The case study in the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) tradition relies almost exclusively on in-depth interviews as the main source of data. This article discusses the use of another strategy, namely archival research. The first section of the article argues that archival research is an important but often overlooked tool in case study research. Using archival material provides longitudinal data, generates new theories about business networks and improves the validity and reliability of findings. In the second section of the article a model of archival research is presented and strategies for managing the process are discussed.
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Catherine Welch (2000) studied this question.