5. Conclusions

In this chapter, the pieces of the thesis come together, and the overall research question is being answered which has implications for theory. In this chapter I confront the hypotheses with the patterns recognized in the case studies. Some parts of the hypotheses can be explained by literature, some parts have to be explored in further research. I will start this chapter with an introduction where I relate the preceding chapters to this final chapter. That paragraph is followed by a confrontation of the hypotheses with the empirical data from the case studies, which leads to conclusions about the research problem. The last paragraphs of this chapter are reserved for the implications for theory that follow from the conclusions, the limitations of the study and ideas for further research.

• Introduction
• Conclusions about the hypotheses
• Conclusions about the research problem
• Implications for theory
• Limitations
• Further research