Prior to the establishment of CWAM, managers in the Malaysian public sector , the private sector and institutions of higher learning had little choice but to use foreign cases, mainly from USA and UK, for the purpose of teaching and learning from the case study method. At times, some of these foreign cases were found to be culturally incompatible with the local social norms and values, rendering them less effective than the intended objectives. Consequently, a group of people who attended a case trainers' workshop conducted by Professor Martin Laurence in 1985, decided to form a case writers' association. Thus, the Case Writers' Association of Malaysia came into being in 1986 with the aim of encouraging the development of local cases which are relevant, suitable and useful for Malaysian managers, officials and trainers.

The Objectives of CWAM:

1. To encourage the writing of original Malaysian management cases.
2. To provide a platform for strengthening and furthering the art of management case writing through training programmes in Malaysia.
3. To set standards of approval for the cases submitted.
4. To eventually carry out the functions of a Case Clearing House.
5. To assist in related areas such as case writing competitions, publication of cases, case workshops and evaluation of new cases submitted.
6. To participate in any activity that will contribute towards the development of case writing in Malaysia.