This seminar will present the Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA), which  is a novel empirical methodology, recently published in Organizational Research Methods (Dul, 2016). Reactions of researchers, practitioners, editors and reviewers are very promising. For example, an editor of a top journal said: “From my perspective, [this NCA paper] is the most interesting paper I have handled at this journal, insofar as it really represents a new way to think about data analyses".

How does NCA work? NCA understands cause-effect relations in terms of "necessary but not sufficient". It means that without the right level of the condition a certain effect cannot occur. This is independent of other causes, thus the necessary condition can be a bottleneck, critical factor, constraint, disqualifier, etc. In practice, the right level of necessary condition must be put and kept in place to avoid guaranteed failure. Other causes cannot compensate for this factor.

Whom is NCA for? NCA is applicable to any discipline, and can provide strong results even when other analyses such as regression analysis show no or weak effects. By adding a different logic and data analysis approach, NCA adds both rigor and relevance to theory, data analysis, and publications. NCA is a straightforward and user-friendly method that requires no advanced statistical or methodological knowledge beforehand. It can be used in both quantitative research as well as in qualitative research. 

More information? During the seminar the method and its applications in different management fields will be presented. There will be plenty of room for discussion.