Theorising Findings of Case Studies on Business English Undergraduate Students Becoming Members of International Business Communities

This case study is based on a project that investigated the learning experiences of a cohort of undergraduate students undertaking the new Business English Major course at a Chinese university. The course was designed to prepare these students for a career in international business. The project aimed to explore what these students became through their four-year undergraduate studies. Two interrelated questions were raised to guide the research: (1) what professional identity did the students develop? (2) how did the curricular, extra-curricular and professional experiences contribute to their professional identity development? The original investigation followed a multiple-case study methodology. This case study is focused on the use of the methodology in answering the first research question, that is, what professional identity did the Business English Major students develop? It illustrates the use of the literature to generate an initial conceptualisation of professional identity, the process of determining the focal cases and data collection in the multiple-case study, and the validation of the initial conceptualisation through theorising across the focal cases. The reader will learn the rationale for adopting a multiple-case study methodology, strengthen their critical awareness of the complexity in the methodology and apply the methodology in their study of a phenomenon in its context.