Defining the BE-DTIB through Multiple Case Study Analysis

While other EU countries have strategies in place to enhance their Defence Technological and
Industrial Base (DTIB), Belgium has only recently initiated a strategy to support projects vital to
Belgian Defence. One of the causes of this delayed policy response is, in part, due to the lack of a complete mapping of the Belgian DTIB. A prerequisite to being able to map the entities within the BE-DTIB is to first define what the term BE-DTIB encompasses.

Hence, our research employs a multiple case study approach examining several existing mappings of selected countries and institutions to derive common generalizations for the DTIB definition and its inclusion criteria. While there are limited similarities between the selected case studies, we find that there is a lack of generalizability between mapping studies (delimitations, data sourcing, scope, terms).
This hampers comparative analyses between countries. Based on the generalizable insights and our aim of the mapping, we developed a definition for the BE-DTIB and outline inclusion criteria for an entity to be considered part of it.