Case Centre Excelia

Everything you need to know about pedagogical case studies!

For almost 15 years, EXCELIA has been using the pedagogical case study method not only in Management courses, but also in CSR, and Tourism.

What is a pedagogical case and why use it?
It’s a real-life ‘story’, that of a company or an organisation, which helps concepts or theories to be explained and is used to solve strategic issues.
The aim is to encourage the link between what is learned in the classroom and what happens in the real world.
And, as in real life, there are several possible solutions or answers, with decisions being made through discussion!

Case-based learning: The case-based learning method makes it possible to establish links between theory and practice, using real-life situations. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure a better application of the theoretical concepts learned in class.

Why establish a case centre at Excelia? This is an uncommon and original approach within French management schools. The aim is to draw on the valuable resources of organisations in the local region to be able to provide students with current, tangible topics for analysis.

The group wants to highlight the links between research and teaching, using cases where the theory learned can actually be applied

The case method and our experts

This approach, based on real cases (in Quebec, it is referred to as ‘putting oneself in the shoes of the manager’), encourages cooperation between learners and leads them to make an assessment, propose recommendations, and derive rules or principles applicable to similar cases (vicarious learning).
Just like in real life, there are several possible solutions or answers, and decisions are made through discussion. In fact, some learners are puzzled by the absence of an answer sheet!

Our expertise: Tourism & CSR / Our added value: ensuring the quality of the theoretical foundation

The objective of the case centre is to work on the continuous improvement of in-house pedagogical cases and, more broadly, to contribute to the recognition of the case study tool among teachers and higher education institutions.

The case centre has devised, and coordinates, two awards, with the help of the relevant research associations and the CCMP-Centrale de Cas et de Médias pédagogiques.

Tourism: the award for the best case in Tourism Management, in partnership with AFMAT
CSR: the award for the best case in Sustainable Development or in Corporate Social Responsibility, in partnership with RIODD

Other projects, such as case workshops, are organised in collaboration with academic colleagues, taking place at the Prolog conference (logistics) and at the Rendez-vous Champlain (tourism).
In the medium term, Excelia hopes to produce a collection of cases focussing on Tourism and CSR.

For future students, there is an opportunity to take part in the adventure!

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to work together like your glorious predecessors to write a case study and prove your savoir-faire!

Promo 2018-2019 — MSc students, Class of 2019, who worked on the FIFAV case

promo 2021_2022 — MSc students, Class of 2022, who worked on the Balneology case

For some of the graduating classes (Tourism MSc Years 1 and 2) there was the opportunity to get involved by participating in a unique experience… the assessment of the candidates for the best case in Tourism Management, in parallel with peer review assessment: AFMAT Award

As Catherine Audrin (2020) reminds us: “The student is the focus of our concerns in a context of innovation, given that these pedagogical transformations are aimed at improving learning. Pedagogical innovation, however, means that students have to adapt, they have to change their behaviour, for example with more active participation, and by becoming more autonomous (Lison and Jutras, 2014). As a result, we are faced with a compromise between the innovation and its implementation, whereby the actors adjust to the innovation, which must in turn adjust to them (Cros, 1997). Therefore, it is important to understand the perception of the actors involved to be able to adjust the innovation, potentially upstream, to ensure that it can be implemented in the best way possible.”

Catherine Audrin, - Innovation pédagogique en milieu universitaire : définition et pratiques (Pedagogical innovation in higher education: definition and practices), Revue internationale de pédagogie de l’enseignement supérieur (International Journal of Pedagogy in Higher Education) [Online], 35(2) | 2019, Online since 13th March 2020
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Latest News

Call for Contribution: ‘Operationalising CSR’ Research and Cases in Management Science (RCSG)

The RCSG, a FNEGE Tier 4-ranked journal, is the only French academic journal that focusses on business cases. For more details: http://revuecasgestion.fr

A special issue is soon to be published, with contributions from Excelia Faculty, including Cécile EZVAN, and colleagues from the University of La Rochelle such as Florence de FERRAN.

Call for contributions for two case awards:

-AFMAT in Paris 2024

-RIODD in Brussels 2024: available on our partners’ websites and on the CCMP website

Cas-thothèque… our case library

Some of the in-house cases

‘Sustainability in the Cognac Supply Chain' Morgane FRITZ The Case Centre R ead case
« Worldcast Group : COVID-19, éducation et solution média, une opportunité de développement à l'international » (Worldcast Group: COVID-19, education and media solution, an opportunity for international development) Florence Winkler CCMP reference. : GI004 R ead Case
« AGEAN Airlines : overflying Risks with no Turbulences » Athanase PLASTIRAS CCMP reference : C0488 (GB) Read case
« BOULANGER : pilotage de la performance dans une entreprise de distribution omnicanale » (BOULANGER: Performance indicators for an omnichannel distribution company) Christian HADDAD, Elie SALAMEH (EDHEC), CCMP reference : C0486 Read case
« MAIF : stratégie d’une mutuelle à mission » (MAIF: Strategy for a mission-based mutual insurance company) Philippe SCHAFER, Thibault CUENOUD, Vincent HELFRICH, Gabriel LUCCHINI-MOYAL (MAIF) and Marie LAPALLE (MAIF), CCMP reference : G2042 Read case
Coopératives d’Argane : entre ombre et lumière (Coopératives d’Argane: Reconciling Sustainable Development Challenges with Marketing Strategy) Marie-Noëlle Rimaud, Diallo Laouratou (Faculty of Management Science, ISIAM-Agadir), L’Hocine Houanti (EM Normandie) - CCMP CSR Marketing Read case
"Dans la tête du client" : Ce que l’analyse de la vie intérieure d’un consommateur révèle sur ces décisions : Cas de l'expérience d’achat d’une Renault Mégane IV. (In the client’s mind: How analysing a client’s mind reveals his/her decisions: the buying experience of a Renault Megane IV)
Imed Ben Nasr CCMP Marketing
Groenland KALAALLIT NUNAAT, le défi : faire le pari d'un tourisme durable qui profite à tous. (The Challenge for Greenland or KALAALLIT NUNAAT: sustainable tourism for the benefit of all)
Marie-Noëlle Rimaud - CCMP reference D0006 Read case
La Grande Terrasse : How to attract a foreign clientele both in leisure and business
Didier Roche- Case center 520-0153-1 / Teaching note 520-0153-8 R ead case
Palace Revolution for Castelnau Champagne Packaging, Storytelling, CSR: What Future for Champagne Companies? (Available in Frenchand in English)
Auteur : Marie-Noëlle Rimaud - Case Reference no. 521-0090-1 / Teaching Note Reference no. 521-0090-8 Read case
Rivages de France : 30 ans au service des gestionnaires d’espaces naturels littoraux et lacustres (RIVAGES de FRANCE: 30 years of service dedicated to the management of natural coastal and lake environments)
Jérôme Piriou, Marie-Noëlle Rimaud - CCMP reference D0008 CSR, Marketing R ead case

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