way to put data into perspective, yielding useful insights. There are 2 kinds of benchmarks – if you remember from the chapter on Candidate-led Cases: 

• Historical benchmarks: data on the same entity in the past
• Competitor benchmarks: data on similar/competing entities in the same timeframe

To ask for benchmarks, Just say the following lines:

“For now, I hypothesize that the root cause of the problem comes from the X branch of this issue tree. However, to further break down the problem in a spot-on way, I do need some information on the context of our client’s problem.

One of the quickest ways to grasp that context is to use competitor’s data; so can I have the X figure for our client’s competitors?”

The “I-Cannot-Find-The-Problem” stuck

This is the scariest “stuck” because there’s no obvious reason or solution – you’ve done your math right, your framework is suitable, and you’ve got a lot of interesting insights from data. Why are you still stuck?

From my experience in coaching sessions, there are 2 scenarios where this happens: (1) your issue tree is not MECE, and (2) if your issue tree is MECE, it does not isolate the problem.

You can try to avoid this in the first place by mastering the MECE principle, improving intuition, as well as aligning with the interviewer early and often.

But what if you still get stuck? The answer is to calmly admit you’ve hit a dead-end, and ask for time to fix the problem; be it the first or second scenario, you have to redraw your issue tree.

Literally use the following script:

“My whole analysis seems going towards a dead-end, which means either part of my issue tree is not MECE or my method of breaking down does not isolate the problem. Either way, I would like to take a timeout to have a look at it.”

You likely get stuck when practicing on yourself. That’s the reason why you need personal coaching. Veteran coaches at MConsultingPrep will give insightful feedback, propose actionable steps, and help you significantly enhance your performance. Find my coach !

How to ask for data

Data is the fuel for the case interview engine. Without it , your analysis can’t progress.

The problem is that interviewers don’t simply give out precious data for free. It has to be earned. There are 4 tips you can use to show that “worthiness”, and prompt the interviewer to supply you with the best information:

1. Create a good impression

2. Explain the purpose of the data

3. Explain the method of acquiring the data

4. Ask open-ended questions

Tip 1: Creating a good impression

The interviewer will love you if you think and act like a real consultant – if you can achieve that, he/she will always give you the best pieces of data available.

In this guidebook, there are countless tips to show your consulting characteristics – I even write a whole chapter on how to install consulting culture into your own personality. Generally, you must always be (1) structured , (2) fact-based, and (3) action-oriented.

Additionally, common people skills and interview tips also apply – show your appreciation by thanking for their help, keep a smile on your face to maintain a positive atmosphere, etc.

Tip 2: Explaining the purpose of the data

Say why you need that data, so the interviewer knows you can actually use it.

There are only two purposes for data in case interviews: (1) to test a hypothesis, and (2) to understand the context.

You can use the following scripts to when to reason your data requests:

“For now, I’m hypothesizing that the root cause of this problem comes from the X branch. Since this hypothesis can only be tested with the data on X, may I have those figures?”< testing hypothesis>

“For now, I hypothesize that the root cause of the problem comes from the X branch of this issue tree. However, to further break down the problem in a spot-on way, to better understand the context of our client’s problem, I will ask a few more questions. Does that sound reasonable to you?” < understanding the context>

Tip 3: Explaining the method to acquire the data

By stating how to get the data, you prove its feasibility and reinforce your data request.

In real consulting projects, data is not always available; the interviewer may rely on this logic and refuse to give you any information. So, when you ask for data, make sure your request is realistic, then state the method to acquire it using these words:

“If this was a real project, this information can be acquired from/by X source/method”.

In our  Prospective Candidate Starter Pack ,   there is a sheet listing all the possible sources of information in consulting projects, which you can download for your own use, along with many other free case interview materials.

Accurately explaining the data acquisition method also shows that you’ve done your homework and you know the consulting industry inside-out. Any interviewer will be greatly impressed.

Ask open-ended questions

This prompts the interviewer to give you data you haven’t thought of.

The precise questions mostly depend on specific cases (meaning you need to sharpen your intuition), but there is a Swiss Army knife here: “Is there anything else?” – which is a question real consultants ask several times a day, at the end of their conversations.

Use open-ended questions when you feel you might be missing something – for example, during clarification – and only after a series of well-defined, close-ended questions. Otherwise, you risk appearing lazy and over-reliant.

What to do when receiving data

Suppose the interviewer agrees to give you data. Now what?

Time to shine! If you do these following 3 steps, even just once, in the interviewer’s mind, you already pass:

1. Acknowledge the data and show appreciation

2. Describe the data, especially its notable features

3. State the implications of the data

Let’s dive into each separately.

Step 1: Acknowledging the data

Simply  thank the interviewer for the interesting piece of data.

Firstly, it confirms that you have received, and can understand the data.

Secondly, it’s always good to give out modest, subtle compliments to the interviewer. Trust me, conducting case interviews is hard work, and the interviewer does appreciate those little compliments.

Last but not least, it buys you a few seconds to fully absorb the new information and minimize any possible silence.

Step 2: Describing the data

Summarize  the most important insights you can extract.

Don’t recite a short essay about the data, there is no time for that. Quickly and mentally calculate all the important points, then state it out loud in 1-2 sentences.

This step has several uses:

It showcases your consulting math skills (chart insights and mental calculation)

It eliminates the silence during your analysis

It helps you quickly memorize the key trends in the data

Step 3: Stating the implications

Concisely explain how the insights from the data  related to the issue tree – do they confirm or reject the current hypothesis? Do they open new areas for investigations?

This part is extremely important because it connects to the action-oriented mindset of actual management consultants while laying solid foundations for your next steps (fact-based).

Example – Handling revenue data

Suppose you’re working on a profitability case (how to fix low profits), and you’re trying to dictate whether the root cause comes from the revenue side.

The interviewer gives you this data:

How would you respond? Try to answer it yourself before revealing the sample answer.

Sample Script - Receiving Data 

Thank you for the very interesting data. (acknowledging)

It seems that our client’s revenue has been increasing steadily throughout four years – around the mark of 20% annual growth, in fact. (describe the data)

This suggests that the problem may not come from this side of the issue tree. However, in order to fully reject the possibility, I need the figures on the revenue of other companies in this industry around this time. Do we have those numbers? (implications)

Delivering the perfect closing pitch

“You have one minute to summarize all of your findings to the client CEO. What would you say?”

Your answer must be short, to-the-point, action-oriented, and client-friendly.

The closing pitch of the case interview is sometimes called the “elevator pitch” , where you supposedly meet the client CEO inside the elevator and must somehow deliver the results of the project before the elevator arrives at its destination floor (it’s even worded like that sometimes).

Regardless of the wording, the principles remain the same, and your closing pitch must consist of these 4 parts:

1. Introduction / Lead-in

2. Summary of the root causes

3. Summary of the solutions

4. Next step

Part 1: Introduction / Lead-in

Open your pitch in a client-friendly way. Remember, consulting is a service – a premium one, in fact.

There is a simple formula for this part of the pitch:

“Mr. CEO, it has been a great pleasure to be working with you on your company’s X problem.”

Everybody loves a little compliment, don’t they?

Part 2: Summary of the root causes

Don’t go into detail about your analysis – show them the results first.

CEOs are busy people, they have no time for a 15-minute break-down of your issue tree. They only care about the “big picture” – “Why is the problem happening?”.

You need to sum up root causes in a structured manner, with a numbered list – in the case interview context, that’s one characteristic the interviewer looks for, and in real projects, it helps the listener follow your pitch.

“After careful analysis, we have found X root causes for the company’s problem: 1… 2… 3… X”.

Part 3: Summary of the solutions

The solutions are what the clients pay for in the first place, so make sure to deliver them clearly and systematically.

This step must also be structured. Additionally, list the solution in the same order as their corresponding root causes, to imply the connection between them (if the root causes are listed as A, B, C, then the solutions should never be C, B, A).

“To solve the aforementioned issues, we propose the X following solutions: 1… 2… 3… X”.

Part 4: Next step

The ending must lead the customer towards a follow-up project, in a client-friendly way.

This step shows that you have an action-oriented mindset and necessary people skills to represent the firm before the clients.

Moreover, follow-up implementation projects are a major source of revenue for the top consulting firms (such as McKinsey, BCG or Bain), so mentioning them in your case interview ending pitch proves that you did the appropriate research before applying.

So here’s what you’ll say when the elevator reaches the destination:

“We would be more than happy to work with you to implement these solutions”.

Develop personal interview scripts

Every tip I’ve mentioned in the previous 7 chapters is for recurring situations in case interviews, and they can be dealt with using formulaic responses.

What that means for you – the candidate – is that you can make personal scripts and learn them by heart until they all become your second nature. That will save you a lot of brainpower to use on the issue tree. This approach has proven successful with all of my coachees, and it’s also a major part of our Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program. You will find my own personal script I used back in the day, and I will also personally give feedback to scripts of members of the program.

So open your document tool and start writing now. Once you’ve finished the scripts, learn them by heart one at a time. When you feel comfortable with every one of them, you can move up to a higher level and practice with whole cases.

Inside the case interviewer’s mind – Consulting culture

The best way to impress your consulting interviewer is to act like a consultant. And to do that, you need to know what goes on inside their mind – both the conscious and unconscious – then install it into your own personality.

In this chapter, I’ll guide you through 15 ingredients that make up a consulting mind. However, I won’t tell you how to apply this in case interviews because it will sound fake – what you need is to immerse yourself in a consulting environment, and incorporate these “ingredients” into your own mindset.

Responsibility & proactivity

Everyone talks about responsibility and proactivity these days, but in management consulting, we have a much more powerful word – “ownership” . When you “own” the work, you deeply and sincerely care about it, and you always try to go beyond what is required.

If you ever spend your efforts trying to improve a piece of work that your boss already approved, just because you know it is the right thing to do, because you feel so good seeing a job well-done, you have that “ownership” mindset.

In management consulting, you are expected to possess that mindset. In my early days at McKinsey, I was almost thrown out the window for working on a cement project but not knowing where the aggregate mines were (which was outside my responsibilities, but my boss expected me to know it, since I “owned” that cement project).

If you fail to do your work, don’t ever blame anyone or anything. Your responsibility is to draw up contingency plans for the “worst-case scenarios”:

• Missing the deadline because the client did not send you the data? You should have accounted for it in your schedule. 
• Late for work because of a traffic jam? Why didn’t you get up earlier?
• Your pet bite your suit? Any sensible person should have a spare one; even if that one is bitten, aren’t we paying you enough to get a new suit at the store this morning?

In short, if you want to be a consultant,  don’t make excuses.

Result-oriented / Can-do attitude

“There’s nothing I can’t do” – that’s the mindset you need to work in management consulting.

The result orientation inside a consulting firm is intense – saying that it’s “Mission Impossible” everyday would not be an exaggeration, but at the end of the day it’s always “Mission Accomplished”.

The boss doesn’t pay much attention to how you do a task, or what resources it takes, as long as you get it done. The firm has enough resources of every kind to help you with that, so there’s no reason you can’t pull it off.

Top-down communication

Communications made by consultants are always short, concise, to-the-point, action-oriented, and structured.

We were all given full-on lectures by our parents back when we were kids, for wasting food or not exercising (or not studying, for Asians like me). If they were management consultants, most of those lectures would be replaced with powerful, action-oriented messages: “Go study. If you don’t get an A+ for the next test, I’ll have to discipline you”.

A consultant seeing something non-MECE is like your mom seeing your messy bedroom. It’s that discomforting.

If you wish to be a consultant, train yourself to be MECE in everything you do. Once you can be MECE effortlessly, and you start spotting the annoying non-MECE-ness in everything around you, you know you’ve got it. 

If you’re unstructured, you won’t get into the business.

Being “structured” is a pretty vague concept, but everyone in the consulting industry knows when they see it. It’s about being organized, logical, top-down, MECE, etc.. Basically, if you can approach things the same way as real consultants, you will be deemed “structured”

If you can’t meet the deadline, you’re dead (of course, not literally).

A consulting firm works like the perfect machine, where every part operates as intended. When consultants promise to help you with something, you can be nearly 100% sure that they’ll keep their word. This makes work management that much easier.

Consequently, if you start missing the deadlines, you’ll be out of the game soon enough.

Manager from Day 1

You’ll get the idea right away if you watched this video on the job of management consultants:

In short, even as an entry-level associate, you’ll be managing a multitude of resources (experts, specialists, etc.), contents (reports, client data, expert knowledge,…), and stakeholders (the two most important being your client and your boss).

Pulling all of these together to create impactful results would be an impressive feat, even for the best and brightest new hires.

Client first

Don’t. Ever. Piss off. The client.

Management consulting is a special service industry – besides the usual “don’t disrespect the client” and “don’t leave a bad image of the firm”, there’s also “don’t make them hate you while telling them to do what they probably hate.” (which is a good way to sum up a consultant’s job).

In case interviews and PEIs, the interviewer will be asking himself a big question: “Can I trust this guy to represent me and my firm before the client?” – if the answer is anything below a stellar impression, you won’t be receiving an offer.

Consultants will have valid reasons for everything they do.

In both consulting work and case interviews, you need to be very explicit about the basis of your actions – every conclusion must have backing data, every idea must be explained, and every request must serve a purpose. Don’t ever assume that you’re justified.

Being fact-based is part of the foundation for the trust people place in consulting firms, so people who draw ideas out of thin air and act impulsively will never get into the industry.

Effective time & resources management

Every consultant works hard, so the only way to stand out is to work smart.

Yes, I know it’s a buzzword, and I know it’s cliched, but the 80-20 rule really does apply in this line of work. The best performers are always the ones to identify the most important lever and focus on it.

With the intense workload and up-or-out policy at major consulting firms, this skill is vital. Don’t be surprised if you pull all-nighters and work hard all the time but still get fired, while that one guy who goes home at 5 gets promoted. If you want to survive, learn from him.

Key takeaways & key messages

To a management consultant, everything has a key takeaway.

Consultants are efficient people, they don’t simply waste time, effort, and resources on irrelevant things. Things are only worthy of their attention if they have an interesting, helpful “so what”:

• You tell a story? So what?
• You perform a data analysis? So what are your key insights, and what’s the implication?
• You draw a slide? What’s the key message you’re trying to deliver?

If you already think like this, trust me, the interviewer will love you.

Think on your feet first

You should only ask for leadership assistance only  after you’ve thought well about the problem.

Just pause for a second and think: would you be more ready to help someone who really tries their best at the job or someone who does nothing and relies solely on you?

The same thing is true in consulting work, and even in case interviews: the interviewer will assist you if you can deliver well-informed opinions.

With that said, “asking without thinking first” is a very common mistake in case interviews, which you can see in the numerous examples from our End-to-End Secrets Program. 

Align early, align often

Always try to reach and maintain a consensus with co-workers and your boss, from the most mundane tasks to the largest projects.

Nobody wants to spend a whole week building a model that the team doesn’t need; it’s a huge waste of time and resources. As such, consultants have this aligning habit very early and often – a little time spent on reaching an agreement now will save a lot of trouble later.

Remember to align in case interviews as well – at the start of the case, and every important step.

Consultants are very action-oriented people who always think about the next step.

Every meeting, phone call, even random catch-up must end with everybody being explicitly and absolutely clear about what to do next.

So what’s YOUR next step, after reading this guidebook?

Six types of charts in case interview are: Bar/Column chart, Line chart, Percentage chart, Mekko chart, Scatter plot chart, Waterfall chart.

Business knowledge is not a mandatory condition to become a consultant. Nevertheless, it still has specific obligations and advantages for consultants.

There are 9 type of questions that mostly used in actual case interviews. Each type has a different solution, but you can rely on the a 4-step guide to answer

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Case Interview: The Free Preparation Guide (2024)

The case interview is a challenging interview format that simulates the job of a management consultant , testing candidates across a wide range of problem-solving dimensions.

McKinsey, BCG and Bain – along with other top consulting firms – use the case interview because it’s a statistically proven predictor of how well a candidate will perform in the role. The format is not only used by management consulting firms. Other types of organizations – like tech companies, financial services institutions, and non-profits – often use case interviews to assess candidates who are interviewing for roles focused on shaping strategic initiatives.

If you’re preparing to face a case interview, you may be feeling a little apprehensive. The format is notoriously demanding and unlike any other type of recruitment assessment you may have experienced before. However, with the right preparation and investment of time and effort, it is possible to master.

In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about the case interview, outlining exactly what you need to do to prepare effectively and ace the case.

Key takeaways

• The classic case interview format follows the same steps that a management consultant would encounter on a client project. The interview is a little like a role-play where the interviewer plays the role of a client and the candidate plays the part of the consultant hired to solve the problem.
• Some firms occasionally deviate from the classic case interview format. Popular alternatives include written case studies – which require candidates to review paper documents and then prepare and deliver a presentation – and market sizing case interviews, which require candidates to estimate a number.
• Case interviews test candidates against a set of six problem-solving dimensions: structuring, math, judgment and insights, creativity, synthesis, and case leadership. The interviewer uses a scorecard to assess the candidate’s performance in each of these areas.
• Case interview questions can be about almost any type of challenge or opportunity. However, our research indicates that there are 10 types of questions that are asked most frequently at top consulting firms. These include questions on profit improvement, revenue growth, and market entry.
• To do well in a case interview, it’s vital to create custom interview structures that meet the conditions of the ‘AIM’ test. It helps to have a good working knowledge of key case interview frameworks, but this alone is not sufficient.
• A strong grasp of case math is also crucial when it comes to case interview performance. While only high-school level math skills are required, it’s an aspect of the case interview that many candidates find challenging.
• Successful candidates are able to summarize their findings effectively. They also demonstrate strong case leadership by progressing through the case proactively and remaining focused on its overarching objectives.
• To prepare for a case interview, it’s essential to learn every problem-solving skill that will be assessed. We teach all of these skills in the Case Interview Prep Course, provided as a part of our Consulting Interview Prep Toolkit which contains all the online courses, sample interviews, case material, and practice tools you’ll need to ace any case interview.
• Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions with a partner before their interview. You’ll find over 100 high-quality cases in our Case Library and a diverse community of candidates available for practice in our Practice Room .
• Some candidates choose to supplement their preparation by working with a coach who has been an interviewer at a top consulting firm. Here at CaseCoach, our coaches have all been handpicked from the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain.
• Although the world’s top consulting firms all test candidates using similar methods, none of them approach the interview process in exactly the same way. If you’re preparing to interview at a top consulting firm, it’s important to do your research and find out what you can expect.

An introduction to the case interview

The case interview format, the classic case interview.

The vast majority of case interviews follow the same steps that management consultants encounter on real client projects.

• Brief: The interviewer gives the candidate a brief for the case. They explain the context in which the client is operating, and outline the challenge they’re facing.
• Clarification: The candidate then has the chance to ask clarifying questions. They might do this to ensure they’ve understood the context of the problem correctly or to confirm the client’s goals.
• Reflection: The candidate takes 60 to 90 seconds or so to reflect and lay out a structured approach to solving the case.
• Analysis: The candidate and interviewer then work through the case together, carrying out analyses and moving toward a recommendation. This is the part of the case where you’ll be handling numerical questions, reviewing exhibits, coming up with creative ideas, and so on. It comprises the vast majority of the time you’ll spend on the case.
• Synthesis: The case concludes with the candidate synthesizing their findings and making an overall recommendation to the client.

So what does this unique interview format look and feel like? In reality, a consulting case interview is a little like a role-play. The interviewer plays the role of a manager or client, and the candidate plays the part of the consultant hired to solve the problem. However, a case interview shouldn’t feel like a performance. The most successful candidates treat it as a natural conversation between two professional people.

In the video below you can see an example of exceptional case interview performance in action. The candidate and interviewer in the video are both former McKinsey interviewers.

Interviewer-led vs candidate-led cases

Although the classic case interview has an established format and assesses a specific set of skills, cases can be delivered in different ways. Some are more candidate-led, while others are more interviewer-led

In a candidate-led case, the candidate is in the driver’s seat and is free to explore different aspects of the problem. Interviewers don’t tell candidates what to focus on next. Instead, they provide additional information – like an exhibit or a new fact – when asked. The candidate then analyzes the information and suggests next steps to get to the answer.

In an interviewer-led case, the interviewer may interrupt the candidate and ask them to either perform a specific investigation or focus on a different aspect of the problem. This doesn’t mean the interview is going badly; the interviewer is simply following a script. As a result, in an interviewer-led case, candidates are less likely to take the wrong path.

It’s difficult to predict which style of case you’ll receive. Some firms are known for using one style of interview more frequently than another. However, in practice, most interviews fall somewhere between the two extremes, depending on the style of the interviewer and the case material they’re using. You should therefore always be ready to suggest next steps and have a view about how to get to the answer.

Other case interview formats

While the classic case interview is most common, there are a couple of other interview formats that top consulting firms use from time to time:

The written case study

Some management consulting firms use written case studies to simulate the experience of carrying out consulting work even more accurately than the classic, verbal case interview. In some locations, BCG and Bain have been known to adopt this approach for a small minority of candidates.

In written cases, candidates review a series of paper documents and then structure the problem, run some numbers, generate ideas and, finally, deliver a short presentation. You can learn more in our article on how to crack written case studies .

Market sizing case interviews

Management consulting firms and other employers sometimes use market sizing questions – also known as estimation questions – as a standalone interview format to assess candidates on a wide range of problem-solving dimensions.

In a market sizing interview, you’ll be asked to estimate a number. This might be something like the revenue of a sandwich store or how many ATMs there are in a certain city. The ability to size a market is also a skill required for solving many case interview questions. You can learn more in our article on how to nail market sizing case interviews .

Some key differences to expect

While case interviews are highly codified, it’s important to remember that every interview is unique.

In the final round of interviews, for example, cases may feel less scripted than they did in the first stage. Partners – who are part of the interviewing group in the final round – often use the same case for years at a time. This means they can deliver it without a script and, as a result, tend to give candidates more room to take the lead. You can learn more in our article on the differences between a first and final-round interview at McKinsey, BCG and Bain .

In addition, each firm or office might bring their own nuance or style to the classic case interview format. It’s important to do your research and find out what you can expect from the interview experience at your target firm or office. You can learn more in our article on how the interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain differ .

The skills assessed in case interviews

Case interviews are primarily about testing a set of problem-solving skills. The interviewer uses a scorecard to assess a candidate’s performance in the following dimensions:

• Structuring: This is the ability to break problems down into logical drivers. It’s most obviously required at the beginning of a case, where you can pause and take a moment to come up with an approach. But it’s also tested each time you have to consider a new aspect of the problem.
• Math: Most cases contain a quantitative component, such as estimation questions, break-even questions, or other calculations. To do well in this dimension, you need to lay out a clear and efficient approach, run calculations quickly and accurately, and then state their implications for the case.
• Judgment and insights: This dimension is about extracting insights from data, usually by interpreting information in a chart. Performing well in this area involves processing new information quickly, prioritizing what’s important, and connecting your findings to develop sound recommendations.
• Creativity: Cases often have a creative thinking component. Sharing numerous, varied and sound ideas – ideally in a structured way – can help you succeed here.
• Synthesis: This is all about wrapping up the case with a clear and practical recommendation, and delivering it convincingly.
• Case leadership: This dimension is about progressing through the case efficiently and staying focused on its objectives. Case leadership involves gathering facts effectively and building on new findings to develop a recommendation. It’s a particularly important dimension in candidate-led cases.

Questions to expect

If you’re preparing to interview at a top management consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain, you’re probably curious about the kind of case interview questions you can expect to receive.

To identify the most common case interview questions , we surveyed CaseCoach users who interviewed at either McKinsey, BCG or Bain for a generalist role in 2023. We found that of the 260+ case interviews reported by respondents:

• 20% focused on profit improvement
• 15% focused on revenue growth
• 12% focused on market entry
• 10% focused on cost cutting
• 9% focused on process optimization

These topics align with the typical challenges and opportunities faced by CEOs. Because the job of a management consultant is to help CEOs find solutions to these problems, it’s vital for candidates to demonstrate that they understand the issues behind these questions.

However, while there are some recurring topics, the context and nuances of each individual case mean that no two case questions are the same. Increasingly, firms are testing candidates on questions that fall outside of these recurring topics. One way they’re doing this is by focusing on non-traditional areas, like the public sector. If you’re interviewing for a generalist management consulting role, it’s therefore important to be ready for almost any type of case question.

If you’re interviewing for a role that’s focused on a specific industry or function, like financial services , you’ll likely be given a case focused on that particular area.

How to ace the case

Case interviews require you to think on your feet to solve a complex problem that you’ve never seen before, while being assessed against a number of problem-solving dimensions. Here’s what you need to do to rise to the challenge and ace the case:

1. Create case interview structures that meet the AIM test

Of all the case interview assessment dimensions, structuring is perhaps the most challenging, particularly for those who are just starting out. It requires candidates to propose a prioritized and insightful approach to the case that’s composed of a comprehensive set of independent drivers. Structuring plays a foundational role in the interview, setting the course for the entire conversation.

So, what does good case structuring look like? An effective structure should meet the conditions of the ‘AIM’ test. ‘AIM’ stands for:

• Answer-focused: The structure should identify the client’s goal and the question to solve. It should also provide an approach to answering that question.
• Insightful: The structure should be tailored to the specifics of the client or to the problem in question. You shouldn’t be able to apply it to another case of the same type.
• MECE: This is a well-known acronym among consultants. It stands for ‘mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive’. In plain English, if a structure is ‘MECE’ it has been broken down into an exhaustive set of independent drivers.

2. Know key case interview frameworks

In a case interview, you’ll be asked to structure a variety of problems. There are a number of frameworks that can help you do this, whether the problem you’re structuring corresponds to a common case question or a different topic entirely:

Business frameworks

You can use established business frameworks to craft custom structures for the most common types of case questions. These include frameworks for mastering profitability questions , answering revenue growth questions and nailing market sizing questions .

Academic frameworks

For unusual case questions that don’t relate to an obvious business framework, it can be helpful to draw on an academic framework like supply and demand, ‘the three Cs’, or Porter’s Five Forces. You can learn more about all of these in our ultimate guide to case interview frameworks . The article includes other business and academic frameworks that you can use to craft custom structures for case questions.

Logical frameworks

Finally, logical frameworks can help you look at the big picture in order to structure your approach. These options can be particularly useful when you’re faced with an unusual case question that doesn’t lend itself to a business or academic framework. Some examples of logical frameworks include:

• Structuring with equations: This approach is most helpful for quantitative case questions. Listen out for introductions that focus on a number. These cases can often be broken down into an equation and then structured along its variables.
• Structuring based on hypotheses: This approach is most helpful for structuring qualitative cases. It involves laying out what you most need to believe in order to validate a specific recommendation. These beliefs form your set of key hypotheses, which you then test as you progress through the case.
• Structuring with root causes: This approach works well for structuring cases that require identifying the reasons for a problem. It involves laying out its potential causes in a way that is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (i.e. MECE).

How to apply these frameworks

While business, academic, and logical frameworks can be helpful when it comes to structuring a problem, learning how to use them correctly is a skill in itself. Simply applying a framework to a case interview question in a ‘cookie-cutter’ fashion is not enough. To impress your interviewer and pass the AIM test, your structure will need to be heavily tailored to the situation at hand. In fact, many case questions can be best answered by combining different frameworks.

Ultimately, interviewers want to understand how your mind works and see you think on your feet. You’ll therefore need to demonstrate that you can propose a custom case interview structure to any question.

3. Be comfortable with simple math

Management consulting firms expect you to navigate mathematical problems confidently and reliably in case interviews. Regardless of your academic background or past experience, you’ll need to be able to set an approach to solve the problem, perform calculations quickly and accurately, and state the implications of your solution.

The good news is that you’ll only be required to demonstrate a high-school level of math skills in case interviews. However, with no calculators allowed and an interviewer looking over your shoulder, it’s natural to find this aspect of the experience a little intimidating.

So, what can you expect from case math? The problems you’ll be asked to solve may take the form of straight calculations, exhibits that require calculations, word problems, and estimation questions.

To do well in this part of the case interview, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of:

• The four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• Key math concepts such as fractions, percentages, and weighted averages
• Business math concepts such as income statements, investments, and valuations

To stand out to your interviewer, you’ll also need to work through math problems confidently and efficiently. Here are our top tips for doing this:

• Keep track of zeros: Case questions often involve large numbers, sometimes in the millions or even billions. Keeping close track of your zeros is therefore crucial. We recommend either counting the zeros in your calculation, using scientific notation, or assigning letter units to zeros.
• Simplify your calculations: This will help you work through problems quickly and efficiently while reducing the potential for mistakes. One way of simplifying calculations is by rounding numbers up or down to make them more ‘friendly’.
• Memorize frequently-used fractions: Some fraction values are used so frequently in case math that knowing them – along with their percentage value and decimal conversions – can save you significant time. We recommend memorizing the fraction and corresponding percentage and decimal values of 1/2, 1/3, all the way through to 1/10.

You can learn more in our guide to mastering case interview math .

4. Summarize your findings

Synthesis is a key skill assessed by interviewers, predominantly at the end of a case interview. You need to provide a clear and sound recommendation that answers the overall question convincingly. You must also describe the key supporting points that informed your recommendation and then outline any further steps you would advise the client to take.

When it comes to concluding cases effectively, this four-step framework can be extremely helpful:

• Quickly play the case question back to your interviewer.
• Answer the question directly and briefly by distilling your response into a single sentence, if possible.
• List the points that support your conclusion.
• Outline the next steps that you recommend to the client.

You can learn more in our article on how to conclude a case study interview .

5. Bring it all together with strong case leadership

Case leadership, more than any other dimension, will give your interviewer an indication of how independently you could handle your workstream as a consultant. It’s a particularly important skill in candidate-led cases, where you’ll set the course of the discussion without the interviewer steering you in a particular direction.

Demonstrating strong case leadership means progressing the case efficiently and staying focused on its overarching objectives. Using a ‘tracker page’ to capture your structure and organize your notes throughout the case will help you in this regard.

Another aspect of case leadership is gathering facts effectively. This includes making reasonable assumptions, requesting missing information, and asking probing questions.

Finally, you’ll be expected to build on new findings to develop your recommendation, adapt your approach, and suggest next steps.

Effective case leadership is all about showing your interviewer that you have a strong command of the problem-solving process. After investigating each key driver in your structure, you need to be able to articulate where you are in your overall approach to solving the problem, and what the next steps should be.

To do this, we recommend using a five-step process to handle every kind of analysis you conduct during the case, whether you’re responding to a numerical question, the data in an exhibit, or something else.

Here’s what that five-step process looks like:

• Set your approach. Define what you’re going to do upfront. It’s particularly important to be explicit here, especially if the analysis is in any way complex or ambiguous.
• Conduct your analysis. Your approach here will vary according to the kind of question you’re working through.
• State your findings. You may also want to make a note of your findings on your tracker page.
• State the implications of your findings. Explain how they impact both your answer to the question and the client’s broader goal.
• Suggest next steps. Your findings will sometimes change how you want to approach the rest of the case. This may mean altering your initial structure and editing it on your tracker page.

6. Be your best on the day

When the day of your interview comes around, you’ll want to be at your very best. But what exactly does this mean?

First, you should present yourself in a professional manner. It goes without saying that you should arrive on time but, ideally, you should plan to arrive early. You should also come equipped with the right material: a pen, squared A4 or letter-size paper pad, and copies of your resume. It’s also vital to dress appropriately for the occasion. Usually, this means wearing formal business dress, but this means different attires in different locations. We recommend doing some research to find out what consultants wear at your target firm and office.

To be at your best on the day of your interview, you must be well rested. Sadly, tiredness is one of the most common reasons for underperformance in consulting interviews. The day before is not the time to cram in further preparation. Instead, aim to have a quiet day and to get plenty of sleep at night.

Ultimately, consulting firms want to hire people who can represent the firm and interact with clients at every level, from the shop floor to the C-suite. Successful candidates treat the case interview as an opportunity to play the role of a management consultant advising a client (i.e. the interviewer). This means exhibiting a great deal of confidence and credibility, together with effective communication and an engaging attitude. It’s vital to stay focused on the overall problem and to drive the resolution of the case while being receptive to the interviewer’s input.

There are a lot of balls to juggle in a case interview, with the added pressure of a potentially life-changing outcome, but successful candidates don’t let their nerves get the better of them. We’ve provided some helpful hints and tips in our article on handling the stress of consulting interviews .

Being your best on the day of your interview requires extensive preparation. It means mastering each dimension of the case interview scorecard to the extent that the skills become second nature to you. It also means completing sufficient case practice to be able to focus on the big picture of the case you’re solving, rather than on simply demonstrating a set of skills.

How to prepare for case interview success

Delivering a standard of performance worthy of an offer from a top firm requires extensive case interview prep. In our experience, most successful candidates invest around 60 hours – or 10 hours each week over a six-week period – in their preparation. Failing to put this effort in is among the most common reasons why many candidates are unsuccessful.

Here’s what effective case interview preparation involves:

Learning the skills

In a case interview, your performance is assessed against a set of common problem-solving dimensions. To recap, these are structuring, math, judgment and insights, creativity, synthesis, and case leadership. It’s important to:

• gain a precise understanding of the expectations on each of these skills
• learn the techniques that will allow you to meet these expectations
• practice until your performance meets the required standard

We teach all these skills in the Case Interview Prep Course, included in our Consulting Interview Prep Toolkit . In our bite-sized video classes, we map out each of the key skills assessed in a case, and explain what you need to know to demonstrate each skill. We also share our tips on how to improve in each dimension, going above and beyond the advice we’ve included in this article.

In addition, our Case Interview Prep Course includes many more sample interviews that show real candidates – who went on to join top consulting firms – solving cases. Former consulting interviewers explain what the candidates did well on each dimension and where they could have improved.

Math is a critical prerequisite to handling cases and is something you should be comfortable with before you begin practicing. Our Case Math Course – provided as part of the Consulting Interview Prep Toolkit – will help you brush up your skills. It contains 21 video classes that cover everything you need to know, including the four operations, key math concepts, our pro tips, and business math.

After watching all the classes in our Case Interview Prep Course and Case Math Course, we recommend heading to the ‘Drills’ area of CaseCoach, where you can start practicing specific skills. Drills are interactive exercises that pose rapid-fire questions and provide instant feedback. They help you build your skills and confidence in specific case dimensions quickly, allowing you to make the most of your live case practice with partners. Our Consulting Interview Prep Toolkit includes a comprehensive set of drills in four key areas: structuring, calculation, case math and chart interpretation.

When it comes to succeeding in a case interview, nothing beats live practice with a partner. Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain complete at least 25 live practice sessions before their interview.

To practice live cases with a partner, you’ll need access to both case material and practice partners. In our Case Library , you’ll find over 100 cases – complete with solutions – developed by former management consultants. You can download eight of these cases right away by creating a free CaseCoach account. You’ll find a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice in our Practice Room , where we facilitate over 3,000 practice sessions a week.

You can learn more in our article on how to practice case interviews .

Working with a coach

Some candidates choose to supplement their preparations by working with a consulting interview coach who has been an interviewer at a top firm.

These coaches have the skills and experience to gauge your level of performance and help you identify your areas of strength and weakness. They can also provide you with accurate and helpful feedback on your case-solving skills. This insight can help you accelerate your preparation and improve your performance. Getting used to interviewing with a professional should also help to reduce the stress of the consulting interview experience.

Here at CaseCoach, our coaches are all former consultants and interviewers who have been handpicked from the alumni of top firms such as McKinsey, BCG and Bain.

Do your research

Although employers who use case interviews all test candidates using similar methods, none of them approach the interview process in exactly the same way.

For instance, if you expect to interview with McKinsey, Bain or BCG, it’s helpful to know that these firms all give cases of similar complexity. However, there are some key differences. For example:

• Bain has been known to use estimation questions, such as market sizing, in interviews for its most junior (i.e. Associate Consultant level) roles.
• BCG and Bain occasionally use written cases.
• When it comes to the ‘fit’ interview, McKinsey uses its Personal Experience Interview format, while most Bain offices now use a ‘behavioral interview’ . Only BCG consistently uses the classic fit interview format .

Other differences include the number of rounds of interviews each firm conducts, and their preference for using interviewer-led or candidate-led cases. Wherever you interview, it’s vital to do your research and find out what you might be able to expect.

When it comes to getting ready for the case interview, knowing what you will be assessed on, learning how to succeed, and having access to the best practice resources can all go a long way. Now, you need to put in the hard work and prepare! Good luck.

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• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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A Quick Guide to Pre...

A quick guide to preparing for a case study interview.

• Updated 13 May 2020

Recruiting & Careers Social Influencer

Reviewed by Chris Leitch

Invited to participate in a case study interview but not sure about the best ways to get ready for it?

As you always want to be at your very best when interviewing with a company, the case study interview requires a bit more preparation than recognising some of the common types of job interviews .

While you’ll still need to impress a prospective employer with strong research, confident interview responses and a professional appearance , the case study interview tests your knowledge and abilities through a spontaneous, analytical exercise. It examines how you approach problem-solving with the pressure of handling a situation without previous knowledge of any details or context.

Although the consulting industry utilises it as an essential part of the hiring process, the case study interview can be also found in many other environments, including startups, government and corporate organisations. It measures a candidate’s analytical, logic reasoning and communication abilities while under pressure.

In this guide, we will cover what you need to know to successfully prepare for a case study interview.

Case Study Interviews Explained

Even if you’ve never participated in one, it’s likely you’ve heard stories about the case study interview format. The case study puts you, the candidate, on the spot to solve a business problem posed by the interviewers.

Case study interview questions cover a wide range of topics and do not look for a single ‘right’ answer. Instead, the format gives the interviewers a look at how you respond spontaneously while applying problem-solving skills to create a solution to the business challenge presented.

For example, an exercise might ask what the potential market size is for a vegan food company within a prospective city and if setting up shop within the region would be worth it. The case study may not share all the details to help you reach an answer, but it should prompt you to ask questions that help you structure your thought process.

What to Expect in a Case Study Interview

The ways by which a case study interview is conducted will vary by company. However, this format bears unique characteristics:

• You’ll receive an introduction to the business problem, its relevant details and other information that lend to setting context. Some companies may choose to share a briefing document for you to read, while others may prefer to communicate the scenario in conversation.
• Information about the business problem will be, to some degree, vague. While the problem may cover complex business concepts, expect that the information will provide a high-level description of the scenario – not detailed reports with specific facts and figures. Case study interviews present such information in general terms for a reason. They’re meant to provide just enough information so that you can choose how to approach your line of questioning to solve the problem.
• The discussion about the business problem will be led by either the interviewer or the candidate. You need to be prepared for both situations. Who leads the conversation about the business problem is important, as it reveals the direction the discussion will take.

In interviewer-led sessions, the interviewer seeks to gauge the quality of your approach as it relates to a specific part of the business problem. They control the dialogue, focusing on a series of tough questions unlike those considered to be difficult in other interview formats . The interviewer sticks to a line of questioning that refers to details and themes relevant to the business problem, and evaluates how you comprehend, interpret and recommend actions within this specific domain.

On the hand, candidate-led conversations evaluate your ability to understand a business problem comprehensively, and from multiple points of view. Consultants play different roles on projects. Their actions cover various levels of activity, from analysing the business facts and data, creating the solutions and communicating directly with the clients on the overall strategy and approach. You’ll need to show strong methodology to guide others in your process.

Candidate-led sessions are challenging because they give you the freedom to explain your best approach to tackle the entire problem, but without receiving the input or comments of others to help guide a conversation along.

How to Prepare for a Case Study Interview

As you might find these interviews to be difficult, intense and downright nerve-wracking , you can succeed in a case study interview through thoughtful preparation. Here are five tips to help you ace the interview:

1. Demonstrate Your Analytical, Reasoning and Communication Skills

While recapping key details of the business problem is important, the case study interview measures much more than your ability to recall the facts. It showcases how you think on your feet as you seek out information to determine your course of action.

While you might be comfortable sketching out a framework or a mathematical formula that helps you identify the way you wish to solve the problem, this interview format also tests your ability to explain the reasoning in a clear and believable manner to others.

To be successful in a case study interview, you must demonstrate the skill to process information quantitatively, as well as speak about your rationale and decisions convincingly.

2. Get Ready to Play an Active Role in the Discussion

Case study interviews require a high level of engagement. While other interviews might have you responding to questions with rehearsed answers, the case study interview presents a situation that is dynamic and unpredictable.

You’ll want to approach the session with an active disposition. This typically includes taking notes, documenting your observations and ideas, sketching out diagrams and charts, and asking follow-up questions throughout the interview .

3. Identify the Type of Problem Posed to You

Jobseekers may find that there are common themes that appear when covering the type of business problems found in case study interviews. Eight of the most common exercises explore these questions:

• Maths – eg: ‘How many more units do we need to sell to double the profit?’
• Market size – eg: ‘How big is the market size within the US for smart wearable devices?’
• Framework/Issue tree - eg: ‘Identify the factors you would consider in addressing the problem.’
• Data-chart insights – eg: ‘What story do the numbers tell about the operations of this business?’
• Value proposition – eg: ‘What factors do customers look for in choosing a mobile phone carrier?’
• Business valuation – eg: ‘Just how much is this company worth today, and would it change if acquired by our competitor?’
• Hypothesis – eg: ‘What are some possible reasons that explain this trend?’
• Brain teaser – eg: ‘How many tennis balls can you fit in an area that is twice the size of a football field?’

There is not a single approach that solves all business problems. By identifying the type of problem you’re encountering, you’ll be able to quickly determine the most appropriate method to apply.

For example, you might discover that a maths problem will rely on the knowledge of specific formulas and expressions, while a hypothesis question calls for a closer look at the root causes behind an issue.

4. Organise a Framework that Helps You Solve the Problem

Having a good framework to apply to a problem is the key to doing well in a case study interview. You want to show that you understand a business issue well enough to formulate recommendations or insights that address the problem. As there isn’t one right answer to such a problem, your interviewer will be interested to hear about the thought process you applied to arrive at your decisions.

The process may involve a range of problem-solving skills and methods, including the use of mathematical formulas, first-hand knowledge about an industry and decision-tree flowcharts that guide through questions you’ve applied to the issue.

It’s helpful to write down your framework and refer to it as needed. By having the steps outlined, you’ll be able to explain your recommendations in a clear and confident manner so that the rationale used in your analysis appears sound.

5. Practise, Practise, Practise!

Prepare for the case study interview by engaging in mock practice sessions before the big day. While it’s important to spend time putting together the methods you’ll use to analyse a business problem, enlisting the help of a friend or two familiar with this interview format is essential.

You’ll want to find case study examples online and share your selections with those helping you practise. Your friends should read the materials before the practice sessions and play the role of the interviewer.

By conducting a practice session as if it were the real thing, your friends will help you work through the awkwardness and spontaneity of the case study interview and develop the confidence to perform successfully.

By following these tips, you’ll be ready to show off your analytical, communication and problem-solving skills, all important to the case study interview. However, don’t limit your preparation only to the guidance given for this specific style; rather, you’ll want to make sure you continue the things that served you well for other interview formats, including making a good first impression and avoiding interview faux pas .

By combining those behaviours with the preparation, mindset and practice needed to solve business problems on your feet, you’ll put yourself in a great position to succeed at a case study interview.

Have you ever found yourself in a case study interview? What advice do you have to give? Let us know in the comments section below!

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• Knowledge Base
• Methodology
• Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on 5 May 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 30 January 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organisation, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating, and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyse the case.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

Unlike quantitative or experimental research, a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

If you find yourself aiming to simultaneously investigate and solve an issue, consider conducting action research . As its name suggests, action research conducts research and takes action at the same time, and is highly iterative and flexible. 

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience, or phenomenon.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews, observations, and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data .

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis, with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results , and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyse its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

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McCombes, S. (2023, January 30). Case Study | Definition, Examples & Methods. Scribbr. Retrieved 23 September 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/case-studies/

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Case Study Research Method in Psychology

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Case studies are in-depth investigations of a person, group, event, or community. Typically, data is gathered from various sources using several methods (e.g., observations & interviews).

The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case history, i.e., the patient’s personal history). In psychology, case studies are often confined to the study of a particular individual.

The information is mainly biographical and relates to events in the individual’s past (i.e., retrospective), as well as to significant events that are currently occurring in his or her everyday life.

The case study is not a research method, but researchers select methods of data collection and analysis that will generate material suitable for case studies.

Freud (1909a, 1909b) conducted very detailed investigations into the private lives of his patients in an attempt to both understand and help them overcome their illnesses.

This makes it clear that the case study is a method that should only be used by a psychologist, therapist, or psychiatrist, i.e., someone with a professional qualification.

There is an ethical issue of competence. Only someone qualified to diagnose and treat a person can conduct a formal case study relating to atypical (i.e., abnormal) behavior or atypical development.

 Famous Case Studies

• Anna O – One of the most famous case studies, documenting psychoanalyst Josef Breuer’s treatment of “Anna O” (real name Bertha Pappenheim) for hysteria in the late 1800s using early psychoanalytic theory.
• Little Hans – A child psychoanalysis case study published by Sigmund Freud in 1909 analyzing his five-year-old patient Herbert Graf’s house phobia as related to the Oedipus complex.
• Bruce/Brenda – Gender identity case of the boy (Bruce) whose botched circumcision led psychologist John Money to advise gender reassignment and raise him as a girl (Brenda) in the 1960s.
• Genie Wiley – Linguistics/psychological development case of the victim of extreme isolation abuse who was studied in 1970s California for effects of early language deprivation on acquiring speech later in life.
• Phineas Gage – One of the most famous neuropsychology case studies analyzes personality changes in railroad worker Phineas Gage after an 1848 brain injury involving a tamping iron piercing his skull.

Clinical Case Studies

• Studying the effectiveness of psychotherapy approaches with an individual patient
• Assessing and treating mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD
• Neuropsychological cases investigating brain injuries or disorders

Child Psychology Case Studies

• Studying psychological development from birth through adolescence
• Cases of learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD
• Effects of trauma, abuse, deprivation on development

Types of Case Studies

• Explanatory case studies : Used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. Helpful for doing qualitative analysis to explain presumed causal links.
• Exploratory case studies : Used to explore situations where an intervention being evaluated has no clear set of outcomes. It helps define questions and hypotheses for future research.
• Descriptive case studies : Describe an intervention or phenomenon and the real-life context in which it occurred. It is helpful for illustrating certain topics within an evaluation.
• Multiple-case studies : Used to explore differences between cases and replicate findings across cases. Helpful for comparing and contrasting specific cases.
• Intrinsic : Used to gain a better understanding of a particular case. Helpful for capturing the complexity of a single case.
• Collective : Used to explore a general phenomenon using multiple case studies. Helpful for jointly studying a group of cases in order to inquire into the phenomenon.

Where Do You Find Data for a Case Study?

There are several places to find data for a case study. The key is to gather data from multiple sources to get a complete picture of the case and corroborate facts or findings through triangulation of evidence. Most of this information is likely qualitative (i.e., verbal description rather than measurement), but the psychologist might also collect numerical data.

1. Primary sources

• Interviews – Interviewing key people related to the case to get their perspectives and insights. The interview is an extremely effective procedure for obtaining information about an individual, and it may be used to collect comments from the person’s friends, parents, employer, workmates, and others who have a good knowledge of the person, as well as to obtain facts from the person him or herself.
• Observations – Observing behaviors, interactions, processes, etc., related to the case as they unfold in real-time.
• Documents & Records – Reviewing private documents, diaries, public records, correspondence, meeting minutes, etc., relevant to the case.

2. Secondary sources

• News/Media – News coverage of events related to the case study.
• Academic articles – Journal articles, dissertations etc. that discuss the case.
• Government reports – Official data and records related to the case context.
• Books/films – Books, documentaries or films discussing the case.

3. Archival records

Searching historical archives, museum collections and databases to find relevant documents, visual/audio records related to the case history and context.

Public archives like newspapers, organizational records, photographic collections could all include potentially relevant pieces of information to shed light on attitudes, cultural perspectives, common practices and historical contexts related to psychology.

4. Organizational records

Organizational records offer the advantage of often having large datasets collected over time that can reveal or confirm psychological insights.

Of course, privacy and ethical concerns regarding confidential data must be navigated carefully.

However, with proper protocols, organizational records can provide invaluable context and empirical depth to qualitative case studies exploring the intersection of psychology and organizations.

• Organizational/industrial psychology research : Organizational records like employee surveys, turnover/retention data, policies, incident reports etc. may provide insight into topics like job satisfaction, workplace culture and dynamics, leadership issues, employee behaviors etc.
• Clinical psychology : Therapists/hospitals may grant access to anonymized medical records to study aspects like assessments, diagnoses, treatment plans etc. This could shed light on clinical practices.
• School psychology : Studies could utilize anonymized student records like test scores, grades, disciplinary issues, and counseling referrals to study child development, learning barriers, effectiveness of support programs, and more.

How do I Write a Case Study in Psychology?

Follow specified case study guidelines provided by a journal or your psychology tutor. General components of clinical case studies include: background, symptoms, assessments, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Interpreting the information means the researcher decides what to include or leave out. A good case study should always clarify which information is the factual description and which is an inference or the researcher’s opinion.

1. Introduction

• Provide background on the case context and why it is of interest, presenting background information like demographics, relevant history, and presenting problem.
• Compare briefly to similar published cases if applicable. Clearly state the focus/importance of the case.

2. Case Presentation

• Describe the presenting problem in detail, including symptoms, duration,and impact on daily life.
• Include client demographics like age and gender, information about social relationships, and mental health history.
• Describe all physical, emotional, and/or sensory symptoms reported by the client.
• Use patient quotes to describe the initial complaint verbatim. Follow with full-sentence summaries of relevant history details gathered, including key components that led to a working diagnosis.
• Summarize clinical exam results, namely orthopedic/neurological tests, imaging, lab tests, etc. Note actual results rather than subjective conclusions. Provide images if clearly reproducible/anonymized.
• Clearly state the working diagnosis or clinical impression before transitioning to management.

3. Management and Outcome

• Indicate the total duration of care and number of treatments given over what timeframe. Use specific names/descriptions for any therapies/interventions applied.
• Present the results of the intervention,including any quantitative or qualitative data collected.
• For outcomes, utilize visual analog scales for pain, medication usage logs, etc., if possible. Include patient self-reports of improvement/worsening of symptoms. Note the reason for discharge/end of care.

4. Discussion

• Analyze the case, exploring contributing factors, limitations of the study, and connections to existing research.
• Analyze the effectiveness of the intervention,considering factors like participant adherence, limitations of the study, and potential alternative explanations for the results.
• Identify any questions raised in the case analysis and relate insights to established theories and current research if applicable. Avoid definitive claims about physiological explanations.
• Offer clinical implications, and suggest future research directions.

5. Additional Items

• Thank specific assistants for writing support only. No patient acknowledgments.
• References should directly support any key claims or quotes included.
• Use tables/figures/images only if substantially informative. Include permissions and legends/explanatory notes.
• Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.
• Provides insight for further research.
• Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations.

Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a topic in far more detail than might be possible if they were trying to deal with a large number of research participants (nomothetic approach) with the aim of ‘averaging’.

Because of their in-depth, multi-sided approach, case studies often shed light on aspects of human thinking and behavior that would be unethical or impractical to study in other ways.

Research that only looks into the measurable aspects of human behavior is not likely to give us insights into the subjective dimension of experience, which is important to psychoanalytic and humanistic psychologists.

Case studies are often used in exploratory research. They can help us generate new ideas (that might be tested by other methods). They are an important way of illustrating theories and can help show how different aspects of a person’s life are related to each other.

The method is, therefore, important for psychologists who adopt a holistic point of view (i.e., humanistic psychologists ).

Limitations

• Lacking scientific rigor and providing little basis for generalization of results to the wider population.
• Researchers’ own subjective feelings may influence the case study (researcher bias).
• Difficult to replicate.
• Time-consuming and expensive.
• The volume of data, together with the time restrictions in place, impacted the depth of analysis that was possible within the available resources.

Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group, we can never be sure if the case study investigated is representative of the wider body of “similar” instances. This means the conclusions drawn from a particular case may not be transferable to other settings.

Because case studies are based on the analysis of qualitative (i.e., descriptive) data , a lot depends on the psychologist’s interpretation of the information she has acquired.

This means that there is a lot of scope for Anna O , and it could be that the subjective opinions of the psychologist intrude in the assessment of what the data means.

For example, Freud has been criticized for producing case studies in which the information was sometimes distorted to fit particular behavioral theories (e.g., Little Hans ).

This is also true of Money’s interpretation of the Bruce/Brenda case study (Diamond, 1997) when he ignored evidence that went against his theory.

Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1895).  Studies on hysteria . Standard Edition 2: London.

Curtiss, S. (1981). Genie: The case of a modern wild child .

Diamond, M., & Sigmundson, K. (1997). Sex Reassignment at Birth: Long-term Review and Clinical Implications. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , 151(3), 298-304

Freud, S. (1909a). Analysis of a phobia of a five year old boy. In The Pelican Freud Library (1977), Vol 8, Case Histories 1, pages 169-306

Freud, S. (1909b). Bemerkungen über einen Fall von Zwangsneurose (Der “Rattenmann”). Jb. psychoanal. psychopathol. Forsch ., I, p. 357-421; GW, VII, p. 379-463; Notes upon a case of obsessional neurosis, SE , 10: 151-318.

Harlow J. M. (1848). Passage of an iron rod through the head.  Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 39 , 389–393.

Harlow, J. M. (1868).  Recovery from the Passage of an Iron Bar through the Head .  Publications of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 2  (3), 327-347.

Money, J., & Ehrhardt, A. A. (1972).  Man & Woman, Boy & Girl : The Differentiation and Dimorphism of Gender Identity from Conception to Maturity. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Money, J., & Tucker, P. (1975). Sexual signatures: On being a man or a woman.

Further Information

• Case Study Approach
• Case Study Method
• Enhancing the Quality of Case Studies in Health Services Research
• “We do things together” A case study of “couplehood” in dementia
• Using mixed methods for evaluating an integrative approach to cancer care: a case study

What Is a Case Study?

What is a case study interview, how to prep for a case study interview, case study interview example questions, during the case study interview.

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Forage puts students first. Our blog articles are written independently by our editorial team. They have not been paid for or sponsored by our partners. See our full  editorial guidelines .

Table of Contents

A case study interview isn’t your average interview. While most interviews ask you to give examples of how you use your skills on the job, in a case study interview, you’ll use those skills in front of the interviewer to solve a real-life problem.

It’s like auditioning for the school play. But instead of showing you can sing and dance, you’re using a case interview to show how you provide innovative solutions to pressing business problems. Not sure how to get ready for this kind of interview? We’ve got you covered. This guide explains how to prep for a case study interview.

Case studies are used across a variety of industries — everything from business to medicine. They are an in-depth examination, analysis, and critique of a real-world scenario the company experienced. People discuss the situation and explore what they learned while forming new solutions to try when they face a similar situation in the future and hope to improve their performance.

For example, doctors and nurses use case studies to improve how they diagnose and treat patients. Using real patient information, the medical team analyzes the case to see what the team may have missed and why they missed it. Learning from these errors helps the team better prepare for similar cases in the future to improve patient care.

While many industries use case studies to iterate and improve their performance, not every company uses case study interviews. This type of interview is very common at consulting companies (no matter what kind of consulting it is). But it’s not unusual for companies outside of consulting to use case interviews for marketing or operations roles.

In a case study interview, you’re given a real-world situation the company has faced and are tasked with analyzing it and suggesting a course of action.

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Skills you’ll build: Prioritizing, planning, data analysis, error spotting, communication, strategic thinking

Businesses use case study interviews to assess your abilities in real-time. While you’ll probably draw on a variety of skills, most case study interviews assess:

• Strategic thinking
• Analytical skills
• Common sense

The advantage of a case study interview is that the interviewer can evaluate your ability in each of these areas and see how you’ll actually use them on the job.

What Is a Fit Interview?

Some people use “case study interview” and “fit interview” interchangeably. While a fit interview and a case study interview both ask behavioral interview questions , they are not the same thing.

A case study interview assesses your ability to do the job. It primarily evaluates how you approach business problems and use your skills to solve them. A fit interview is about company culture fit. The interviewer asks questions that assess how well you’ll fit into the company, like asking you questions about what motivates you or how you lead .

Fit and case interviews are important parts of the evaluation process. Getting the job done is just as critical as getting along with coworkers and supporting the company’s mission. Depending on where you interview, you may have one fit interview and one case study interview, or the fit interview may be a smaller part of the case study interview.

What You’ll Learn in a Case Study Interview

A case study interview allows the hiring manager to see your skills in action and how you approach business challenges. But it also teaches you a lot about the company (even if you’re doing most of the talking).

In a sense, you’re behaving as an employee during a case study interview. This gives you a peek behind the curtain, allowing you to see the company’s inner workings, like how they approach business problems and what they expect from you and your performance.

For example, you may offer a novel approach to solving a problem during a case interview. How does the interviewer react to it? Are they impressed? Surprised? Is there a scowl or frown on their face? Their reaction gives you insights into how the company will likely receive your solutions.

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Depending on the specific company, you may have the case study interview questions in advance, but you may not. Whether you do or don’t, here’s how to prepare for a case study interview.

Conduct Deep Research

Good interview prep for any interview means researching the company. That includes things like learning more about the company’s mission and the challenges the industry faces. But when you’re preparing for a case study interview, your research needs to go deeper. 

When you answer a case study question, your answer has to be specific to the company’s clients or business objectives. For example, if you’re interviewing for a role in strategy consulting , your answer shouldn’t focus on aspects of human resources consulting (unless it’s particularly relevant).

Your research needs to include the kinds of clients the company works with and what types of problems the company solves. For example, the company may only consult for Fortune 100 companies that need accounting advice. Keep these facts in mind as you prepare for the interview.

Case Study Interview Formats

There are four types of case study interview formats:

• Candidate-led: The interviewer asks you a specific question (or gives you a prompt), and you walk the interviewer through a detailed answer.
• Employer-led: The interviewer leads you through a series of specific (and predetermined) prompts and questions, no matter your answers.
• Presentation: You’re given a problem in advance to create and present a detailed case study.
• Video: Similar to a presentation case study interview, you’ll create a video presentation of the case study.

Most companies will tell you in advance which style of case study interview you should prepare for. But if they don’t, reach out to your recruiter or check the company’s website. Many include the essential details you need to prepare for the case study interview.

Seek Out Company-Specific Tips

Speaking of companies and their websites, not only do many companies that use case study interviews tell you the format, they often include helpful tips and tricks to help candidates prepare. This includes what to expect, what the company is looking for skill-wise, and what kinds of responses they want. They may even have a few practice questions and videos you can use to help you prep.

Unlike other common interview questions , it’s not as easy to prepare an answer to case study interview questions. Even though you know it’s a case study interview, you don’t necessarily know the specifics of the case or what problems you’ll be asked to solve.

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That said, it’s likely your case study interview questions will cover one or several of these concepts:

• Entering new markets
• Increasing profits
• Cutting costs
• Turnarounds
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Pricing strategy
• Developing new products
• Industry analysis
• Competitive response

While there are many ways to answer case study interview questions, a few basic prep tips can help you get ready for every question.

In addition to what you usually bring to a job interview , make sure you bring a notepad and pen or pencil to a case study interview. Taking notes will help you better understand the questions and formulate your answers. It also gives you a place to calculate numbers and figures if you need to. Not every case study interview allows calculators, so you’ll need to be ready to do your calculations manually.

Ask Specific Questions

As you’re working through the case study, you can and should ask any clarifying questions you need. The interviewer wants to hear specific, detailed answers that solve the problem. So, whenever you’re unclear, ask a follow-up question to not only get what you need but to give the interviewer what they need. 

That said, your question(s) should be very specific. You need to verify exactly what the interview is asking so you can create an appropriate answer. Say the interviewer gives you a broad question: The client’s revenue is falling. How do you help them increase it? You can follow up with a very specific question or two to make sure you understand what the interviewer is asking:

You’re asking how I would help the client raise revenue, correct? Are you also asking how I would help them increase their profit and cut costs?

>>Related: 5 Top Questions to Ask in an Interview (and Why You Should Ask Them)

Talk Them Through It

A big part of the case study interview is seeing you in action. However, in this case, “see” really means “how you think.” Since the interviewer can’t hear your inner monologue, you’ll need to practice thinking out loud.

While the interviewer wants to hear your solution, they also want to hear how you got there. That means talking through your entire thought process. Instead of saying, “I’d do X,” you have to explain how you arrived at your decision while you’re getting there.

Because not everyone thinks out loud, it may feel unnatural to you, and you likely won’t be expected to do it on the job. But it’s crucial to practice this skill — and it is a skill — because the interviewer is expecting you to do it in a case study interview.

Want to give a case study a shot? Try out a Forage consulting virtual simulation program and gain the skills you’ll need to ace a case study interview.

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Mastering Case Study Interviews: A Comprehensive Guide for Effective Hiring

Finding top talent is important for modern businesses aiming to survive and thrive in the competitive landscape. In this situation, case study interviews are one of the most effective tools organizations can use to assess potential candidates. The reason? This type of interview provides valuable insights into the problem solving abilities, practical knowledge and analytical skills of candidates.

If you also want to streamline your hiring process and ensure you only hire the best candidates, you must understand the meaning, importance, benefits and format of case study interviews. It is the best way to use this interviewing method to drive your business forward. Continue reading the blog to know everything about case study interviews! 

What is a case study interview ?

A case study job interview is a specific type of interview where the interviewer gives the candidate a business problem or scenario to analyze and solve. This interviewing method is specially designed to help recruiters evaluate the ability of candidates to solve complex issues and use their knowledge to deliver actionable solutions. 

Unlike regular interviews, case study interviews demand candidates to showcase their skills in real time problem solving. 

What is the significance of case study interviews?

Evaluation of analytical skills.

Since case studies in interviews require candidates to analyze data, identify key issues and derive insights, it helps employers evaluate the analytical capabilities of the candidate. In addition, it also allows employers to evaluate candidates based on their ability to make data-driven decisions. 

Assessment of problem solving skills

Case studies in interviews help evaluate how well candidates solve problems and tackle real world scenarios. Not only this, but these interviews show how candidates think and put their ideas into action. 

Communication skills 

Candidates need to present their findings and recommendations clearly during case study interviews. It is because these interviews test the candidate’s ability to communicate their ideas and thoughts effectively. 

Realistic job preview 

These interviews give candidates the chance to work through a case study and showcase their ability to handle practical tasks that are similar to those they would most likely face in the role that they are applying for. Simply put, these interviews mimic the real challenges that the candidate may face on the job. 

What are the benefits of conducting case study interviews?

Identification of high performers .

Candidates who do well in case studies in interviews show strong problem solving skills, strategic thinking and creativity. It helps organizations find people who are more likely to excel in challenging roles and business environments.

Better candidate evaluation

Case study interviews show how candidates handle real world problems and give employers a clear picture of their practical skills. This, in a way, allows employers to not only assess theoretical knowledge but practical skills also.

Insight into fit 

Case study interviews reveal how candidates solve problems and whether their approach aligns with the goals and values of the company. It helps assess if they are a good cultural and strategic fit. 

Consistency in evaluation

These interviews provide a consistent way to evaluate all candidates for the same role. This consistency makes the comparison process more objective by ensuring that each candidate is assessed fairly on the same criteria. 

What is the format of a case study interview?

• Introduction

A case study job interview typically starts with an introduction where the interviewer explains the context and objectives of the case study to the candidate. The introduction also includes some details and background of the company, the industry and the specific problem to solve or scenario to address.

Presentation of the case

Candidates receive the case study materials, which include written materials like data sets, market analysis reports and business scenarios. This presentation may be followed by preparation time to plan their approach.

Analysis and solution development 

Candidates are then asked to analyze the case, identify key issues, develop hypotheses and come up with solutions. They may be required to use various analytical tools and frameworks to propose solutions.

Presentation of findings 

After analyzing the case, candidates present their findings and recommendations to the interviewer. There is also a Q&A session where the interviewer asks about the solutions and evaluates the thought process of the candidate. 

Feedback and discussion

The interview ends with feedback and a discussion about the performance of the candidate. The interviewer may also discuss how the candidate’s approach aligns with the expectations and requirements of the company. 

In conclusion, it is safe to say that case study interviews serve as a powerful tool for companies as it helps them evaluate candidates’ problem solving skills and analytical abilities. These interviews provide a realistic preview of job challenges and allow companies to interview candidates through practical scenarios. It ultimately helps make better hiring decisions.

If you are still unsure about how case study interviews work or how to conduct one effectively, you can rely on  interview as a service  by Vprople . Our experienced and qualified interview experts are well-versed in managing and conducting case study interviews. Contact us today to learn more! 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1- How are case study interviews different from regular interviews?

Ans. Case study interviews focus more on practical problem-solving and analytical skills. On the other hand, regular interviews usually focus on theoretical knowledge and past experiences of the candidates. 

Q2- Are case study interviews targeted at specific seniority levels or industries?

Ans. Case study interviews are used for different job levels and industries like sales, marketing and program management. Such interviews are mainly conducted for roles where strong analytical and strategic thinking skills are a must-have. 

Q3- Are case study interviews prevalent globally?

Ans. Yes, case study interviews are widely used by employers globally, especially in consulting, management and finance roles to assess and evaluate practical problem-solving abilities. 

Q4- Is there any special setup required for conducting a case study interview?

Ans. Yes, a case study job interview requires the preparation of relevant scenarios and case study materials. Moreover, you need a quiet space with tools for presenting and discussing the solutions.

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Challenges in Receiving Care for Long COVID: A Qualitative Interview Study Among Primary Care Patients About Expectations and Experiences

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BACKGROUND For many patients with post–COVID-19 condition (long COVID), primary care is the first point of interaction with the health care system. In principle, primary care is well situated to manage long COVID. Beyond expressions of disempowerment, however, the patient’s perspective regarding the quality of long COVID care is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the expectations and experiences of primary care patients seeking treatment for long COVID.

METHODS A phenomenological approach guided this analysis. Using purposive sampling, we conducted semistructured interviews with English-speaking, adult primary care patients describing symptoms of long COVID. We deidentified and transcribed the recorded interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS This article reports results from 19 interviews (53% female, mean age = 54 years). Patients expected their primary care practitioners (PCPs) to be knowledgeable about long COVID, attentive to their individual condition, and to engage in collaborative processes for treatment. Patients described 2 areas of experiences. First, interactions with clinicians were perceived as positive when clinicians were honest and validating, and negative when patients felt dismissed or discouraged. Second, patients described challenges navigating the fragmented US health care system when coordinating care, treatment and testing, and payment.

CONCLUSION Primary care patients’ experiences seeking care for long COVID are incongruent with their expectations. Patients must overcome barriers at each level of the health care system and are frustrated by the constant challenges. PCPs and other health care professionals might increase congruence with expectations and experiences through listening, validating, and advocating for patients with long COVID.

Annals Early Access article

• primary care issues
• qualitative methods
• patient perspective

Post–COVID-19 conditions (PCC), or “long COVID,” is an imminent public health emergency. Long COVID has already contributed to an estimated 3,500 American deaths, resulted in around $200 billion in lost wages, and affected at least 16 million working-age adults. 1 , 2 These are conservative estimates, however, as the diagnosis of long COVID remains challenging. 3

Long COVID is defined as the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with symptoms lasting at least 2 months with no other explanation. 4 Generally, people with long COVID experience a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, smell and taste disorders, concentration or memory problems, and mental health conditions. 5 - 8 A meta-analysis found that 33% of individuals experienced fatigue, and 22% experienced cognitive impairment 3 months after COVID-19 infection. 9 Those and other symptoms are highly prevalent in non-hospitalized patients in primary care. 10

Currently, long COVID remains a diagnosis of exclusion; however, the heterogeneity of conditions makes long COVID difficult to identify and diagnose consistently. 11 , 12 Regarding treatment and management, interim guidance for health care professionals suggests holistic, patient-centered management approaches, including symptom monitoring, setting expectations, providing continuous follow-up, establishing partnerships with specialists, and connecting patients to social services. 11 , 13 - 16 Primary care provides this type of whole-patient care, and is well-situated to manage long COVID. 11 , 17 In primary care, however, the strong overlap of long COVID symptoms with common complaints makes the diagnosis even more challenging. 10 , 18

Beyond patients’ expressions of stigmatization and disempowerment, 19 less is known about the patient’s perspective and expectations for the quality of long COVID care overall. Previous qualitative research from outside the United States has suggested that patients struggle to obtain quality health care for long COVID, 20 - 23 but research in the United States is largely missing. 24 To improve the understanding of long COVID in the United States, this study aims to analyze the expectations and experiences of primary care patients seeking care for long COVID.

Study Design

We used the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). The study took place at University of Utah health clinics. Due to its exploratory nature, this study adopted a phenomenological framework for the semistructured interviews. 25 The University of Utah Institutional Review Board (IRB #139714) exempted this study from review.

Participant Selection

We purposively sampled adult, English-speaking primary care patients from a long COVID triage clinic at the University of Utah. Admission to the clinic requires a referral from a PCP. Nurses at the clinic identified patients who met the inclusion criteria and were interested in being interviewed. Participants received a study cover letter and discussed questions about the study with the interviewer as needed. Participation in the interview was considered consent to be included in the study. Participants did not receive compensation for their contribution.

Data Collection and Analysis

Interview guide.

A literature review identified gaps in knowledge surrounding patient experiences with care for long COVID. Based on the results, the interview guide ( Supplemental Appendix ) was developed iteratively. It was revised for clarity and content validity based on feedback from clinicians (B.K., K.L.S., J.P.L.) and a researcher with expertise in qualitative methods (D.J.O.). Data on race, ethnicity, gender, occupation, marital status, and infection year were self-reported during the interview.

Conducting Interviews

Mentored and trained by D.J.O., E.G. conducted 20 interviews between 2022 to 2023, in-person or over the telephone. Interviews lasted 20 to 30 minutes. Two participants had a partner present, especially when their symptoms were memory related. The interviews were audio recorded, deidentified, and transcribed verbatim. All data were safely stored on protected computers. One interview was accidentally deleted and was not transcribed. To address rigor, data saturation was reached around interview 15, but an additional 5 interviews were conducted to ensure the full representation of participants’ experiences. 26

Data Analysis

Three researchers (E.G., A.L., and D.J.O.) used inductive qualitative content analysis. 27 , 28 Researchers independently reviewed the data, identified themes, and discussed differences until a consensus was reached. We did not review findings with participants.

Participant Characteristics

We contacted 46 patients, and 20 participated in interviews (43% response rate). We analyzed 19 interviews. Participants averaged age 54 years, and 53% were female. Ninety-four percent of participants were White and 89% were non-Hispanic. Most participants were married (74%). Most participants were infected with COVID-19 for the first time in 2020 (32%) or 2021 (47%) ( Table 1 ).

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Cohort Description

Patient Expectations

Participants described 2 categories of expectations: those for their clinicians and those for treatment. Major themes included expectations for primary care practitioner (PCP) knowledge, engagement with treatment plans, and collaboration with a care team ( Table 2 ; Supplemental Table 1 ).

Expectations for PCPs

A major theme was the PCP’s knowledge regarding long COVID. Knowledge was demonstrated by answering questions, such as if long COVID is a short or long-term condition. At the same time, some patients recognized that long COVID research is in an early stage and expressed frustrated understanding when PCPs could not give immediate solutions. Patients expected their PCP to take the time to understand their conditions and circumstances, however, and be engaged in their treatment process, especially in the face of a complex condition.

“I expect her to follow up on things […] she made sure all the information was along with the referral […] and I just expect advocacy like that.” (I14:553-563)

Expectations for Treatment

Themes about treatment expectations for long COVID were centered around communication and engagement between members of the care team and the patient. Because of the multi-system effects of long COVID, many patients meet first with their PCP and then are referred to specialty care. During this process, patients expected their clinicians to collaborate with them on possible treatment options, such as complementary medicine (eg, supplements or vitamins) or community resources (eg, peer support). Additionally, patients expected collaboration and communication among the care team, including communication about medications for treatment.

“It’s hard when one doctor puts you on a med that causes you to be tired, and then the next doctor gives you a med to not make you tired … so, a little better communication, a little bit more, um, continuity between appointments and doctors.” (I12:282-289)

Interacting With Clinicians

Patients extensively described their experiences with PCPs and specialists. Major themes included positive experiences like honest and supportive clinicians and negative experiences like dismissal and discouragement ( Table 3 ; Supplemental Table 2 ).

Positive Experiences

Several patients described good quality of care, including their clinicians’ support, active listening, and honesty. In addition, patients with an established PCP relationship felt they received better care because their clinician knew them well. Both patients and clinicians were sometimes frustrated, however, with the need for more information about long COVID. Patients appreciated when the PCP was upfront and honest about their frustration. Some patients viewed the referral to the long COVID specialty clinic as an example of support.

“[The clinician] was a little frustrated because he didn’t have the answers. And that’s obvious. And he was very upfront and honest with me, and that’s why he referred me to the clinic.” (I6:236-239)

Negative Experiences

More frequently, however, patients reported challenges when interacting with clinicians, including specialists. Those ranged from dismissal and discouragement to sometimes questionable treatment decisions. For example, feelings of dismissal often surfaced when clinicians were unwilling to acknowledge the existence or severity of long COVID. Instead of offering validation, patients were told “This is just COVID” (I11:496-499) or “This is all in your head. You are fine” (I19:396-402). Particularly among specialists, it seemed to be challenging to acknowledge long COVID symptoms when diagnostics do not show noticeable results.

“Where I felt more frustrated is where other doctors, like lung specialists or physical therapists […] say, ‘there’s nothing wrong with you. Your organs are fine. Your lungs are fine. There’s nothing more we can do for you.’” (I19:396-402)

Other clinicians acknowledged the symptoms but were discouraging in other ways. For example, they told the patient that they would not recover, that they had to live with it, or linked the long COVID symptoms to other patient characteristics, like being overweight. In the quote below, the clinician exclusively recommends weight loss to manage the patient’s long COVID symptoms.

“I have had everything from, you know, ‘this is as good as you’re gonna be so just live with it.’ I have had the ‘you need to lose weight. That’s the only thing that’s wrong with you.’” (I12:211-224)

In another example, the clinician prescribed an antidepressant after the diagnostic came back without results, and the patient insisted that they still felt terrible. This inappropriate treatment prompted a clinician change.

“They [PCP] took a chest X-ray, said, ‘We don’t see anything.’ They said, you know, ‘try to get some rest. Come back in a week.’ Still felt terrible in a week, went back and saw them. And they said, ‘oh, well, we think you just have had a lot of life changes … here’s some Lexapro’ … and that did not help.” (I9:477-481)

Navigating the Health Care System

The most extensive group of themes related to patient experiences navigating the health system, including challenges regarding access and coordination, diagnosis and treatment, and the cost of care ( Table 4 ; Supplemental Table 3 ).

Access and Coordination

Challenges with access to care were common themes, both within primary care and with specialists. Patients frequently struggled to access services in time and even occasionally had to go to the emergency department, especially for long COVID symptoms that were not perceived as urgent (eg, memory problems, concentration problems, fatigue) by health care clinicians. For example, a patient felt that they could not access care because their memory problems were not severe enough compared with shortness of breath, even when the patient experienced this situation as a nightmare.

“I get the runaround. […] Do people not realize, like, literally my livelihood depends on me knowing what the hell is going on, and I can’t remember. […] it’s a nightmare. If you don’t have like, breathing problems, they’re just like, ‘oh well.’” (I14:489-500)

With referrals to specialists, patients faced challenges when coordinating care between PCPs and specialists. Participants described follow-up on referrals as difficult. In one case, a participant was trying to coordinate referral to 2 specialists with their PCP and described the experience as burdensome.

“We’re … on MyChart with the nurse from his primary care doctor … they’re questioning, ‘Why do you wanna see a gastroenterologist? Why do you wanna see a neurologist? The doctor has to know before he can refer you.’ … it’s a lot of work.” (I2:427-439)

Diagnosis and Treatment

Participants frequently described barriers to testing and treatment. Almost all patients referred to specialists for diagnosis and treatment experienced long lag times and rescheduled appointments. For example, a patient with difficulty sleeping waited 9 months for a sleep study and another several months before obtaining the needed equipment. Another patient with difficulty sleeping could not undergo sleep apnea testing for a year after seeking care.

“They set it for January. So, it will be a year since I got COVID to actually get that test.” (I1:323-334)

In addition, some patients felt their clinicians were not supportive of non-clinical treatment options (eg, exercise, supplements, or dietary changes), and, overall, treatment options in general.

“The doctor kind of gave a quote/unquote thing… I will—let me just tell you right now, I will not have any magic pills, I will not have any magic potions, and will not be recommending supplements or anything.” (I2:244-252)

Cost of Care

Many patients also question the value of pursuing treatment. Some patients described health care costs amounting to thousands of dollars, and said they no longer have the money to continue pursuing treatment.

“Very recently, I ended up with a bill for like almost 1,400 bucks. That’s my part to pay, right. And before I was paying, you know, 100 here, 200 there, it was like little stuff. […] I’m like, who knows, almost 3,000 in the hole for nothing. […] so, I don’t have the money to do this anymore.” (I10:364-400)

A few patients described the costs they incurred after they could not access primary care services, chose to present in the emergency department instead, and received large bills. In addition, navigating insurance claims for these visits is often a challenge. Several patients described delayed care because of a lack of communication between clinicians and insurance companies. One patient described how their insurance company contacted them for more explanation on what their clinician authorized. They could not explain, however, resulting in delayed care.

This study aimed to capture patients’ expectations and experiences navigating health care with long COVID. Patients expect collaboration across the health care system, interdisciplinary knowledge sharing, strong communication between health care professionals, and, in particular, a strong patient-centered approach, focusing on their situation and needs. Unfortunately, their experiences were largely incongruent with their expectations.

Patients described seeking care for long COVID as an arduous task. Patients must find clinicians who are knowledgeable about long COVID and are not dismissive of their symptoms, endure long wait times for treatment and testing, and have enough time, money, and patience to wade through complex systems of referral and authorization. As a result, patients with long COVID perceived having engaged in extremely challenging yet unrewarding tasks of appointments, waiting, and testing, for little or no relief. While many systemic barriers are largely out of clinicians’ control, validation and continuous support from PCPs, alongside coordinated care and communication among the care team, might improve care quality for patients with long COVID.

Patient expectations for general primary care (ie, disease and treatment knowledge, rapport, emotional support) are similar to those for long COVID care. 29 In this study and others, patients expect multidisciplinary, holistic services, continuity of care, and clear clinical responsibility. 20 , 24 A novel finding is that patients are motivated to be involved in the collaborative process of knowledge generation and sharing with their PCPs and multidisciplinary care teams to promote long COVID treatment. Further, patient’s experiences did not always align with expectations. Although similar experiences of dismissal or disempowerment from providers are reported in other qualitative and mixed methods studies, the perspective of US primary care patients is not well represented. 21 , 30 This analysis contributes necessary context to the evidence regarding patient experiences with long COVID care in the fragmented US system.

Additionally, other studies have reported the frustration of long COVID patients with standard care approaches and often found accessing care expensive, complex, and exhausting. 21 , 22 , 24 Comparisons between long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), another poorly understood chronic illness with a similar need for improved diagnosis and management techniques, have been made. 31

The Institute of Medicine and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ARHQ) have defined 6 domains for health care quality in the United States: safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. 32 This study revealed significant challenges in accessing patient-centered, timely, and efficient health care. An important reason for this situation is the highly fragmented, multi-payer health care system in the United States. Complex conditions like long COVID or other multimorbid chronic diseases depend on collaboration within and between primary care and other levels of care, like emergency and specialist care. Instead, complex conditions frequently expose the weak points of a health care system focused on single diseases and clearly defined procedures.

Strengths and Limitations

This study is one of the first qualitative analyses sampling exclusively primary care patients in the United States. Another strength is that these participants were recruited from a long COVID triage clinic rather than social media sampling. 5 , 20 , 30 , 33 , 34 The population of the long COVID clinic likely includes the most severely affected patients. Responder bias may influence these results, as individuals recruited from this clinic might be more willing to participate in research. The patients interviewed for this study were mainly from a White, non-Hispanic population, and female. Recruiting from the general population could increase understanding of experiences related to gender, race, or disease severity. Asking patients to provide input on the interview guide could improve patient perspectives in future studies. Finally, we did not explore the differences between patients referred to the clinic from clinicians internal to the University health system compared with external clinicians.

Primary care patient’s experiences seeking care for long COVID are often incongruent with their expectations. Patients must overcome barriers at each level of the US health care system, from PCP to insurance company, and are frustrated by the constant challenges. Despite the emergence of interim guidelines for PCPs on the management and treatment of long COVID, patients are largely unsatisfied with their care. PCPs and other health care professionals might increase congruence with expectations and experiences through listening, validating, and advocating for patients with long COVID.

• Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants in this study for taking the time and energy to be vulnerable with a stranger and speak about their experiences. It was a great honor to share in your stories. We also would like to thank all the nurses and schedulers at the University of Utah long COVID clinic for helping us recruit patients.

Conflicts of interest: authors report none.

Read or post commentaries in response to this article .

Author contributions: All authors made substantial contributions to the design, execution, analysis, and review process for this work. E.G. conducted interviews, analyzed interviews, and wrote the manuscript. A.L. supported the interview analysis and provided feedback on the manuscript. D.J.O., K.L.S., J.P.L., and B.K. designed the study and data collection tools, and provided feedback on the manuscript, as well as offered expertise in primary care. J.B. supported patient recruitment at the long covid clinic and provided expertise and feedback for the manuscript. There was no funding, sponsors, or conflicts of interest for this work.

Data availability: The data sets generated and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Complete interviews are not publicly available to protect the participants’ privacy.

Supplemental materials

• Received for publication November 22, 2023.
• Revision received May 3, 2024.
• Accepted for publication May 7, 2024.
• © 2024 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Stakeholders’ perspectives on capturing societal cost savings from a quality improvement initiative: A qualitative study

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Department of IQ Health, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Roles Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Operating Rooms, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Roles Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

• Daniëlle Kroon, 
• Simone A. van Dulmen, 
• Niek W. Stadhouders, 
• Jonas Rosenstok, 
• Baukje van den Heuvel, 
• Gert P. Westert, 
• Rudolf B. Kool, 
• Patrick P. T. Jeurissen

• Published: September 23, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Besides improving the quality of care, quality improvement initiatives often also intend to produce cost savings. An example is prehabilitation, which can reduce complication rates and the length of stay in the hospital. However, the process from utilization reductions to actual societal cost savings remains uncertain in practice. Our aim was to identify barriers and facilitators throughout this process. We used the implementation of prehabilitation in a Dutch hospital as a test case.

We held 20 semi-structured interviews between June and November 2023. Eighteen stakeholders were affiliated with the hospital and two with different health insurers. Nine interviews were held face-to-face and 11 via Microsoft Teams. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The first transcripts were inductively coded by two authors, the subsequent transcripts by one and checked by another. Differences were resolved through discussion.

We identified 20 barriers and 23 facilitators across four stages: reducing capacity, reducing departmental expenses, reducing hospital expenses and reducing insurer expenses. All participants expected that the excess capacity will be used for other priorities. This was perceived as highly valuable and as an efficiency gain. Other barriers to capture savings included the fear of losing resilience, flexibility, status and revenue. Misalignment between service contracts among hospitals and insurers can hinder the ability to financially incentivize cost reductions. Additionally, some contract types can hinder the transfer of hospital savings to insurers. Identified facilitators included shared savings agreements, an explicit strategy targeting all stages, and labor shortage, among others.

This study systematically describes barriers and facilitators that prevent translating quality improvement initiatives into societal cost savings. Stakeholders expect that any saved capacity will be used for other priorities, including providing care due to the increasing demand. Capturing any cash savings does not occur automatically, emphasizing the need for a strategy targeting all stages.

Citation: Kroon D, van Dulmen SA, Stadhouders NW, Rosenstok J, van den Heuvel B, Westert GP, et al. (2024) Stakeholders’ perspectives on capturing societal cost savings from a quality improvement initiative: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE 19(9): e0310799. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799

Editor: Cigdem Kadaifci, Istanbul Technical University: Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, TÜRKIYE

Received: March 5, 2024; Accepted: September 8, 2024; Published: September 23, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Kroon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: Data cannot be shared publicly because the participants did not provide consent to share the transcripts to persons other than the researchers. In addition, the transcripts contain business-sensitive information and even anonymized raw data can be compromising. Data are available from the IQ health science department of the Radboudumc (contact via [email protected] ) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data.

Funding: The study was funded by The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (grant number 331032). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: We would like to declare that two authors, Jonas Rosenstok and Baukje van den Heuvel, are prehabilitation program managers and they both participated as interviewee. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Introduction

Health expenditure growth is expected to outpace gross domestic product (GDP) growth in most member countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) during this decade [ 1 ]. Policymakers and healthcare organizations are seeking effective methods to bend the cost curve while preserving or even improving the quality of care [ 2 ]. Although for the majority of the quality improvement initiatives the primary aim is enhancing quality of care, occasionally substantial cost-savings are estimated [ 3 – 7 ]. For example, discontinuing five low-value general surgery services in the United Kingdom could lead to an annual cost reduction of €150 million [ 8 ].

However, the translation of such theoretical savings of quality improvement initiatives into actual societal cash savings is complex and often not achieved [ 9 ]. This is challenging due to various reasons. For example, estimates of cost savings based on reimbursement prices overestimate true savings, because only variable costs, such as costs of disposable equipment and drugs, can be saved in short-term [ 10 , 11 ]. One study found that these costs only cover 16% of total expenses in hospitals [ 12 ]. The majority of expenses, such as salary costs, purchasing costs of reusable medical devices and organizational overhead, are not directly saved when the volume of healthcare services is reduced. Moreover, since claims data do typically consist of cross-subsidies, the actual total costs may be either higher or lower than the official rates. Besides, the relation between external funding structures and internal allocation of resources is blurred [ 13 ].

While improving quality of care may free up hospital capacity through shorter hospital stays and reduction of diagnostic tests and procedures, the capacity may be refilled with new treatments. Due to existing incentives in many healthcare systems, such substitution with other care occurs automatically [ 9 , 14 – 16 ]. A way to achieve cash savings is to actively discourage care substitution. This requires an investment of time and resources [ 17 ]. Excess capacity should be gradually reduced until it reaches a threshold for downsizing, i.e. capacity reductions must be sufficiently large to scale down one single nursing shift, medical specialist, ward, etc.

Because marginal revenues typically exceed marginal costs by far, in fee-for-service type payment systems, scaling down costs is unlikely to be sufficient to cover for losses in hospital revenues. Under a fixed budget revenues are protected but cost savings that are not passed through to payers may shoulder organizational slack and not be returned to society, for example by reductions in taxes or insurance premiums. Moreover, since healthcare costs naturally increase due to demographic changes, new technologies and other structural drivers, it is difficult to establish the accurate benchmark. Cost savings can generally be interpreted as a lower hospital growth rate rather than actual reductions in hospital costs. However, it is challenging deciding upon the appropriate benchmark to measure cost savings in terms of expected growth, historical growth or comparator hospitals [ 18 ].

These problems may be solved by a well-designed process flanked by adequate incentives. However, little empirical evidence is available regarding the process to transform quality improvement programs into societal cost savings [ 2 ]. Our aim was to contribute to this gap by identifying the barriers and facilitators within the process. We used the implementation of prehabilitation in a university hospital in the Netherlands as a test case. Prehabilitation is a pre-operative multimodal lifestyle improvement program for patients undergoing major surgery. Research has shown that prehabilitation could reduce the number of surgical complications, reoperations and the average length of stay [ 19 – 21 ]. Moreover, a recent systematic review of economic evaluations revealed evidence that prehabilitation can be cost-effective compared to usual care [ 22 ]. However, these evaluations lack a comprehensive perspective on the costs and savings [ 22 ].

Study design and scope

In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders of prehabilitation in an academic hospital in the Netherlands. Converting freed hospital capacity into societal cost savings is a multi-step process. Our objective was to identify barriers and facilitators associated with these steps. We considered reduced health insurers’ costs as the main mechanism to obtain societal savings, given the non-profit structure and public financing of health insurers in the Netherlands [ 16 ]. In June 2023, the local medical ethics review committee of the Radboud University Medical Center waived the review of this study as the Medical Research involving Human Subjects Act did not apply (file number: 2023–16520). The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) were followed and the completed checklist can be found as S1 File [ 23 ].

The test case

Prehabilitation is an important and well-known quality improvement initiative in the hospital. It was gradually implemented between 2021 and 2023 for all high-impact surgery care pathways in seven departments. The intervention consisted of an exercise program, dietetic consultation, psychological support, and smoking cessation support. Prehabilitation has shown positive results on the number of surgical complications, reoperations and the average length of stay [ 19 – 21 ]. Its effectiveness is currently investigated in large scale studies. The hospital financed the implementation and prefinanced the intervention costs. The hospital agreed on a shared-savings agreement with health insurers, anticipating that after about five years after implementation the financial value of the freed capacity would compensate the investment of both health insurers and the hospital.

In the Netherlands, hospitals compete for contracts with insurers [ 24 ]. While there are ten health insurers in 2024, the four dominant insurers collectively hold approximately 90% of the market share, with variations in market shares across regions [ 25 ]. The majority of the hospitals are reimbursed through a hospital DRG-like (Diagnosis Related Group) system called DBCs (Diagnose-Behandel-Combinatie, or Diagnosis Treatment Combination) [ 24 ]. Many insurers institute a global budgetary limit, either as lump-sum global budget or claims cost ceiling [ 26 ]. In the concerning hospital, the vast majority of the medical staff and employees are salaried on a fixed working hours contract.

Recruitment and sampling strategy

The stakeholders were recruited via purposive sampling based on experience, current position and department, and affinity with prehabilitation. While using expert sampling, we aimed to include experienced stakeholders from all relevant clinical and facilitating departments, as well as health insurers. We considered hospital managers to be experts, therefore we invited all hospital managers of the involved clinical departments: surgery, intensive care units and operation rooms. Of the facilitating departments (hospital sales, care administration, business administration), we invited employees who were consulted for the internal prehabilitation business case. We invited two persons working for different insurers. Both were involved in the implementation of prehabilitation. After each interview, the participants were asked to suggest stakeholders they deemed relevant for this study. The suggested persons were also invited. All stakeholders were invited per e-mail to participate in a semi-structured interview between the 13th of June 2023 and the 2nd of November 2023. A reminder was sent in case of no response after three to four weeks.

Data collection

The interviews took place between July 4 th and November 22 nd 2023. All participants provided verbal informed consent prior to the start of the interview, which was also recorded. Fifteen interviews were conducted by two female researchers DK (MD and MSc) and SvD (PhD), four interviews solo by DK, and one by DK and PJ (male, PhD). All interviewers have experience with qualitative research methods and were not previously involved in the prehabilitation program. The participants knew about their backgrounds and were aware of the study design and objectives. There was no prior relationship between the interviewers and the participants, other than that most participants worked for the same hospital as the interviewers.

The topic guide can be found as S2 File . DK preformed an unstructured literature search to identify possible steps in the process of capturing societal savings and potential barriers and facilitators. DK, NS, SvD and PJ discussed the literature, and shared knowledge and experiences. During iterative meetings, Dk, NS, SvD and PJ identified four stages in the process of capturing societal savings: 1. Reducing capacity, 2. Reducing departmental expenses, 3. Reducing hospital expenses, 4. Reducing insurer costs. These stages were extracted from literature and represent a possible pathway towards societal cost savings [ 3 , 9 – 11 , 13 , 27 ]. DK drafted a interview guide based on the topics discussed during the meetings. The interview guide was reviewed by five team members (SvD, NS, TK, GW and PJ) and adapted based on their feedback. The topic guide was pilot tested with two prehabilitation program managers and a few questions were added to the topic guide. The two pilot interviews were also included in the analysis. The topic guide was slightly adapted for each stakeholder to fit the stakeholders’ experience and expertise. Additionally, after each interview, the topic guide was evaluated and extended when the interviewees mentioned new perspectives.

The interviews were preferably held during a face-to-face meeting. If that was inconvenient, the interviews were conducted via a video call using Microsoft Teams. Only the interviewers and participants were present during the interviews. Field notes were made during the interviews to direct further questions. Data saturation was defined as the point in coding when no new barriers or facilitators were identified in two subsequent transcripts. No new interviews were conducted after data saturation was reached. No repeat interviews were carried out and the transcripts were not returned for correction to the participants.

Data analysis

The interviews were audio-recorded during face-to-face meetings and video-recorded during video-calls. The recordings were transcribed ad verbatim and the transcripts were analysed in ATLAS.ti. Two authors (DK and SvD) performed a inductive content analysis using the constant comparative method. DK and SvD independently coded the first transcripts. Open coding was used to label barriers and facilitators. If participants mentioned that the presence of an influencing factor hindered the process, it was labelled as a barrier. If the presence would facilitate the process, it was labelled as a facilitator. The barriers and facilitators were categorized into the four stages: reducing capacity, reducing departmental spending, reducing hospital expenses, reducing insurer expenses. During the coding, it came apparent that the first stage consisted of multiple steps. DK and SvD inductively created substages to emphasize these required steps. This was discussed during multiple meetings. Agreement on the coding was reached after five transcripts and the other transcripts were coded by one author (DK) and checked by another (SvD). Differences were resolved in consensus meetings with DK and SvD. The results were discussed during a meetings with NS and PJ.

We interviewed 20 stakeholders, 10 male and 10 female, of which the functions can be found in Table 1 . Three invited professionals did not participate: one surgeon did not reply, one surgeon rejected due to lack of affinity with the subject, and one hospital sales manager rejected due to lack of time. Nine interviews were held face-to-face, and 11 interviews via Microsoft Teams. The duration of the interviews ranged from 27 to 62 minutes.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799.t001

From 20 interviews, we identified 20 barriers and 23 facilitators across the four stages: reducing capacity, reducing department spending, reducing hospital spending, reducing insurer spending. These can be found in Table 2 . Each stage of the process was considered a prerequisite for advancing to the subsequent stage, all aimed at achieving societal cost savings by reducing insurer expenses. The first stage, reducing capacity, has three subcategories: creating excess capacity, preventing substitution with other care, and downsizing.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799.t002

Stage 1. Reducing capacity

Creating excess capacity..

The starting assumption is that a decrease in length of stay reduces the required hospital capacity. Some interviewees agreed with this, while others have questioned whether the nurses’ workload decreases proportionally. In particular in the ICU, the first admission day has a higher workload than the following days. Reducing the length of stay may therefore have less impact on the capacity than preventing the admission. In addition, tasks like training patients to self-care and lifestyle adjustments, still needs to be performed before the hospital discharge. Consequently, the perceived excess capacity may be lower than presumed. On the other hand, excess capacity can be enlarged by implementing multiple initiatives that reduce length of stay.

Preventing substitution with other care.

To reduce the created excess capacity, it is essential that any reductions in care are not filled with other care. However, most participants expect that the excess capacity will be used for other patients. It is frequently mentioned that the demand of care currently exceeds the available supply, and it is expected that the demand will further increase in the future. The interviewees emphasized that some specialized healthcare professionals are scarce and should therefore be deployed most efficiently. They considered the opportunity to provide more care with the same resources highly valuable.

Quote: ‘You have a whole operating room complex with all kinds of people ready to do various things. It is wasteful, also a societal waste, not to deploy those people effectively. So, you should let them operate as efficiently as possible. As long as there is demand, as long as there are waiting lists. But that should not be the basis of treatment decisions. It is more like: if people are already on the waiting list, then you want to help as many as possible.’ Participant 13, hospital sales manager

Interviewees expect additional supplier-induced demand as a consequence of available excess capacity. For example, indications for treatment may expand when capacity becomes available. Additionally, the presence of excess capacity reduces the pressure to discharge patients, which may lead to prolonged length of stay of other admitted patients. Participants perceive financial and non-financial incentives to provide care. For example, specialists need to reach target volumes to preserve their competence. On the other hand, providing less care is discouraged, because one may lose opportunities for research, their status, their patients, and departments may need to downsize their capacity. Furthermore, not using full capacity may conflict with other process indicators on which the departments are assessed, such as warm-bed time.

Quote: ‘If [the board] would say: "The ICU is now five million short, and we must reduce staff or whatever", that would be the most foolish thing there is. And then I am going to admit patients to the ICU, who do not belong there, for 3,500 euros. I can earn my money if I want to. I can earn it easily. What all ICUs are doing now is admitting their Medium Care patients to the ICU and billing them as ICU beds. That is what is happening in the Netherlands now.’ Participant 4, medical doctor

The stakeholders also mentioned facilitators. Some participants deemed it possible to prevent substitution with active management and a top-down approach. Furthermore, the drive to provide appropriate care and prevent inappropriate care could counter supplier-induced demand. For example, patients do not always benefit from additional care, especially in the case of ICU treatment. Moreover, the demand for intensive care is decreasing, further reducing substitution possibilities. Lastly, increasing care provision may not be profitable for the hospital if the insurer instated a budgetary cap.

Downsizing hospital capacity.

To render cost savings, the hospital should minimize its expenses. A viable approach involves downsizing the departmental excess capacity. Participants have expressed negative associations with downsizing in general, and they offered barriers specifically for downsizing excess capacity.

The interviewees expressed an aversion towards downsizing in general. Downsizing is a sensitive matter, and the culture within an organisation and the behaviour of individuals can hinder the process. There are negative perceptions of downsizing, such as it being the start of a slippery slope. Participants stated that once you shrink, you will not be able to retrieve the capacity in the future. Downsizing is also associated with the risk of losing expertise, status, the market position of the departments and the hospital. Moreover, participants fear losing flexibility in providing care, and consequently foresee increasing problems with the planning and coordination.

Q uote: ’I would absolutely not be in favor of reducing eighteen beds by two or four. Soon, you will have nothing left, and I see it happening now at [department]. In the past, I had ten, twelve beds, and we could provide excellent service to the region. I have now been reduced to six. It is a disaster; it is a disaster to schedule your surgeries, and you have no flexibility anymore. But you are also nothing. You become almost a joke in the region. We need to create a [specialty] network now and we are bringing a six-bed facility. Honestly, I am ashamed.’ Participant 3, hospital manager

Participants also mentioned barriers for reducing the excess capacity. First, the presence of excess capacity does not automatically mean that it can be reduced. A reduction in capacity typically requires reaching a certain threshold. Moreover, the downsizing potential is limited by factors such as the requirement of minimal staffing and the need for resilience in case of outbreaks or disasters. Moreover, various participants stated that the departments are already at a minimal capacity. In their perception, they cannot shrink any further, for example because of the need to meet volume norms and retain income. Not meeting these will have negative consequences for departments, such as a loss of revenue. Additionally, tertiary medical centres have certain responsibilities, such as unlimited accessibility for patients in need of tertiary care. If they fail, they risk losing their credibility. Moreover, some participants believe that excess capacity should not be downsized, but the available time should be invested in quality enhancing tasks, such as innovating and teaching. And last, according to participants, the hospital board and the government currently do not make the necessary decisions in reallocating resources and do not steer towards downsizing.

Downsizing is facilitated by improved collaboration within the organization and within the region. This could for example reduce the minimal required staffing. Additionally, a top-down downsizing strategy, endorsed by healthcare professionals, could facilitate the process. This could involve for example establishing explicit agreements and incorporating follow-up mechanisms and data. Furthermore, there is an increasing shortage of nurses and operation room employees. If resigned staff cannot be replaced due to these shortages, downsizing is inevitable. Last, it is suggested that lump-sum payment agreements could overcome the barrier of risking loss of revenue.

Stage 2. Reducing departmental expenses.

Some participants stated that providing less care does not naturally lead to lower departmental expenditures. The costs saved directly are the variable costs, i.e., material costs. Some interviewees estimated that such costs are only a small percentage of the total departmental costs. The semi-variable costs, e.g., personnel costs, can eventually be reduced, but require reaching a substantial reduction in care. The participants mentioned that this may be difficult due to the small patient numbers in their hospital. In addition, it takes time before expenses can be lowered. The interviewees expect that healthcare professionals will substitute freed-up time with other valuable tasks before the threshold to permanently close a single bed is reached. Such substitution could reduce the perceived quantity of excess capacity. Furthermore, the interviewees mentioned the department’s fixed costs, which cannot be reduced easily. As previously mentioned, departments require minimal staffing, for example to cover all shifts and to ensure quality and safety during the shifts. A participant estimated that the fixed costs alone already exceed 50% of total costs. In addition, clinical departments finance supporting departments, such as the operating rooms and the radiology department. Departments can reduce the number of required services, but this does not substantially reduce the expenses of the supporting departments. To avoid a negative balance, either the fees per services must increase or the free capacity must be used for providing other care. Some participants do not expect that departments will voluntarily reduce expenses. Therefore, a top-down approach may be necessary.

Quote: ‘If you really want to cut costs, then, of course, you have to do fewer things on a large volume. That is always the pain point in an academic medical center […]. And for us, because we have small volumes, does it mean I have to remove a nurse’s arm or a leg? Well, that often just does not work.’ Participant 12, hospital board member

A few participants also pointed out that healthcare is a complex system, and that a change in one place can also have consequences somewhere else. For example, reducing spending on staffing can result in less flexibility in care delivery, and it can subsequently induce workload and extra costs for the coordination of care. Lastly, departments and healthcare professionals lack awareness about existing agreements with insurers, limiting the impact of these agreements.

Quote: ‘What I often see is that various initiatives are penny-wise and pound-foolish. So, we save fifteen cents with a specific procurement action, but then we do not realize that suddenly we have additional costs because we have added another provider with whom contracts are made, so someone else incurs those extra costs. […] But also, for example, those five nurses that had been cut back […], you can present that as a significant saving. I am afraid that it has also resulted in us not achieving the revenues because we simply could not accommodate the patients.’ Participant 7, hospital administrator

There are also facilitators to lower departmental expenditures. The hospital board commits to achieve cost-savings with the implementation of prehabilitation, making the deployment of a cost-cutting strategy more likely. Moreover, reducing costs can be rewarded by shared-savings agreements that return part of the savings to the department. To stimulate capacity reductions, excess capacity in the ward and in the operating rooms can be adopted by other specialties. For example, IC nurses can work on the emergency department or the coronary care unit (CCU). In addition, workforce reductions could be achieved by phasing out through natural outflow due to a high turnover of nurses, rather than resorting to terminations. Furthermore, there is currently a shortage of nurses, causing understaffing. Apart from the potential negative consequences, this could also reduce departmental expenses. Another driver to reduce departmental spending is the trust that savings are purposefully spent. A participant stated that the value for money may increase when financial resources are reallocated towards other sectors, for example elderly care. Excessive spending on a few patients could be perceived as incompatible with budgetary constraints elsewhere. If the stakeholders trust that savings would be spent wisely, it could enhance their motivation to reduce costs.

Stage 3. Reducing hospital expenses.

Reducing departmental expenses does not necessarily reduce the total hospital costs. For example, when excess capacity is absorbed by other departments, e.g., when a nurse works in a different department, the total hospital spending remains unchanged. Participants stated that a multi-year plan is needed to effectuate the cost-savings. Another participant mentioned that the hospital board often does not specifically enforce case-based cost savings, while that is perceived as necessary.

Quote: ‘We chose to implement prehabilitation. That simply means that you have excess capacity in other areas. So, in those areas, you also need to achieve your savings. And if not, if you are not willing to do that, then you also need to have the courage to say: we do not want this and we stop offering prehabilitation. That is also an option’ Participant 9, strategy consultant

Dutch hospitals negotiate with multiple health insurers, resulting in various budgetary agreements. A participant mentioned that misalignment of incentives for downsizing and cost-cutting may consequently occur. For example, one agreement may consist of a lump-sum payment, securing the hospital’s income while reducing excess capacity, while a cost ceiling agreement with a different insurer could reduce hospital income when excess capacity is reduced. In addition, participants deemed transferring departmental savings via the hospital to the insurers as complex. First, there is a lack of insight in how costs are structured, hindering monitoring actual cost-savings. Besides, some interviewees stated that there is a misalignment between internal budgeting and reimbursement, further complicating the transfer.

Quote: ’Because from a specialization perspective, you focus on your production plan, and as a hospital, you focus on the required Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), but there is an indirect link in that. It is not a one-to-one relationship. Additionally, you also deal with a whole cost price system. […] So the question is: Are the savings of those few FTEs sufficiently reflected in the system that lies underneath it? Often, it is just rounded off.’ Participant 15, hospital administrator

Mentioned facilitators include a secured hospital income and aligned agreements with the involved insurers. This would enable the hospital to reduce expenses without the fear of incurring a loss. Additionally, the stakeholders emphasized the role of the hospital board. The board has the authority to enforce departmental budgetary constraints to reduce the hospital expenditure. In this scenario, the individual departments retain the authority to determine cost-cutting measures, which may not necessarily involve reducing excess capacity.

Stage 4. Reducing insurer expenditures.

Several participants stated that savings should be effectuated by the health insurers through lower premiums. In addition, a stakeholder deemed achieving hospital savings a prerequisite to transfer any savings to the insurers. Reduction of insurers’ costs largely depends on the agreements between the hospital and the health insurers. Participants named reducing the DBC (the Dutch equivalent of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs)) rates or reducing the number of reimbursed DBCs as a way to transfer savings to society. However, they also stated that the DBC rates are not aligned with actual hospital costs and health insurers lack insight in the hospital expenditures, therefore DBC rates do not automatically decline when an initiative is effective. Therefore, cost savings may depend on specific agreements with hospitals. These are, however, often lacking because the savings potential of a single quality improvement initiative may face too many transaction costs to be included in the negotiation process. Another participant stated that reducing the DBC rates or the number of DBCs does not automatically reduce insurer costs. Agreements are made on the level of both the DBC rate and the total hospital budget. Budgetary caps could hinder translating hospital savings to the insurer, because insurers may not have to reimburse the full costs or not reimburse at all when a cap is reached. Therefore, savings on the level of DBCs are not automatically transferred to the payers. Also, in case of lump sum agreements, lowering of rates or the number of DBCs does not influence the reimbursed amount.

Some participants also mentioned some agreements between hospitals and insurers that facilitate the transfer of savings. For example, an open-ended budget automatically reduces hospital expenditures in case of volume reductions or reductions in the DBC rate. Also shared-savings agreements could transfer part of the hospital savings, while additionally motivate stakeholders to reduce costs. However, within a shared savings model, participants wonder how much will be left when the savings are shared with all stakeholders. Moreover, interviewees of the hospital and an insurer mentioned free-rider behavior by other insurers. Therefore, aligned agreements of insurers is mentioned as a prerequisite. Another proposed solution is a multiyear agreement, because it can provide the hospital time to reduce their cost structure. However, participants mentioned that insurers are reluctant on such agreements, for example because of the uncertainties of price fluctuations. Last, innovation-specific agreements are also mentioned to transfer hospital savings to insurers.

Quote: ‘ I personally find the shared savings model to be a good principle because, ultimately, they are societal costs. Or it has been contributed by society, so it should flow back in that direction. But, of course, it is quite elegant if the hospital benefits from it as well. I mean, that is just where it starts. Every change process is simply individuals asking themselves, ’What’s in it for me?’‘ Participant 9, strategy consultant

Another facilitator is the common goal of stakeholders to keep healthcare affordable and innovative. It is perceived to be a societal responsibility to contain the healthcare spending. In addition, investments of insurers may lead to external pressure for hospitals to effectuate savings. And last, scaling the innovation to more hospitals is also seen as a way to enhance societal savings.

Twenty barriers and 23 facilitators were identified in four stages to capture societal cost savings: reducing capacity, department expenses, hospital expenses and insurer expenses. In general, there is an aversion towards downsizing. Due to lack of incentives to reduce costs or top-down policies for downsizing, all participants expect that any excess capacity will be used to provide other care. Nevertheless, such substitution is perceived as valuable and a societal gain. Other mentioned barriers are fear of losing resilience, flexibility, status and revenue. Moreover, agreements with a budgetary cap and lump sum agreements may hinder the translation of the cost savings to the insurers. And last, misalignment of agreements between hospitals and health insurers creates financial barriers for downsizing and cost-cutting. Identified facilitators included shared savings agreements, a downsizing strategy, labor shortages, and a shared responsibility to secure affordable healthcare, among others.

The identified barriers indicate that monetizing savings for society does not occur automatically when an initiative is effective. Stakeholders expect that saved capacity will be used to provide other care. This aligns with existing literature describing supplier-induced demand in healthcare [ 14 , 15 , 28 , 29 ]. Reducing length of stay only saves a small percentage of the expenditure directly, because personnel costs and fixed costs remain unaffected in the short term [ 10 ]. A study illustrated that a reduction of 12 beds, typical for a ward, enables personnel reorganization and substantially reduce semi-fixed costs [ 27 ]. However, such large-scale downsizing requires a large volume of excess capacity. This may require combining multiple quality improvement initiatives as part of a hospital-wide strategy [ 9 ]. Moreover, stakeholders mentioned the need for a strategy or active approach to achieve reductions on all four stages. For example, a strategy is also deemed necessary to subsequently transfer the hospital savings to insurers due to existing misaligned agreements and incompatible budgeting systems [ 13 , 30 ].

Another identified facilitator is to secure the departments and hospital’s income. However, securing either the departments or hospital’s income and achieving societal costs savings seem incompatible. Nevertheless, this may be possible when savings are interpreted as a reduction in hospital spending growth rate compared to a historical benchmark. Shared-savings agreements between parties may accommodate this, although past experiments yield mixed results [ 9 , 31 , 32 ].

Downsizing is deemed controversial by participants. The stakeholders emphasize that the demand for care currently exceeds the supply and it is expected to further increase [ 33 ]. Substituting excess capacity with other necessary care may partly compensate for increasing demand. Therefore, providing more care with approximately the same resources could also be considered as a societal gain of quality improvement initiatives. In addition, it may not be necessary to aim for downsizing, since increasing shortages of medical professionals may cause natural downsizing in the future [ 33 , 34 ]. In this case, effective prehabilitation could offer the opportunity to increase efficiency, and thereby retaining the accessibility of care.

Healthcare decision-making may be improved by broadening the scope of the value of quality improvement initiatives [ 35 ]. The value of quality improvement initiatives may cover a broader range than cash savings and saved hospital capacity [ 36 ]. For example, prehabilitation may additionally reduce home care and could lead to earlier return to work [ 20 ]. Furthermore, the identified barriers suggest that monetizing capacity savings is difficult and that the saved amount may be lower than expected. This study suggests that the value of reducing length of stay is to be able to provide care for other patients. Therefore, only expressing the value in terms of costs saved lacks important nuances. By also focusing on the effects on the increased accessibility, healthcare decision making may be improved. Future research should focus on the value of care substitution and the impact of care substitution on the accessibility.

Strengths and limitations

To our knowledge, this is the first study that identifies barriers and facilitators through the entire process from an effective quality improvement initiative towards reducing societal costs. Additionally, a broad range of relevant stakeholders participated in this study. Some limitations apply. First, even though studies on prehabilitation show promising results, the effectiveness of our test case was yet unknown during the interview period. Consequently, certain questions were framed hypothetical, e.g., ‘what if …’. To substantiate expectations, participants were additionally asked for examples and experiences with other quality improvement initiatives. Secondly, with the exception of two insurer employees, all stakeholders were affiliated with the same hospital. Therefore, some barriers and facilitators may be context specific. Last, this article solely focuses on achieving societal cost savings through the described four stages and does not address the conversion of reduced health insurers’ costs in societal savings in the form of lower premiums or governmental expenses. Nor does this article address alternative ways quality improvement initiatives could generate societal savings.

This study describes barriers and facilitators in the process of capturing societal cost savings across four stages: 1) reducing capacity, 2) reducing department expenses, 3) reducing hospital expenses, and 4) reducing insurer expenses. An encompassing hospital strategy targeting these four stages is recommended, because societal cost savings do not occur automatically when hospital capacity is saved. Shared-savings agreements could facilitate the transfer of hospital cost savings to the health insurers. However, many barriers were encountered. Predominantly, stakeholders expect that any saved capacity will be used for other care due to increasing demand. However, such substitution with other care is also perceived as a societal gain. Framing financial gains of quality improvement initiatives in terms of addressing increasing demand may therefore be more accurate. This would require additional research into the value of care substitution.

Supporting information

S1 file. completed checklist of the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (coreq)..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799.s001

S2 File. Topic guide.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310799.s002

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the interviewees for their time and effort.

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Understanding Circular and Nature-Inclusive Agricultural Business Models

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Sustainable approaches in the agricultural sector are important to addressing problems relating to food security and nutrition around the globe. To obviate these problems, it has become crucial to administer methods of farming that are ecologically compatible, holistic and organic in nature. Dutch farmers are moving towards more sustainable and circular production methods to respond to the various challenges, including biodiversity loss and climate change, whilst maintaining a viable business model. To generate further insight into circular and nature-inclusive or nature-positive agricultural business models (CNABM), we describe a conceptual framework that could help farmers, their advisers and, possibly, funding organisations to identify critical success factors for the implementation of circular and nature-inclusive or nature-positive business models in a qualitative way. The framework was built on a synthesis of existing literature and seven empirical case studies drawing on in-depth interviews. Prior to the case studies, the framework was tested through a desk study focused on sugar-beet cultivation. Based on existing literature and the pilot case on sugar-beet cultivation, we found that three conditions are needed in order to identify these critical success factors. (1) It is important to consider the barriers and drivers in the social and physical contexts within which entrepreneurs involved in such business models operate (‘adoption factors’). (2) Sustainable business models should go beyond delivering economic value and include other forms of value for a broader range of stakeholders. Moreover, attention should be paid to strengths and weaknesses of the business model. (3) Traditional business models (e.g. the business model canvas, or BMC) should be extended to include sustainability-related elements (sustainability impact). The framework proved useful for identifying the business models, along with their vulnerabilities and potential opportunities. Although the framework is meant for use with circular and nature-inclusive or nature-positive agricultural business models, it can be applied to other sustainable agricultural business models as well.

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Introduction

In the past decade, the importance of sustainable food systems has been receiving increasing emphasis. Sustainable approaches in the agricultural sector are of the utmost importance to addressing problems relating to food security and nutrition around the globe. To obviate these problems, it has become crucial to administer methods of farming that are ecologically compatible, holistic and organic in nature [ 1 ]. For farmers, this entails being confronted with increasing pressures on land and concerns about the emission of greenhouse gasses, ammonia and minerals in relation to climate goals, as well as water quality and animal welfare in relation to human health [ 1 , 2 ]. If current production systems continue as they are, pressure on the environment is expected to increase as the global population grows [ 3 , 4 ].

In the Netherlands, a focus on increasing productivity and reducing costs has resulted in monocultures, which have a negative impact on the environment, especially in terms of biodiversity, water quality and the attractiveness of the landscape. According to the vision of the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, “[T]he way in which we produce our food is shifting ever more out of balance. We are taking more than the planet can give, and this is not sustainable” [ 5 , p. 5]. The Dutch government advocates a transition to circular agriculture, with nature-inclusive agriculture as one important perspective [ 6 ]. Nature-inclusive farming aims to promote more sustainable agricultural practices that will minimise negative ecological impacts and maximise positive ones, whilst generating benefits from natural processes [ 7 ]. At the international level, this aligns with the search for nature-positive business models, as advocated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) [ 8 ], the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2023 across a variety of sectors [ 9 ], and the European Business & Nature Summit in Milan in 2023 [ 10 ]. The initiatives have encouraged further business actions towards the development of nature-positive business models.

Such transitions involve complex processes, and they require radical changes in both social and technological systems [ 7 , 11 ]. For Dutch farmers, the transition will require moving towards more sustainable production methods in response to challenges (e.g. biodiversity loss and climate change), whilst also maintaining a viable business model.

As demonstrated by the Netherlands national taskforce on earning capacity for circular agriculture, the development of new revenue/business models poses a number of major challenges. Stressing the urgent need for a suitable revenue model, this taskforce argues that such models are crucial to the success of the transition towards more sustainable agriculture [ 12 ]. Within the European context, the same argument has been applied to the development of business models for a circular and sustainable bioeconomy [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].

To help identify critical success factors for the successful implementation of circular and nature-inclusive or nature-positive agricultural business models (CNABM), we build on a framework developed by Antikainen and Valkokari [ 16 ] and adapted it according to a synthesis of literature. A preliminary examination of the framework was conducted through a desk study on sugar-beet cultivation, which resulted in minor adaptations to the framework. In a subsequent step, we qualitatively tested the framework based on seven empirical case studies. The aim of our study was to identify and test a framework for critical success factors for circular and nature-inclusive or nature-positive agricultural business models (CNABM) within the context of stakeholders preparing their farms for the transition to the future. In our study, CNABMs describe the ways in which farmers work and make money whilst also carefully handling natural resources, managing the soil in a sustainable manner and minimising emissions.

The section “ Research methods ” introduces the materials and methods which form the basis of this paper. The section “ Results ” then introduces the literature review which provides the foundation for our approach by the identification of key elements of CNABMs (Section “Literature Review on Business Model Strategies and Elements of Circular and Nature Inclusive Business Models”). This is followed by a brief analysis of a desk study concerning Dutch sugar beet cultivation (Section “Analysis of the Sugar Beet Case”) and a more detailed analysis of seven empirical case studies that illustrate the practical applications of our approach (Section “Analysis of Seven Empirical Case Studies”). The  results concludes with the presentation of the framework for CNABMs (Section “Towards a Conceptual Framework for Analyzing CNABMs”). Finally, the discussion offers a discussion of the key findings, while the section “ Conclusions ” presents the conclusions. In this paper we will from here on refer to nature-inclusive agriculture when we mean nature-inclusive or nature-positive agriculture.

Research Methods

The study consisted of three parts (see Fig.  1 ):

An exploratory literature review to find out whether circular or sustainable business models that have been developed primarily for industrial applications can be applied in circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models (CNABMs), as well as to identify key elements of CNABMs that enable the qualitative assessment of critical success factors of CNABMs.

A desk study on sugar-beet cultivation to develop an impression of how the identified key elements of CNABMS can be used in an agricultural application.

Analysis of in-depth interviews with initiators of seven empirical case studies to further test and refine the framework for the evaluation of CNABMs.

Structure of the study on circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models (CNABMs)

Exploratory Literature Review

In an exploratory literature review, we followed an integrative literature approach [ 17 ] to examine scientific and other publications. The review was intended to generate insight into whether circular or sustainable business models that have been developed primarily for industrial applications can be applied in circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models (CNABMs). We also identified key elements of CNABMs to develop an initial draft of a framework for assessing critical success factors for CNABMs. An integrative literature review is not intended as a systematic survey of all articles ever published on a certain topic or within a certain field of research. Rather, it aims to combine and integrate perspectives and insights from different scientific domains or research traditions [ 17 ].

Relevant literature was identified through a search in scientific databases (mainly Google Scholar) as well as through the recommendations of colleagues and peers. Instead of relying on fixed sets of keywords, we explored many different topics and research domains. Based on this initial collection of literature, we applied a snowball method to gather additional information through references cited in the articles from the initial collection. The explorative literature review was not meant to be exhaustive.

Testing the Initial Draft of the CNABM Framework in a Specific Agricultural Application

The applicability of the initial draft of the conceptual framework to assess critical success factors for CNABMs was first tested according to a desk study on the cultivation of sugar beets in the Netherlands and the by-products that remain after the sugar has been extracted from the beets. The by-products can be used for the production of green energy (bioethanol), bio-based elements or fibres, the maintenance of organic matter in the soil and/or the production of feed for dairy cows (beet pulp) [ 18 , 19 ]. This exercise clearly demonstrated that the key elements of the CNABMs found in the literature can be recognised in each business strategy for sugar-beet cultivation.

Further Testing and Refining the CNABM Framework Based on Seven Empirical Case Studies

The next step in our research consisted of qualitatively analysing seven case studies involving livestock and arable farming as a further test of our conceptual framework for CNABMs based on empirical data.

To enhance understanding concerning the business models of circular or nature-inclusive farmers, we performed seven semi-structured in-depth interviews with livestock and arable farmers who were producing according to circular and/ or nature-inclusive methods. This type of interviewing is useful for answering more complicated research questions, including ‘why’ questions [ 20 ]. To this end, we developed an interview guide that would allow us to gather similar types of data from each participant [ 21 ] by providing the interviewers with guidance on which topics to discuss [ 22 ]. Based on the key elements of CNABMs as identified in the exploratory literature review and the desk study on sugar-beet cultivation (see Section “ Exploratory Literature Review ”), the interview guide included the following topics: 

With regard to the social and physical context within which farmers operate:

Characteristics of the farm and the farmer

Barriers to and drivers of the realisation of CNABMs (adoption factors)

At the business level:

Questions related to the building blocks of CNABMs (value proposition, customer relations and segments, channels, activities, key resources, partners, cost structure, revenue streams and take-back infrastructure)

Strengths and weaknesses of the CNABMs

Sustainability impact

Questions related to positive and negative environmental, social and financial consequences

Each interview lasted 60–90 min. To ensure that every topic was discussed during the conversations, they were conducted by two interviewers. All interviews were recorded, with the permission of the farmers, and were transcribed verbatim. Each farmer signed a consent form granting permission to use the interviews for analysis.

For this research, we used a non-probability sampling technique known as purposive sampling. This method is characterised by making a deliberate choice of participants based on specific qualities [ 23 ]. Purposive sampling is typically used to identify information-rich cases in an efficient manner [ 24 ]. One disadvantage of this method is that it is subjective, thereby introducing bias into the choice of participants [ 23 ].

The sample for this case consisted of farmers in the Netherlands who were producing circular and/or nature-inclusive products. Some of these farmers were identified from a long list previously used by Hoes et al. [ 25 ]. The others were found through the network of researchers involved in the project, as well as through the website of Caring Farmers ( https://caringfarmers.nl/ ), a community of farmers who produce or want to produce in a nature-inclusive and circular manner. Thirteen farmers were approached for an interview but only seven of them accepted the invitation. Six interviews were conducted online, and one interview was conducted live on the farm, at the farmer’s insistence. Each of the participating farmers received two €50 vouchers as an expression of gratitude for their time and effort answering the questions.

Each interview was analysed using the conceptual framework presented in the section “ Towards a Conceptual Framework for Analyzing CNABMs ”.

This section is divided into four main parts. Following the structure of the Methods section, we start by presenting the results of the exploratory literature review. We describe how industrial applications can be applied in circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models (CNABMs) (Section “General Circular Business Strategies also are Applicable in Agriculture”) and which key elements of CNABMs can be distinguished (Section “Key Elements for Circular and Nature-Inclusive Business Models”). This reveals key elements that should be distinguished to assess and reveal critical success factors of CNABMs, which we test in the sugar beet case (Section “Analysis of the Sugar Beet Case”). We then focus on the analysis of the in-depth interviews with initiators of seven empirical case studies to further test and refine the framework for evaluation of CNABMs (Section “Analysis of Seven Empirical Case Studies”). The section concludes with a presentation of our final conceptual framework for the evaluation of CNABMs (Section “Towards a Conceptual Framework for Analyzing CNABMs”).

Literature Review on Business Model Strategies and Elements of Circular and Nature-Inclusive Business Models

General circular business strategies also are applicable in agriculture.

The transition towards circular and nature-inclusive agricultural systems is part of a larger transition towards a circular economy. In the literature, several attempts have been made to describe circular business models (CBMs) [ 26 , 27 , 28 ] or sustainable business models (SBM) [ 29 , 30 ]. Some studies on circular ‘industrial’ business models proceed from the notion of ‘R strategies’. As developed by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), the R-ladder is composed of the following circular strategies [ 31 ]: (1) Refuse and Rethink, referring to renouncing of products and making more intensive use of products; (2) Reduce, referring to reducing the need for inputs by a more efficient fabrication of products or making products more efficient to use; (3) Reuse, referring to using products again; (4) Repair and Refurbish, referring to reusing product parts; (5) Recycle, referring to processing and reusing materials; and (6) Recover, referring to regaining energy from materials. The R strategies are also used by Lüdeke-Freund et al. [ 28 ], who propose six major ‘patterns’ (strategies) of circular economy business models (CEBM), which have the potential to support the closing of resource flows: (1) repair and maintenance; (2) reuse and redistribution; (3) refurbishment and remanufacturing; (4) recycling; (5) cascading and repurposing; and (6) organic feedstock business model patterns. The fifth and sixth CEBM strategies appear to be applicable to agriculture. Cascading and repurposing refer to the iterative use of the energy and material contents of physical objects/biomass (e.g. trees) and the efficient use of biomass (e.g. animal feed by valorisation of residuals of soy, beets or potatoes). Organic feedstock refers to the processing of organic residuals through biomass conversion, composting or anaerobic digestion and the generation of co-products from waste.

According to Lacy et al. [ 32 ], in a circular economy, growth is decoupled from the use of scarce resources through disruptive technology and business models based on longevity, renewability, reuse, repair, upgrade, refurbishment, capacity sharing and dematerialisation. The authors describe five different circular business strategies, including: (1) circular supplies, referring to the provision of renewable energy and the use of bio-based or fully recyclable input material to replace single-lifecycle inputs, and (2) resource recovery, referring to the recovery of useful resources or energy out of disposed products or by-products. For circular agriculture, renewable energy and bio-based materials are particularly important. For example, farmers can contribute to the provision of renewable energy by installing solar panels on roofs and, possibly, on land, and by allowing wind turbines on their land. They also can contribute to the use of bio-based material in bio-fermenters. For nature-inclusive agriculture, the central strategy is regeneration (recovery of the biosphere, and especially the soil).

A mapping tool developed by Bocken et al. [ 29 ] distinguishes nine sustainable business strategies: (1) maximise material and energy efficiency; (2) create value from ‘waste’; (3) deliver functionality, rather than ownership; (4) encourage sufficiency; (5) adopt a stewardship role; (6) re-purpose business for society/the environment; (7) integrate business into the community; (8) develop scalable solutions; and (9) radical innovation. Some of these strategies appear to be applicable to agriculture as well. For example, maximising material efficiency is actually already being broadly applied by farmers, as most of them use the services of contractors (including their machinery) for cultivating their land. In a way, this can be understood as a sharing platform for machinery. Furthermore, the production of plant proteins to replace animal proteins for a more efficient use of inputs is an example of maximising material efficiency, the use of residuals from the food industry for animal feed is an example of creating value from ‘waste’, and community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an example of integrating business into the community. In CSA, farmers and citizens share responsibility, risks and, in some cases, even ownership. Many such initiatives are currently emerging [ 33 ].

Based on the literature mentioned above, we further elaborated how specific circular or sustainable business strategies can be applied in CNABMs (see Appendix I).

Key Elements for Circular and Nature-Inclusive Business Models

In the previous section, we discussed circular business strategies that are applicable to CNABMs. In this section, we identify key elements necessary for a conceptual framework for CNABMs.

Take-back System and Adoption Factors

In a literature review, Lewandowski [ 26 ] identifies and classifies the characteristics of the circular economy according to the structure of a business model. To this end, the Business Model Canvas (BMC) of Ostenwalder and Pigneur [ 34 ] is adapted into a circular business model canvas by adding two new components to the model: a take-back system and adoption factors. The take-back system has its own channels and customer relations, and it is added to the common building blocks of the Business Model Canvas (value proposition, customer segments, customer relations, partners, key activities, key resources, channels, cost structure and revenue streams). For agricultural practices, the take-back system — or at least a kind of take-back system or infrastructure — seems applicable as well (e.g. to enable the recycling of nutrients between livestock and arable farms; to realise the use of renewable energy; to enable the use of residual flows from the food industry for animal feed; to compost organic waste from consumers; or to regain phosphate from human excreta). Adoption factors are important, as the transition towards circular business models must be supported by a variety of organisational capabilities and external factors. With regard to adoption factors, Lewandowski [ 26 ] includes the ‘PEST factors’, which were first described by Aguilar [ 35 ]: Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors that could influence business development. The PEST framework was later expanded into the PESTLE framework by Nandonde et al. [ 36 ], with the addition of Legal and Environmental factors. The PESTLE framework can be used as a diagnostic tool to analyse and monitor external macro-environmental factors that have an impact on business models [ 37 ]. It facilitates thinking about which factors are most likely to change and which are likely to have the most positive or negative impact on the performance of the CNABM business cases. To “unlock the circular economy”, Tura et al. [ 27 ] describe another framework comprising seven areas that partly overlap the PESTLE factors: environmental, economic, social, political and institutional, technological and informational, supply chain and organisational factors. A PESTLE analysis is sometimes combined with a SWOT approach [e.g. 38, 39, 40]. The benefit of this combination is that it allows the identification of positive and negative factors, both internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats).

Sustainability Impact

The circular economy — or, in our case, circular and nature-inclusive agriculture — is not always or not only sustainable. On the contrary, it sometimes raises new challenges, even if it can solve issues relating to sustainability [ 41 ]. For this reason, it is important to extend traditional business models (e.g. the BMC) to include elements related to sustainability [ 42 , 43 ]. One example is the triple-layered BMC described by Joyce and Paquin [ 44 ]. These authors extend the BMC by adding an environmental layer, based on a lifecycle perspective, and a social layer, based on a stakeholder perspective. Taken together, the three layers of the business model make more explicit how an organisation generates multiple types of value: economic, environmental and social. They demonstrate other elements of the BMC, including social value, social impacts and social benefits, along with environmental impacts and benefits. Another extension to the BMC is presented by Antikainen and Valkokari [ 16 ], whose framework for evaluating the sustainability and circularity of business models distinguishes the business-ecosystem level (with trends, drivers and stakeholder involvement), the business level (with the building blocks of the BMC) and the sustainability-impact level (with environmental, social and business-related sustainability requirements and benefits).

Towards a Conceptual Framework for CNABMs

The literature presented in the previous section shows that three main elements are important to reveal critical success factors for CNABMs:

The social and physical context, which includes the adoption factors based on Lewandowksi [ 26 ] and Tura et al. [ 27 ]

The business level, which includes the building blocks of the BMC [ 28 , 34 ], the circular building blocks [ 26 ] and the strengths and weaknesses from the SWOT analysis [ 38 , 39 , 40 ].

The sustainability-impact level, which includes the positive and negative social, environmental and financial consequences of business models [ 44 ].

In the following sections we use these elements as a basis for a superficial analysis of the sugar-beet case and analyse the seven empirical case studies in more detail.

Analysis of the Sugar Beet Case

The analysis of the sugar-beet case was an initial test of our conceptual framework for the qualitative description of CNABMs. It is based on a desk study of the cultivation of sugar beets in the Netherlands and the by-products that remain after the sugar has been extracted from the beets. These by-products can be used for the production of green energy (bioethanol), bio-based elements or fibres, the maintenance of organic matter in the soil and/or the production of feed for dairy cows (beet pulp) [ 18 , 19 ]. These uses of by-products fit respectively within the business strategies of repurposing, radical innovation, recycling and organic feedstock. For each business strategy, we superficially analysed the environmental, economic, political, legal and technological adoption factors described by Nandonde et al. [ 36 ], the business level based on the building blocks of the BMC and the take-back infrastructure [ 26 , 35 ]; and the sustainability impact of the business models in terms of the positive and negative environmental and financial consequences of the business models’ sustainability [ 44 ]. This part of the study was intended to generate an initial impression of how the framework could work. We did not analyse the pilot-case study in much detail. Our findings regarding the adoption factors, the take-back system/infrastructure needed for the collection and processing of circular products (part of the business level), and the sustainability impact of the sugar-beet case are presented below. Further details regarding the building blocks of the BMC are presented in Appendix II. We did not include the SWOT analysis or the social adoption factors and sustainability impact, as doing so would have required a more detailed analysis.

Adoption Factors

Analysis of the PESTLE factors of sugar-beet cultivation indicates that important political issues include a possible sugar tax, green subsidies and political decisions concerning bio-based materials. The policy agenda for circular economy and nature-inclusive farming is relevant within this context as well. This is related to legal developments at the national and international level, including legislation on climate agreements and emissions. Adoption possibilities depend on technological progress. In particular, bio-based materials and the associated technology — including the infrastructure of materials and structural engineering — are still under development. This can lead to uncertainty, thereby delaying investments. Economic adoption factors concern the prices of fossil energy (which help to determine green energy profits), costs of producing bio-based materials compared to those of traditional materials, and the cost of energy in the production of animal feed based on beet pulp. Although leaving remnants of beet production on the land is cost-efficient (as it eliminates the need to remove it), the revenues become visible only in the long term. Environmental adoption factors concern the need for renewable energy, bio-based materials and reduction of biodiversity loss in the soil and on the land.

Take-back System/Infrastructure for the Production of Bio-Ethanol and Bio-Based Products

Given the essential importance of reusing residual flows to CNABMs, this section addresses the take-back system/infrastructure, which is apparently important to the production of bio-ethanol or bio-based materials or the production of beet pulp for animal feed. In addition to the harvesting of sugar beets, the production of bio-ethanol, bio-based materials and animal feed entail the processing of beets into bio-ethanol, bio-based materials and beet pulp. It also includes making the products available to the energy, chemical and feed industries. A take-back system does not play an important role in business strategies based on leaving the beet remnants on the land.

The four circular and/or nature-inclusive strategies for the sugar-beet sector include a variety of benefits and, in some cases, deficiencies. Sugar beets can be used for the production of ethanol as an alternative to fossil energy, as well as for bio-based materials as an alternative to non-renewable resources. These strategies are suitable to a circular economy. Furthermore, crop remnants can be either left on the soil to improve organic matter or used as feed stock as an alternative to feed imports. These uses are consistent with nature-inclusive agriculture. The environmental advantages of the four strategies include the use of renewable resources instead of fossil resources, the improvement of soil structure due to greater soil biodiversity, and a decrease in feed imports and a corresponding decrease in the loss of biodiversity elsewhere in the world. The strategies are subject to shortcomings as well, however, including the CO 2 emissions generated by renewable energy from bio-based resources and energy consumption from both the production of bio-based materials and the drying of beet pulp for feed production.

The results are also diverse from an economic perspective. The profitability of ethanol, bio-based materials and beet-residue feed depends solely on energy prices, whereas the profitability of bio-based materials also depends on the price of traditional materials, and the profitability of beet-residue feed also depends on the price of imported feed.

The impacts of the strategies result in increased sustainability within a wide range of sectors, both outside agriculture (e.g. the energy and chemical sectors) and within agriculture (the arable and livestock sectors).

Lessons from the Sugar-Beet Case

As demonstrated by our approach, CNABMs (in this case, relating to the cultivation of sugar beets in the Netherlands) can be unravelled in several business strategies. A variety of circular elements can be recognised in these strategies, including the recycling, upgrading or remanufacturing of products, components, materials or waste. Additional values for new stakeholders can be created (e.g. through strategies for the production of bioethanol and bio-based elements or fibres), and values for existing stakeholders are utilised as much as possible (e.g. in strategies for the maintenance of organic matter in the soil and/or the production of beet-pulp-based feed for dairy cows). The choice of one business strategy does not necessarily exclude the others. If beet remnants are left on the land or if beet pulp is used for animal feed, the beets can still be used in the production of bio-ethanol or bio-based materials. In contrast, if beets are used for the production of bio-ethanol or bio-based material (or sugar), they can no longer be used for other purposes. The adoption factors are the most important part of our conceptual framework, as they provide insight into the barriers and drivers associated with specific business strategies. In our analysis (which is admittedly superficial), leaving the beet remnants on the land seems the most beneficial, as it seems to have only positive effects (on the quality and biodiversity of the soil). Moreover, it involves only beet waste, such that the beets still can be used for the production of bio-ethanol or bio-based materials (or sugar). Within this context, nature-inclusive solutions (leaving the beet remnants on the land to improve soil quality) are accompanied by circular solutions (upgrading beets for the production of green energy or bio-based materials).

Analysis of Seven Empirical Case Studies

The farmers and their farms, farm activities and features.

All farmers we interviewed had farms with nature-inclusive and circular elements. Five of the farms were organic. Of the non-organic farmers, one fed the animals with residuals that are difficult to obtain from non-organic sources, let alone from organic sources. All but one of the farmers kept beef cattle (2 farms), dairy cattle (2 farms), pigs (1 farm) or broiler chickens (1 farm). The farm with the broiler chickens also had arable land. The farmer without livestock had a regenerative arable farm. Examples of side activities undertaken at the farms included farm shops, hospitality activities, education, free-range laying hens, self-made dairy products, grain production for local mills, and excursions. The farms were dispersed throughout the country. Most of the farmers interviewed had between 50 and 100 ha of utilized agricultural area (UAA), except for one farm that was very small, in order to maintain the ‘hobby farmer’ status Footnote 1 .

CNABM Strategies

The CNABM strategies are summarised in Table  1 . In all cases, the farmers were reducing inputs and integrating business into the community in various ways. The most frequently mentioned practices were short supply chains through the exploitation of farm shops, collaboration between farmers, and education and excursions. One farmer was reducing food waste by collecting it at local bakeries and retailers and feeding it to the animals, which were living under high animal welfare standards. In all but one of the cases (a conventional farm), the farmers had rejected common practices, and five of the farmers had organic, nature-inclusive or regenerative farms, and they thus did not use any chemical pesticides or artificial fertilisers. They were also contributing to the repair and maintenance of the natural environment. Four of these farmers were also applying nature conservation. In four cases, sustainable energy was produced by means of solar panels and wind turbines (and two other farmers had plans to implement after the realising a new stall or replacing an old roof containing asbestos). All of the farmers interviewed were applying multiple CNABM strategies.

Social and Physical Context – Adoption Factors

The barriers and drivers mentioned during the interviews with the farmers are listed in Table  2 . One barrier mentioned by several interviewees was that farmers tend to feel that they are too far ahead of their time and that they are often not eligible for sustainability subsidies, because their approach deviates too much from the norm:

Actually, I often feel that I’m too far ahead of my time. In addition, policies and such are not yet applicable to what I do. Subsidies aren’t suitable. (ID-05)

This is especially discouraging because, in many cases, the revenue models are hardly sufficient, due to the small scale of the business combined with the high investments needed to realise the transition. For example, as according to one farmer:

It’s very difficult. It also costs a lot of money. And yes, I have to pay for it all myself, based on a revenue model that’s actually insufficient. (ID-01)

Barriers at the social level included negative social pressure from other farmers in the surroundings and complaints from citizens:

Well, there was an open day, and farmers and everyone could just drop by. I thought I’d go have a look, and I signed up for it. But the farmer was so suspicious that he Googled everyone, and then he came to me. And then he called me on the phone to say that I couldn’t come, because they’re too different. … He can of course think whatever he wants about that, but I think it’s a shame that someone is already avoiding the discussion. (ID-04). My wife has had a lot of trouble because of that. On the other hand, it also hurts me that colleagues can just leave you out in the cold and judge you — not directly to your face, but you hear about it anyway. I think that’s the most important obstacle in the entire transition. The finance and the regulations, that can be adjusted. We’ve got a long way to go, but it can be done. But the social side is very difficult. (ID-03)

With regard to technological innovations, the investments that early adopters must make in learning are not reimbursed:

So, actually, I’ve had very little subsidy. A few tens of thousands of euros for a prospect involving millions, of course. … I’ve paid quite a bit of learning and development costs. … In general, I get good prices, good agreements with my customers. I’ve just done a really good job arranging things. But the costs of learning and development —that part has yet to be covered. (ID-05).

In many cases, special initiatives do not correspond to legislation developed for conventional farms. To avoid an excessive and overly complicated administrative burden, one farmer purposely kept the number of animals low, thereby remaining a ‘hobby farmer’. Most of the farmers interviewed were also concerned by the policy uncertainty surrounding the current nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands. This is making it unclear to farmers whether they will be able to remain on their farms, especially if they are located near areas with vulnerable nature (‘Natura 2000 areas’). Footnote 2

One environmental barrier mentioned is soil, which must recover from intensive use by previous farmers:

The soil here has been spoiled. Hey, we all did that. Yeah, so why do I have to pay for that, to fix what went wrong? Was there a conventional farmer here in the past? Yes, with fertilisers, pesticides and corn farming. (ID-01).

One important condition for circular farming is the supply of residual flows (e.g. for animal feed), which are often limited. Moreover, few take-back systems have been developed to date.

In addition to these barriers, the farmers mentioned drivers of the adoption of circular and nature-inclusive business models. All interviewees had taken initiatives that fit within the vision of the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Safety concerning circular, nature-inclusive and/or regenerative agriculture. Most of them were also making use of innovative business models, different revenue streams and increased interest in local products. One important stimulus is the common awareness of the climate crisis and the need for sustainability, as well as of the need for agricultural practices to be more embedded within society. As described by one farmer:

We’re close to an urban area. Hundreds of thousands of people live here, 1.5 million or so. The connection between the city and the countryside should soon be improved. And then I’ll have a very nice spot here. We have to try to feed the city directly. So, my responsibility is to produce as much food as possible. The main difference, however, is that you have to build very clear boundaries into your system. (ID-05).

Social media and websites are often used for purposes of both information and sales. Whereas the lack of financial (or other) incentives was mentioned as a barrier, the availability of supportive funds and subsidies was mentioned as a driver. Environmental drivers are essential: soil-life recovery, increased biodiversity, discontinuing the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers, minimising the use of other inputs and working to close nutrient cycles. One advantage these pioneers had was that there was sufficient demand for organic manure and organic feed. Many of these farmers had wide networks involving other entrepreneurs, citizens, nature organisations or other entities.

Business Level

Building blocks.

Examination of the building blocks (Table  3 ) reveals that, in most cases, added value was realised by the production of high-quality arable products and meat (from animals kept under high animal-welfare standards), renewable energy and nature conservation. Other ways to create added value included educational or recreational activities and the production of bio-based building materials. Most agricultural products were sold in the farmers’ own farm shops or local farm shops nearby. This is illustrated by the following quotations:

So, I always say, they shouldn’t come here for cheap products, but more to know where it comes from and for the taste. And yes, it’s direct [from farmer to consumer, Ed.]. This is often also the experience of people who like to come here, to hear something about how things go on a farm. And yes, actually — those are a few reasons why it adds value for consumers. (ID-02) We don’t want supermarkets; we don’t want big stores. I do indeed prefer to stick to farm shops, and to have a point of sale here at home. … What my customers like is seeing it with their own eyes, hearing the story first-hand … That makes it worthwhile for everyone. (ID-04)

In most cases, the target customers were local and critical consumers. Partners and stakeholders included other — usually organic — farmers (for the provision of calves or the exchange of grains and manure), local bakeries and retailers (for food-waste streams) and nature organisations and landowners for purposes of nature conservation. Value-creation processes included agricultural processes, as well as processes for manufacturing bio-based materials and for producing renewable energy from solar panels or wind turbines and making it available to the electricity network. The most important resources in the cases came from crowd funding and farm funding; pasture and arable land; the availability of nature reserves and forest area; and sun and wind. Most additional costs were for additional inputs. Products and services were usually delivered through existing channels. In some cases, however, farmers delivered products to local farm shops themselves or — in one case — personally collected food waste from bakeries and supermarkets. No additional take-back system or infrastructure was necessary in any of our seven cases.

Strengths and Weaknesses

A SWOT analysis is a framework for evaluating a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in order to uncover possible blind spots and improve its position within the market. Given the considerable overlap between opportunities and threats in a SWOT analysis and the drivers and barriers (as mentioned in Table  2 ), we focus only on strengths and weaknesses, which are used to evaluate internal factors within a firm that contribute to its success or vulnerability. All interviewees mentioned that they were working with new, innovative business models, often with several revenue streams and selling at local markets, thereby exploiting the benefits of short supply chains and limiting the costs as much as possible:

What I also think is very important is that the farm should just produce locally, including in terms of feed and, thus, in terms of feed and straw, I'm just completely self-sufficient. All my own stuff. And I like it when it’s also, but also kind of important that it’s marketed in the region. ... It's also a strong marketing story, but, for myself, I also believe it’s just a nice model. (ID-01) All calves that are born from those dairy cows, they stay on the farm for 2½ years, so, in fact, we’re eliminating veal-calf farming. And we feed them [the calves, ed.] with our own feed that was produced on the land we take care of. And we don’t use manure from outside our farm or artificial fertilisers [...]’ (ID-07).

The revenue models are often vulnerable, however, due to small scale, which also makes it difficult to take risks and try out new things. Furthermore, the financing of innovations is a challenge, given that traditional banks are reluctant to finance unfamiliar prospects:

Financing the transition is an issue, but it’s manageable. For the extensification of land, for the stables, for barn adjustments, however, then I’m talking about large amounts. A farmer just doesn’t get approval from the bank for that, because there’s not a sufficient revenue model behind it. Those banks don’t have an Excel sheet for organic farms yet. (ID-03)

Another vulnerability we observed in one case was the farmer’s dependency on residual streams from the food industry. In addition to requiring a large amount of effort from the farmer to collect these residuals, it also caused uncertainty in terms of the availability of the residual streams.

Sustainability impact focuses on consequences for society, instead of at the business level. The consequences can be either positive or negative, and they can be felt at the social, environmental or financial level (Table 5). Positive social effects mentioned included farms becoming more embedded within society and activities in various areas of society (e.g. consultation bodies and education projects). As remarked by one farmer:

I can envision a very nice image of a broadened agriculture. The core task is thus to produce as much food as possible. But every company is responsible for making that connection with citizens, with society. And we want to realise this in a very concrete way. And the more engaged you become in what I’m doing, the more you’ll find that, the more important it will be to you. The ordinary, average farmers … think that having citizens living in the countryside is a real problem. … But it’s precisely this connection that we’re constantly seeking with those citizens. (ID-05)

Negative social impacts mentioned by the interviewees included complaints from citizens and citizens who are overprotective. New approaches raise questions, especially when those approaches involve animals:

Look, we’ve got cows walking around running in the city practically right up to the city centre. We went there three times last week, because people were constantly calling the nature organisation saying that this cow is sick and that calf is drinking. And that cow has such a huge udder and it’s not going to be okay. And that cow isn’t getting back up, and it’s really not going to be okay. You go there three times for nothing. Because, once you come, the cow walks away and the calf is at the front of the herd. That means that the cow is producing enough, and so it means that some of it is getting into the calf. (ID-06).

One positive impact of nature-inclusive agriculture is that it often contributes to an attractive landscape. In environmental terms, these strategies have a positive impact on soil and biodiversity in general, in part because few or no pesticides and artificial fertilisers are used. This helps to close nutrient cycles. In the interviews, farmers noted:

The importance of those resting crops, the importance of that grain, that field bean and the other crops — it’s thus not just for feeding the people and producing cattle feed. It’s also for preserving the soil, for the quality of the soil and for the quality of the products that come from it. (ID-02) I think we’re serving society, because if we weren’t doing this, they’d have to go into the nature reserves with machines, and that would disrupt everything. You can’t let everything grow and take over. That doesn’t work. And because our animals graze, the effects are scaled up. Flowers are coming back that haven’t grown there for years. If you walk through the nature reserve nearby, you can really smell all kinds of things. So, all kinds of things are growing here, ground ivy, water mint. (ID-06)

One negative environmental impact mentioned by some farmers concerned the transport needed when customers visit the farm shop or if farmers have to deliver local products to customers or collect food-industry residuals to feed their animals. As observed by one farmer:

People are indeed always coming to pick it up. I’ve tried to arrange it with a parcel service, but they have absolutely no clue about sending meat. … But, you could obviously pick it up yourself at an appointed time, and yes, we do drive all over the place with the van. … Yes, so, in terms of diesel consumption, I would like to do better. (ID-04).

Moreover, environmentally conscious farmers continue to use polluting products, even if they would prefer not to:

Because that’s also an issue here on the farm. We have those round bales with plastic, and we have silage with plastic. Well, I’d prefer to have as little plastic as possible, because — apart from the fact that it costs oil and energy, it also creates a huge mess, doesn’t it? (ID-07)

Positive financial consequences include lower costs for inputs:

We obviously still have to deal with a bank, which we’d like to get rid of, but that takes some time. But otherwise … a lot of input from regular companies — I actually have nothing to do with that. I don’t buy artificial fertilizer, no chemicals and no concentrates either. [...] And this system of animal husbandry with this breed of cows that we have, it actually ensures extremely low veterinary costs. (ID-07)

Negative financial consequences are related to vulnerabilities in the business models, and the difficulties that farmers face in acquiring funding for their initiatives and for the transition in general. This is despite the many benefits that these farmers perceive from these developments.

Yes, financing really is the biggest challenge. It should really be at the top of the list. It costs a fortune to make the change. How are we going to ensure that a whole group of farmers can start making that transition? ... from a few farmers doing it at their own cost or their own initiative or their own risk. Yes, to making it attractive, making it challenging to develop very seriously in that direction. And we’re still so far away from it that I don’t even know myself. But that’s something for the province and so on. And there are huge opportunities there. If you can make that happen, I’m still convinced that it could be very inexpensive for society as a whole to have healthy food from a healthy food system, with a healthy revenue model for the farmer and a beautiful landscape, with much less negative impact on the entire environment. (ID-05).

One important factor is that farmers have low costs, given the reluctance of traditional banks to finance their initiatives:

Mainstream farmers who are all up to their ears in debt with all kinds of constructions with feed suppliers and banks. And we just started doing this with our own money. We don’t have a bank breathing down our necks. What’s more, we wanted to make everything more sustainable this year with solar panels, and the bank just wouldn’t give us a red cent. (ID-06).

Towards a conceptual framework for analyzing CNABMs

The exploratory literature review (Section “Literature Review on Business Model Strategies 188 and Elements of Circular and Nature Inclusive Business Models”), the findings from the sugar-beet case (Section “Analysis of the Sugar Beet Case”) and the seven empirical cases (Section “Analysis of Seven Empirical Case Studies”) together led to the conceptual framework for analysing CNABMs, as shown in Fig.  2 . The framework has been adapted from Antikainen and Valkokari [ 16 ]. We distinguish three key elements:

The social and physical context, which includes the adoption factors (based on Lewandowksi [ 26 ] and Tura et al. [ 27 ]).

The business level, which includes the building blocks of the BMC [ 28 , 34 ], the circular building blocks [ 19 ] and the strengths and weaknesses from the SWOT analysis [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. (The opportunities and threats identified in the SWOT analysis are not discussed at this point, as they overlap with the adoption factors in the first part of the framework.)

The sustainability-impact context, which includes the positive and negative social, environmental and financial consequences of business models [ 44 ].

(Adapted from Antikainen and Valkokari [ 16 ])

Conceptual framework for Circular and Nature-inclusive or Nature-positive Agricultural Business Models (CNABMs)

It is important to note that this framework can also be applied to other types of sustainable agriculture.

In this paper, we describe and test a conceptual framework for assisting farmers in developing their future businesses towards agricultural business models that are more circular and nature-inclusive. Proceeding from existing literature and the framework developed by Antikainen and Valkokari [ 16 ], we argue that, when identifying critical success factors for the implementation of nature-inclusive and circular agricultural business models (CNABMs) (or more sustainable business models in general), (1) it is important to consider the barriers and drivers in the social and physical contexts within which entrepreneurs involved in such business models must operate (‘adoption factors’); (2) sustainable business models should go beyond delivering economic value and include a consideration of other forms of value for a broader range of stakeholders. Moreover, attention should be paid to strengths and weaknesses of the business model; and (3) traditional business model tools (e.g. the BMC) should be extended to include elements relating to sustainability (sustainability impact).

We performed an initial test of the framework within the context of sugar-beet cultivation in the Netherlands. The results show that several business models are used simultaneously for processing sugar beets and their by-products, each with its own social and physical contexts, building blocks, strengths and weaknesses, and sustainability impact.

In the next step of the research, the conceptual framework was further tested in seven empirical case studies in arable and livestock farming. This provided additional insight in the applicability of the framework. In the following sections, we elaborate on this for the three key elements of the framework. The discussion includes a description of the most striking results.

Barriers and Drivers of CNABMs – Adoption Factors

Farmers seeking to realise circular or nature-inclusive farms — or, more generally, farmers seeking to shift to more sustainable farming methods — perceive a variety of barriers (negative adoption factors) to doing this, as well as drivers (positive adoption factors) of the process. This observation emerged from our interviews, but it has also been reported in the literature. Examples of barriers mentioned by our interviewees include restrictive legislation, dependence on short-term land-lease contracts, a lack of critical consumers who are willing to pay for sustainable products, negative social pressure from citizens and other farmers in the surroundings, uncertainty about the government’s plans concerning the nitrogen crisis and climate change, and a lack of knowledge about new sustainable farming methods. Other examples include a wide range of financial factors, like revenue models that are hardly sufficient due to small scale, the excessive investments required to realise the transition, ‘traditional’ banks that prefer not to invest in special initiatives, and restricted market access (e.g. fulfilling demands for organic farming but not being able to access the market for organic products). In the Dutch context, other authors also have identified complex and overlapping regulations and a lack of governmental support as barriers to circular farming, as well as a lack of knowledge, a lack of social support and various economic factors [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Uncertainty about the government’s plans concerning the nitrogen crisis and climate change is a continuing point of concern for Dutch farmers, regardless of their production methods [ 50 ]. Policy in this regard is shifting, and the accompanying uncertainty has far-reaching effects on the financial performance and business development of farms [ 49 ]. In the international context, a lack of social support, a lack of knowledge, economic factors and complex rules and regulations are also mentioned as barriers to the transition towards more sustainable farming systems, [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]

In addition to barriers, adoption factors include various drivers. Examples mentioned by the farmers in our study are: awareness of the need for sustainability, the availability of supportive funds and subsidies (albeit that some of the interviewed farmers mentioned that their initiatives were too far ahead for obtaining these subsidies), possibilities for knowledge development in the area of nature-based and circular solutions and consumer concerns about climate change and the corresponding increase of interest in local products. These kinds of drivers have also been mentioned in several other studies [ 57 , 58 , 59 ].

As also noted by many authors, the context within which farmers have to operate is important when seeking to understand their decision-making [ 45 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].

New Values and Strengths and Weaknesses of CNABMs

Circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models (CNABMs) — or, more generally, sustainable business models — concern more than the delivery of economic value. They should also consider other forms of value for a broader range of stakeholders [ 16 , 29 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ].

New values delivered by the farms addressed in this study include experiencing nature and farm life, embeddedness in the local community, cascading (the sequential use of resources that would otherwise be destroyed) and the reduction of plant-based food waste used to feed animals. These kinds of value do not receive much attention in ‘normal’ or traditional business models. They have also been mentioned in other studies about circular agriculture [ 25 , 42 , 43 , 46 , 65 ].

In the part of our conceptual framework that addresses the business level, we distinguish two elements in addition to the building blocks of the BMC: the take-back system described by Lewandowski [ 26 ] and the strengths and weaknesses identified in the SWOT analysis, as also described by Loizia [ 38 ], Srdjevic et al. [ 39 ] and Fernandes [ 40 ]. In most of the cases we examined, a take-back system was not necessary, except in one case that involved the collection of residual streams from the food industry to feed animals, which required considerable effort from the farmer involved. In the sugar-beet case, a take-back system is needed to collect and process the beet and their residuals, as well as to convert them into bio-based energy or sugar (beet), into fibres for cloth or building materials (residuals) or into beet pulp for the feed industry. According to Nygaard Uhrenholt et al. [ 66 ], product take-back systems are fundamental to the circular economy, as they focus on recovering value by taking back products to be recycled, re-manufactured or refurbished. The authors state that, in practice, such take-back systems are often included only in small/pilot-scale projects or have difficulty becoming financially viable, thereby posing an obstacle to the widespread adoption of circular economy.

The addition of strengths and weaknesses to the CNABM framework appeared to be useful because it can provide insight into the strong points of farms (e.g. proximity to villages or location in a tourist area, which makes it easier to attract consumers to the farm), as well as into their vulnerabilities (e.g. dependence on risky farm-funding methods or dependence on the availability of residuals from the food industry). These insights could help farmers and their advisors improve their ability to assess the likelihood that new farm initiatives will or will not succeed. As noted by Netshipale et al. [ 67 ], acknowledging the diversity in the strengths and weaknesses of farms is essential if land reform is to play a critical role in rural development. Moreover, insight into such strengths and weaknesses could facilitate the identification of developmental pathways for various types of farms. Within certain contexts, it could also contribute to the success of farms. This possibility is also illustrated by Radadya et al. [ 68 ] regarding access to agricultural markets. In addition, Liu et al. [ 69 ] identify the availability of land, the adaptability of energy crops and the development of the rural economy as strengths of producing bio-energy on marginal land. Weaknesses include economic viability and environmental impact, along with concerns relating to equity and gender [ 69 ].

Especially in circular business models, greater interdependence between stakeholders can play a role [ 45 , 54 , 70 ]. For example, this could be the case if more social cohesion were to emerge between farmers and consumers (strength) or if a farmer were to become dependent on residuals from the food industry (weakness).

Sustainability Impact of CNABMs

One important aspect of assessing CNABMs or sustainable business models is the need to consider their sustainability impact [ 44 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. This is also important within the context of the circular economy [ 74 ]. For this reason, our conceptual framework for CNABMs distinguishes positive and negative social, environmental and financial consequences. These consequences can be linked to the ‘classic’ triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability concept of ‘People, Planet and Profit’. This concept was first introduced by Elkington [ 75 , 71

Examples of positive consequences of the CNABMs we studied include embeddedness in society (social impact) due to short supply chains and direct contacts between farmers and consumers; contribution to healthier soil, nature and biodiversity (environmental impact); and the realisation of a greater share from consumer prices (economic impact). Our cases also revealed negative impacts. Examples include complaints from consumers who do not understand why farm animals are kept under more natural circumstances and consumers who are concerned about farm animals being kept to close to their homes (social impact), the use of diesel, petrol and plastics and, in some cases, greater transport distances for farmers who must travel throughout the country to deliver their products or for consumers who must drive further to reach the farm shops (environmental impact) and, possibly, riskier funding for farm initiatives (financial impact).

Comparable positive and negative impacts of short supply chains based on circular economy have also been mentioned by Kiss et al. [ 74 ]. According to these authors, the positive sustainability attributes (whether actual or supposed) of short supply chains are based primarily on extensive production methods and short transport distances. From other perspectives, however, the economic and environmental sustainability of the short chains is questionable, due to their possible de-concentration, leading to smaller freights and greater distances travelled by customers. For this reason, Kiss et al. [ 74 ] state that, despite the many potential benefits short supply chains may have for sustainability, it remains important to consider that local systems cannot be automatically identified as ‘good practices’. Comparable results are mentioned by Malak-Rawlikowska et al. [ 76 ], who state that participation in short supply chains is beneficial to producers from an economic perspective, as it allows them to capture a large proportion of margin that would otherwise be absorbed by different intermediaries. On the other hand, however,’longer’ supply channels generate lower environmental impact per unit of production when measured in terms of ‘food miles’ and ‘carbon footprint’ [ 76 ]. Moreover, consumers must be willing to accept higher purchase prices for convenience and specific product attributes, and the aggregate transportation effort that is characteristic of short chains is not efficient from the perspective of environmental sustainability, especially considering that such items usually constitute only a small proportion of a customer’s overall diet.

Limitations of the Study

Despite its contributions to unravelling CNABMs (or other sustainable business models), our study is subject to a number of limitations. The conceptual framework is based on an exploratory literature review and not on a systematic literature review, as that would have exceeded the scope of this exploratory conceptual article. Moreover, our test of the framework was based on a desk study on sugar-beet cultivation and by-products, along with seven in-depth empirical case studies. While this offers an overview of the potential application of such a framework, further research is required to test and refine the framework. For example, future studies could be based on multiple workshops with farmers, farmer advisers and other stakeholders who are working together to enhance the sustainability of the agricultural sector whilst ensuring a profitable revenue model for the farmers involved.

As evidenced by the literature [ 16 , 29 , 41 , 44 ], a general conceptual framework for more sustainable business models is not unique. To the best of our knowledge, however, no conceptual framework has been described to date that can reveal critical success factors for circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models. This paper therefore constitutes a valuable contribution to the existing literature on business models.

Conclusions

This paper presents a conceptual framework that could assist farmers, their advisers and, potentially funding organisations in identifying critical success factors for the implementation of circular and nature-inclusive business models (CNABMs). The framework was based on a synthesis of existing literature, a desk-study on sugar-beet cultivation and seven empirical case studies based on in-depth interviews with livestock and/ or arable farmers who produced in a circular and/ or nature-inclusive way.

As demonstrated by the results of our study, the conceptual framework is useful for identifying critical success factors for the implementation of combined circular and nature-inclusive or other sustainable business models in a qualitative way. The framework enables the identification of barriers to and drivers of CNABMs (adoption factors), as well as the building blocks required to cover the financial side of the business model. Furthermore, it allows for the identification of the strengths and — especially — weaknesses of the models, thereby revealing their vulnerabilities. The framework also makes it possible to highlight the possible positive and negative financial, environmental, and social consequences of specific business models (sustainability impact). The approach is likely to be beneficial to policymakers and business advisers by providing insight into the capabilities of companies in a clear and structured manner.

The paper illustrates that the identification of critical success factors for the implementation of circular, nature-inclusive and other sustainable agricultural business models requires considering both the positive and negative impacts of these models.

Data availability

A data availability statement is not applicable for this paper. We cannot share the data.

For reasons of anonymity, we cannot specify these farms any further.

Natura 2000 is a European network of protected natural areas. In these Natura 2000 areas, certain animals, plants and their natural habitats are protected to preserve biodiversity (species diversity).

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the farmers who participated in this research by giving an interview. We would also like to thank our colleague Marieke Meeusen for her useful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

This research is part of the KB programme ‘Towards a circular and climate neutral society’ funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and carried out by Wageningen University and Research.

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Carolien de Lauwere, Marie-Jose Smits, Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker, Amber Kuipers-ten Brummelhuis & Nico Polman

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Conceptualisation, methodology: Carolien de Lauwere, Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker, Nico Polman; Analysis: Carolien de Lauwere, Marie-Jose Smits, Amber Kuipers-ten Brummelhuis; Interviews: Carolien de Lauwere, Marie-Jose Smits, Amber Kuipers-ten Brummelhuis, Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker; Writing – original draft preparation: Carolien de Lauwere, Marie-Jose Smits, Amber Kuipers-ten Brummelhuis; Writing – review and editing, revised paper: Carolien de Lauwere, Nico Polman, Marie-Jose Smits.

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Appendix I: Types of circular business strategies and how they can be applied in circular and nature-inclusive agricultural business models

Appendix II. Business strategies and building blocks for sugar-beet cultivation in the Netherlands

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de Lauwere, C., Smits, MJ., Dijkshoorn-Dekker, M. et al. Understanding Circular and Nature-Inclusive Agricultural Business Models. Circ.Econ.Sust. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-024-00433-y

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Received : 23 February 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-024-00433-y

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