Professor Debapratim Purkayastha: The case study expert

Professor Debapratim Purkayastha, Associate Dean of ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, emerged as the number one bestselling author of case studies in Management when the UK-based Case Centre, world’s largest repository of case studies, revealed the Top 40 Bestselling authors recently. Born and brought up in the north-eastern state of Assam, 40-year-old Purkayastha came to Hyderabad in 2004. For him, money was not of primary importance. He had left a cushy corporate job in the Pharma industry to foray into academics. “It gives me immense pleasure to do something that has an impacts thousands,” he clarifies.

Purkayastha is considered among the leading experts in Case Method, a pedagogical approach initially made popular by Harvard Business School, and later adopted by all top business schools. Use of Case Method helps develop skill as it emphasises application of knowledge. In 2014, he was first mentioned in the Top 40 Bestselling authors and in 2015, Purkayastha became the youngest, one out of just 8 professors till date, to be given a lifetime achievement award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Case Method’ in the UK. In last ten years, he has won more than three dozen case method awards from the US, Belgium, Canada, China, Portugal and Switzerland. The other bestselling authors are from internationally reputed B-schools like Harvard Business School, IMD, INSEAD, and Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Regarding the achievement, he says, “I am honoured and humbled to be part of this list featuring such great case practitioners! It gives me immense satisfaction that the cases authored/co-authored by me has gained wide acceptance, thus making a positive difference in the life of many students world over.”

So, how does writing a typical case study work? “We tend to work simultaneously on different cases, keeping in mind the relevance. Generally, a case study can be of 15-20 pages and depending on the source of the research, the time required to complete may take up to a year,” he says. According to him, India ranks among the top five in case studies currently, and most of the clients are from western countries.