Literature Review

IRFAN BASHIR
Assistant Professor
Department of Management Studies
Islamic University of Science and Technology
Email: Irfan.bashir@islamicuniversity.edu.in
Ph.No: 9622921664
“If I Have Seen Further it is by Standing
on the Shoulders of Giants”
- Sir Isaac Newton (1675)
 Why one should write a literature review?

“You have to know the past to

understand the present.”

~Carl Sagan
 Need of Literature Review
As a research field grows, it is useful, at some
point, to undertake a review of the body of work
in that field to understand where it is and where
it needs to go in the future

Gloria Barczak, EIC JPIM- 2016 “Writing a Review Article”

 Purpose of LR
•A literature review provides a comprehensive
overview of literature related to ..
•Themes/concepts
•Theory(ies)
•Method(s) and
•Synthesizes prior studies

to strengthen the foundation of knowledge. 

 Three Approaches of Literature Review
Approach Systematic Semi Systematic Integrative
Purpose Synthesize and Overview research and track development Critique and Synthesize
Compare Evidence over time
Research Question Specific Broad Narrow or broad

Search Strategy Systematic May be may not be Systematic Usually not systematic
Sample Quantitative articles Research Articles Research Articles, books and
Characteristics other published text

Analysis and Quantitative Quantitative/Qualitative Qualitative

evaluation
Examples of • Evidence of effect • State of Knowledge • Taxonomy or classification
contribution (effect size) • Themes of Literature • Model or theoretical
• Inform policy and • Historical overview framework
practice • Research Agenda
• Theoretical model
 Classification of Review Papers
Domain Based review paper
• Domain-based review papers review, synthetize, and extend a body of
literature in the same substantive domain.
Example: “The Role of Privacy in Marketing” (Martin and Murphy 2017, JAMS), the
authors identify and define various privacy-related constructs that have appeared in
recent literature. Then they examine the different theoretical perspectives brought to
bear on privacy topics related to consumers and organizations, including ethical and
legal perspectives.
These foundations lead in to their systematic review of privacy-related articles over a
clearly defined date range, from which they extract key insights from each study.
This exercise of synthesizing diverse perspectives allows these authors to describe state-
of-the-art knowledge regarding privacy in marketing and identify useful paths for
research. 
Theory-based review papers
• Theory-based review papers review, synthetize, and extend a body of
literature that uses the same underlying theory.
• Example
• Transaction Cost Economics – research in marketing (Heide 1997, JAMS)
• Resource Based Theory in Marketing (Kozlenkova et al. 2014, JAMS)
Method-based review papers
• Method-based review papers review, synthetize, and extend a body of
literature that uses the same underlying method.
• Example “Event Study Methodology in the Marketing Literature: An
Overview” (Sorescu et al. 2017, JAMS), the authors identify published studies
in marketing that use an event study methodology. 
• Discriminant Validity Testing in Marketing: An Analysis, Causes for Concern,
and Proposed Remedies” (Voorhies et al. 2016, JAMS)
• "The contributions of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to international
business research.“- Fainshmidt, et al. (2020)- JIBS
• “An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation
modeling (PLS-SEM) in hospitality research”- Ali et al. (2018), IJCHM
 Major Contributions* of the LR paper
1. Resolve definitional ambiguities and outline the scope of the topic.
2. Provide an integrated, synthesized overview of the current state of
knowledge.
3. Identify inconsistencies in prior results and potential explanations (e.g.,
moderators, mediators, measures, approaches).
4. Evaluate existing methodological approaches and unique insights.
5. Develop conceptual frameworks to reconcile and extend past research.
6. Describe research insights, existing gaps, and future research directions.

*depending on RQ and specific time of review

Palmatier, et al. (2018) . Review articles: purpose, process, and structure. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 46, 1–5.
 How “Contribution” is achieved in LR paper
• First, the research domain needs to be well suited for a review paper- means
sufficient corpus to make integration and synthesis valuable.
• Especially if extant research reveals theoretical inconsistencies and heterogeneity of
effects.
• Second, the review paper must be well executed, with an appropriate
literature collection and analysis techniques, sufficient literature
coverage(breadth and depth), and a compelling writing style.
• Third, the manuscript must offer significant new insights based on its
systematic comparison of multiple studies, rather than simply a “book report”
that describes past research.
 How to Make a SLR paper Unique?
• Go beyond the domain – core area being reviewed ( Look a
bigger picture of the topic/theme)
• Breadth- Identifying linkages with other disciplines like
Econometric modelling, Finance, Strategic Marketing, Applied
Psychology, Sociology
• Knowledge velocity- big data, AI, ML, Industry 4.0. Circular
economy

• By doing so you can attract the potential utility of the SLR – making findings
relevant for those fall outside the main area.
 Added value of Literature Review Papers ( LRPs)
Options for added Comments Main output (examples)
value

Empirical insights • A synthesis of what is already known and may be what is • State of knowledge
not known • Gaps in literature
• Weaknesses of methodologies used
Methodologies • An analysis of methods used, and their • Overview of dominant methodologies used
advantages and disadvantages • Pros and cons of methodologies Used

Theories • An investigation of different theories used, and their • Overview of main theories used
importance. This might cover the implications for the • Strengths and weaknesses
results • Impact of theories used on results
• Potential for other theories
Gaps in literature • This can relate to reviews with an empirical, • Main gaps in literature
and a research methodological, and theoretical focus — to explore • Avenues for future research
agenda omissions and limitations in approaches and suggest ways
forward
Relevance for real • A discussion or synthesis of how useful the literature is for • Overview of knowledge available for real-world applications.
world applications real-world applications (policy, planning, etc.)— perhaps • Examples of real-world cases that are (not) underpinned by
with the use of case studies results from literature
• Comparison between cases or countries
Conceptual Model • Provides explicit structure on how dependent and • Scheme, figure presenting the conceptual model
independent variables are related. • Overview of which parts are (not) well founded/underpinned
• Can be presented preceding or following the review part by Literature
of a paper
 The Importance of Literature Reviews in Empirical Studies

Source: McKercher, et al. (2007). “Why referees reject manuscripts” 

 The Importance of Literature Reviews….
Source: McKercher, et al. (2007). “Why referees reject manuscripts” 
 Creative Elements of a Review Article
• Determining an appropriate subject
• Ideal topic will be where number of studies (conceptual, empirical) are high with NO Review available.
• certain amount of time (10, or 20 years) has passed since the last review effort was done t present an
updated assessment of filed.

• Providing a thorough review should be the first goal

• comprehensive understanding of a given topic (conceptual and empirical)
•Reporting the Summary, Not the Script 
• Star Wars is a classic struggle between good and evil v/s First they invaded this ship,
then these robots escaped, then they saved the princess, and then they destroyed the
Death Star
 Ideal Review Article Checklist
Characteristic Checklist
The review is thorough, including all relevant scholarly and empirical outlets ✔

The review is honest, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of the research stream ✔

The review provides an insightful synthesis of the literature, reporting key themes in the research ✔
stream

The review highlights unique insights that would not be apparent by reading a single scholarly or ✔
empirical article on the topic

The review covers a hot topic, updates an earlier review of an established research stream, or includes ✔
other elements that would lead to a highly cited piece of interest to the greater academy
The review is interesting, potentially bridging disciplinary backgrounds, methological approaches, and ✔
other potential divisions between Academy members (e.g., macro vs. micro interests)
The figures and tables provide concrete and specific calls for future conceptual and empirical efforts ✔
provide a blueprint to move the research stream forward
 Less Than Ideal Review Article
Less than Ideal Review Article Checklist
Yes/No
The review includes only a subset of journals or articles relevant to a given research stream ✔

The review highlights a particular agenda, and weaknesses of past studies are Obscured(masked) ✔

Every single work is summarized in excessive detail, leading to a low ratio of insights to page length ✔

The review outlines issues/problems that are common to the whole of “Discipline” studies ✔
Too few articles have been published to examine a critical mass of work at this ✔
stage in a topic’s development, or many reviews have been conducted in the past suggesting incremental
value in a review at this stage
Little insights for future conceptual and empirical efforts are presented in the review ✔

The tables span many pages, but provide little in terms of themes concerning ✔
specific trends concerning the review topic
 Number of Articles on Systematic Literature Review

1853

1454

1276

931

667

527

367
296
186
147
69 89
33 29 39 48
2 1 6 11 14 19
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

• TITLE-ABS-KEY ( "Systematic Literature Review" OR "SLR" OR "Systematic Review" ) AND (LIMIT-TO ( SUBJAREA , "PSYC" ) OR
LIMIT-TO ( SUBJAREA , "BUSI" ) OR LIMIT-TO ( SUBJAREA , "DECI" ) OR LIMIT-TO ( SUBJAREA , "ECON" ) )
• Data retrieved on August 12, 2021
Steps in Literature Review Process
The Stages of the literature search
1. Identify search words

Analyse your research topic or question

• What are the main ideas?
• What concepts or theories have you already covered?
• Write down your main ideas, synonyms, related words and
phrases.

READ FEW PAPERS-Latest and Oldest on the Research Theme or

Question
• If you're looking for particular types of research, you can use these as
search words. Like- qualitative, quantitative, methodology, review,
survey, test, trend (and more).
• Be mindful of UK and US spelling variations. E.g. organisation OR
organization, ageing OR aging.
• Use and think of synonyms- children are girls, boys, teenagers
• Background reading and preparation-Start with some background
reading - textbooks, subject encyclopedias, articles, news article.
https://webapps.library.uow.edu.au/keywords/
 How to Convert Research Topic/theme to
searchable keywords?

Globalization of Chinese Companies in 21 st Century

Main Topic of Inquiry- Globalisation

Angle of Research: Firm or Companies specific
Locational Focus: China
21st Century: Time period of interest

Now create a list of synonymous/related terms/Alternative terms for each

of the above
 Globalization of Chinese Companies in 21st Century

• Globalisation • Chinese •Firms • Twenty first

• Globalization • China •Firm century
•Corporations • 21st century
• Integration ? •Corporation
•Company • 2001 onward
•Companies • specific time
•Co. periods
 Research Topic:
“The Influence of Women’s Self-Perceptions on Career
Advancement”
 Use Boolean operators

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsSZps3NH-M&t=146s
Create Search Strategy Grid
 Checklist for defining keywords

What alternative vocabulary is used in discussion of my topic?

Are there American and British variants of spelling or vocabulary?
Can I identify a word-stem for truncation? E.g., child$ to find child,
children, or childish.
Are common abbreviations, acronyms or formulae used?
What specific cases or examples am I interested in?
What more general terms might include my topic?
Are there categories I'd like to exclude?
 2. Speak the Language of Database & Connect your
search words

Combine your search terms in a way that a database can

understand. To do this, you need to use the words AND, OR,
NOT (Boolean operators).
• AND combines different concepts (e.g. Globalization and Chinese,
Firms and 21st century listed in different columns of the table
above are different concepts).
• OR combines similar concepts (e.g. Chinese and China listed in
the same column above are similar concepts).
• NOT excludes the undesirable concepts.(Globalization NOT
Internationalization)
3. Use search tricks
Search for different word endings
• Truncation * or $
• The asterisk symbol * or dollar $ symbol will help you search for different word endings.
Companies, Company … use – Compan*, Compan$ Similarly for
Corporation/Corporations- can use Corporat* or Compan$

Search for common phrases

• Phrase searching “...........”
• Double quotation marks help you search for common phrases and make your results more
relevant
“Climate Finance” “Corporate Governance” “College Students” “Board Diversity”
Search for spelling variations within related terms
• Wildcards ?
• Wildcard symbols(?) allow you to search for spelling variations within the
same or related terms.
• Globali?ation will return both Globalisation and Globalization
• wom?n will find results with women OR woman
Example…
4. Identifying the resources to search
• Regardless of the subject, there is no Single Database that can used
for the search
• Always Use Multiple Databases for the search
• One database differ from each others in terms of their coverage.
• Be aware of the databases/journals that can relates to your field.
• Information literacy includes:-
1. Identify and effectively locate needed literature           
2. Critically evaluate the sources of literature
3. Ethically use these sources.
Where to Start?
Use Multiple databases !!!!

• Always use multiple database to search literature

relevant to topic of your research.
• Look for list of academic databases and search
engines like Scopus, EBSCO, Proquest, WoS, PubMed
• Don’t think Google Scholar can suffice!!
Electronics Databases Search Guides
Web of Science Interface
Scopus Interface
Leading Journal Publication Houses
 In case you have difficulty Identifying the Journals..

• CABS List - Academic Journal Guide 2021- 4*, 4, 3, 2, 1-

Rating of Journals
• ABDC Journal List 2019 – A*, A, B ,C
• Journal Citation Report- Impact Factor List 2020 by
Clarivate Analytics
• Scimago Journal Ranking – Q1 to Q4
Zahoor et al. (2020).
Collaboration and
internationalization of SMEs:
Insights and recommendations
from a systematic review.
International Journal of
Management Reviews, 22(4),
427-456.
 5. Keeping track of the resources you find

• To write a literature review, you need to locate a large

number of resources and read many materials.
• Keeping track of the resources you find, read and use
will help you better manage and organize the ideas and
concepts to be presented in your literature review.
• evaluate which databases or search terms are most effective in
your area of research;
• keep a record of what you have and haven’t done in your
searching, which can be important if you are interrupted or only
have small blocks of time in which to conduct your searches;
• repeat successful searches at a later time to update your literature;
• stay focused and complete your searches if you are led off track.
Keep a “Search Log”
• When you search for resources using multiple databases, keep a
record of what you have done to perform the search, such as the
databases you have used, the keywords you have combined and
searched, and the search results retrieved using various search
statements.
• From what you have done, you will then know what you should do
next such as, to:
• Redo a previous search
• Use other terms or combination of terms
• Limit to other search fields
• Try another database
 Database Search Log
Project Name: Board Diversity and Firm Performance
Project Type: Systematic Literature Review
Owner: Satish Kumar
Start Date: May 2021

Search Database Keywords Search results

Date
August 12, EBSCO Host Database 1. “Board Diversity AND (“Firm* 118 Results
2021 Business Source Complete Performance”) Acedmic journals - 84
9-11 am Search in TOPIC (Searches title, abstract, 2. Board OR Gender AND “Firm 107 having Full text
author keywords, and Keywords Plus) Performance” A few relevant titles.
Need to locate more articles on Gender
diversity and performance

August 13, Scopus in article, keywords and title 1. “Board Diversity AND (“Firm* --278 results
2021 7 -9 pm Search in Title, Abstract and keywords Performance”) --Exported 40 citations to RefWorks
2. Board OR Gender AND “Firm --Need to look for articles specific to
Performance” Communication filed

August 14, Web of Science 1. “Board Diversity AND (“Firm* -110 Results
2021 Search in TOPIC (Searches title, abstract, Performance”) - 10 directly relevant hits
author keywords, and Keywords Plus) 2. Board OR Gender AND “Firm - Jensen and Mecksling Paper top cited.
Performance”
Another Example of Search Log
 6. Follow the citations- Backward and Forward Searching

• Once you have identified some relevant journal articles, an easy

way to find more studies is by looking through the reference lists of
these articles (backward searching).
• The reference studies are likely to be quite relevant for you as well.
• In addition, look at the papers that have cited the articles since
they were published (forward searching).
• This will help you find the newer studies that have built upon the
work.
 7. Keeping up with literature
• Almost all databases and publishers provide one or more of the
following alerts features: Table-of-Contents (TOC) alerts, citation
alerts, and keyword alerts.
• These alerts are very useful for keeping up with newly published
papers and research topics.
• With many alert services, you receive alerts in the form of emails
listing the title and authors of newly published papers, and
sometimes even abstracts. 
Use Social Networks Platform
Systematic review “aims to
comprehensively
locate and synthesize research
that bears on a particular
question, using organized,
transparent, and replicable
procedures at each step in the
process”

(Littell, Corcoran, & Pillai, 2008, p. 1

 Key steps in the systematic review methodology

1. Topic formulation. The author sets out clear objectives for the review
and articulates the specific research questions or hypotheses that will be
investigated.
Example*:
1) What is the current state of research on collaborative internationalization of SMEs?
2) What are the theories that underpin research on SMEs’ collaborative
internationalization?
3) What are the antecedents, mediators, moderators and outcomes of SMEs’
collaborative internationalization?
(4) What are the implications for future research suggested by our findings?

Zahoor et al. (2020) IJMR

2. Establishing the scope and boundaries of review
• The author specifies relevant problems, populations, constructs, and
settings of interest.
3. Study identification, screening & selection process
 4. Data analysis
• The degree and nature of the analyses used to describe and examine the
collected data vary widely by review.
• Purely descriptive analysis is useful as a starting point but rarely is sufficient
on its own.
• The examination of trends, clusters of ideas, and multivariate relationships
among constructs helps flesh out a deeper understanding of the domain. 
• Further examination of Theories Methods, Concepts and Context,
Constructs( DVs, IVs, Mediator, Modeartor) can shed important information
on the research topic
 5. Reporting
• Three key aspects of this final step are common across systematic reviews.
• First, the results from the fourth step(data analysis) need to be presented, clearly
and compellingly, using narratives, tables, and figures.
• Second, core results that emerge from the review must be interpreted and
discussed by the author. These revelatory insights should reflect a deeper
understanding of the topic being investigated, not simply a regurgitation of well-
established knowledge.
• Third, the author needs to describe the implications of these unique insights for
both future research and managerial practice.
 Structure of systematic review papers

A. Depth and Rigour

• avoid falling in to two potential “ditches”
(a) paper fails to demonstrate that a systematic approach of literature selection.
(b) mind-numbing recitation- without evident organization, synthesis, or critical
evaluation.
B. Replicability
Processes for the identification and inclusion of research articles should be described in
sufficient detail, such that an interested reader could replicate the procedure.
The procedures used to analyze chosen articles and extract their empirical findings and/or key
takeaways should be described with similar specificity and detail.
C. Usability
• Some scholars always are new to the field or domain in question, so review papers also
need to help them gain foundational knowledge.
• Key constructs, definitions, assumptions, and theories should be laid out clearly (for
which purpose summary tables are extremely helpful).
• An integrated conceptual model can be useful to organize cited works.
• Most scholars integrate the knowledge they gain from reading the review paper into
their plans for future research, so it is also critical that review papers clearly lay out
implications (and specific directions) for research. 
D. Helpful format
• Because such a large body of research is being synthesized in most review papers,
simply reading through the list of included studies can be exhausting for readers.
• This brings to the importance of tables and figures in review papers, used in
conjunction with meaningful headings and subheadings.
• Vast literature review tables often are essential. (see Watson et al 2017, JPIM)
• Sometime sequence of more focused tables may be better than a single,
comprehensive table. (like each on for theories, Definitions, keyconcepts,
methodological footprints, antecedents etc.)
The SPAR- 4- SLR protocol

Paul, J., Lim, W. M., O’Cass, A., Hao, A. W., &

Bresciani, S. (2021). Scientific procedures and
rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR‐
4‐SLR). International Journal of Consumer Studies.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-
Analyses (PRISMA) Protocal

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman,

D. G., & Prisma Group. (2009). Preferred
reporting items for systematic reviews and
meta-analyses: the PRISMA
statement. PLoS medicine, 6(7), e1000097.
 Common Mistakes by Researchers in Conducting LR
• First, researchers often fail to describe in enough detail how the
literature review was conducted- impossible to evaluate both the quality
of the review and its contribution.
• No clear search strategy, selection of exclusion of articles and no details
about overall search strategy.
• Second, in the eagerness to pare the sample size down to make the
review easier to handle, it is also common to limit the search too greatly.
• only including a limited number of journals and a narrow year span or excluding
articles from related fields that could have been relevant for the specific review
• Limiting the sample too greatly is a warning flag- it affects both-depth
and rigor of the review, and it can have serious effects on its results and
contributions.
• Third, frequently, researchers who have conducted a review often fail to
present and explain he results of the review clearly. Often, a large number
of different graphs, tables, and figures is included, but not remarked on or
explained.
• It is common to spend much time ex-plaining the method and the specific analytical
technique, but to spend less time discussing and explaining what was actually found
and what these results mean.
• Overall issue is what is the meaning of CONTENT to CONTEXT is really missing.
• Lastly ,sometime author make LR paper overly Descriptive and not explicitly
diving into content and putting it to context.
 Webster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future:
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An Writing a literature review. MIS quarterly, xiii-xxiii.
overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339.
Wee, B. V., & Banister, D. (2016). How to write a literature
Paul, Justin, and Alex Rialp Criado. "The art of writing literature review: What do we know
review paper?. Transport Reviews, 36(2), 278-288. and what do we need to know?." International Business Review (2020): 101717.
Sharma, G., & Bansal, P. (2020). Partnering up: Including managers as Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types
research partners in systematic reviews. Organizational Research Methods and associated methodologies. Health information & libraries journal, 26(2), 91-108.
Some Excellent Outlets for Review Articles
Journals with Special Review Issues(Annual)
 Next Week Agenda
August 21, 2021- 9.00- 11.00 (New York Time)

• Developing Search Protocols

• Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria for SLR
• Developing Reading log
• Various Type of SLR
• Parameters of SLR
• SLR Using TCCM Framework
• Writing SLR based Review using Leading
Examples.
contact: skumar.dms@mnit.ac.in