IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v104y2019icp333-339.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines

Author

Listed:
  • Snyder, Hannah

Abstract

Knowledge production within the field of business research is accelerating at a tremendous speed while at the same time remaining fragmented and interdisciplinary. This makes it hard to keep up with state-of-the-art and to be at the forefront of research, as well as to assess the collective evidence in a particular area of business research. This is why the literature review as a research method is more relevant than ever. Traditional literature reviews often lack thoroughness and rigor and are conducted ad hoc, rather than following a specific methodology. Therefore, questions can be raised about the quality and trustworthiness of these types of reviews. This paper discusses literature review as a methodology for conducting research and offers an overview of different types of reviews, as well as some guidelines to how to both conduct and evaluate a literature review paper. It also discusses common pitfalls and how to get literature reviews published.

Suggested Citation

  • Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:104:y:2019:i:c:p:333-339
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319304564
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Snyder, Hannah & Witell, Lars & Gustafsson, Anders & Fombelle, Paul & Kristensson, Per, 2016. "Identifying categories of service innovation: A review and synthesis of the literature," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2401-2408.
    2. Robert W. Palmatier & Mark B. Houston & John Hulland, 2018. "Review articles: purpose, process, and structure," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-5, January.
    3. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    4. Alessandro Liberati & Douglas G Altman & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Cynthia Mulrow & Peter C Gøtzsche & John P A Ioannidis & Mike Clarke & P J Devereaux & Jos Kleijnen & David Moher, 2009. "The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-28, July.
    5. François A. Carrillat & Renaud Legoux & Allègre L. Hadida, 2018. "Debates and assumptions about motion picture performance: a meta-analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 273-299, March.
    6. Per Carlborg & Daniel Kindström & Christian Kowalkowski, 2014. "The evolution of service innovation research: a critical review and synthesis," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(5), pages 373-398, March.
    7. Verlegh, Peeter W. J. & Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E. M., 1999. "A review and meta-analysis of country-of-origin research," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 521-546, October.
    8. Witell, Lars & Snyder, Hannah & Gustafsson, Anders & Fombelle, Paul & Kristensson, Per, 2016. "Defining service innovation: A review and synthesis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2863-2872.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mahavarpour, Nasrin & Marvi, Reza & Foroudi, Pantea, 2023. "A Brief History of Service Innovation: The evolution of past, present, and future of service innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Uchendu Eugene Chigbu & Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku & Cherley C. Du Plessis, 2023. "The Science of Literature Reviews: Searching, Identifying, Selecting, and Synthesising," Publications, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Villani, Elisa & Linder, Christian & Lechner, Christian & Muller, Lina, 2021. "How do non-innovative firms start innovation and build legitimacy? The case of professional service firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 614-625.
    4. Bourke, Jane & Roper, Stephen & Love, James H., 2020. "Innovation in legal services: The practices that influence ideation and codification activities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 132-147.
    5. Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran & Bustinza, Oscar F. & Opazo-Basaez, Marco & Gomes, Emanuel, 2023. "Treble innovation firms: Antecedents, outcomes, and enhancing factors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    6. Cem Işık & Ekrem Aydın & Tarik Dogru & Abdul Rehman & Ercan Sirakaya-Turk & Deniz Karagöz, 2022. "Innovation Research in Tourism and Hospitality Field: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    7. Chukwuemeka Echebiri & Stein Amundsen & Marit Engen, 2020. "Linking Structural Empowerment to Employee-Driven Innovation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Su Keng Tan & Wai Keung Leung & Alexander Tin Hong Tang & Roger A Zwahlen, 2017. "Effects of mandibular setback with or without maxillary advancement osteotomies on pharyngeal airways: An overview of systematic reviews," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-20, October.
    10. Alessandro Concari & Gerjo Kok & Pim Martens, 2020. "A Systematic Literature Review of Concepts and Factors Related to Pro-Environmental Consumer Behaviour in Relation to Waste Management Through an Interdisciplinary Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-50, May.
    11. Chen, Yanyan & Mandler, Timo & Meyer-Waarden, Lars, 2021. "Three decades of research on loyalty programs: A literature review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 179-197.
    12. Fabio Magnacca & Riccardo Giannetti, 2024. "Management accounting and new product development: a systematic literature review and future research directions," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 651-685, June.
    13. Jacob Elnaggar & Fern Tsien & Lucio Miele & Chindo Hicks & Clayton Yates & Melisa Davis, 2019. "An Integrative Genomics Approach for Associating Genetic Susceptibility with the Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Triple Negative Breast Cancer," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, February.
    14. Hyun Kim & Navneet Kaur Baidwan & David Kriebel & Manuel Cifuentes & Sherry Baron, 2018. "Asthma among World Trade Center First Responders: A Qualitative Synthesis and Bias Assessment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Chu, Zhaofang & Feng, Bo & Lai, Fujun, 2018. "Logistics service innovation by third party logistics providers in China: Aligning guanxi and organizational structure," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 291-307.
    16. Giuseppe La Torre & Remigio Bova & Rosario Andrea Cocchiara & Cristina Sestili & Anna Tagliaferri & Simona Maggiacomo & Camilla Foschi & William Zomparelli & Maria Vittoria Manai & David Shaholli & Va, 2023. "What Are the Determinants of the Quality of Systematic Reviews in the International Journals of Occupational Medicine? A Methodological Study Review of Published Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Witell, Lars & Gebauer, Heiko & Jaakkola, Elina & Hammedi, Wafa & Patricio, Lia & Perks, Helen, 2017. "A bricolage perspective on service innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 290-298.
    18. VGR Chandran & Tariq Ahmed & Fedwa Jebli & Alexander Josiassen & Eva Lang, 2024. "Developing innovation capability in the hotel industry, who and what is important? A mixed methods approach," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(3), pages 728-748, May.
    19. Frank Peinemann & Ulrich Grouven & Nicolaus Kröger & Carmen Bartel & Max H Pittler & Stefan Lange, 2011. "First-Line Matched Related Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Compared to Immunosuppressive Therapy in Acquired Severe Aplastic Anemia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(4), pages 1-16, April.
    20. Jonathan Kingsley & Aisling Bailey & Nooshin Torabi & Pauline Zardo & Suzanne Mavoa & Tonia Gray & Danielle Tracey & Philip Pettitt & Nicholas Zajac & Emily Foenander, 2019. "A Systematic Review Protocol Investigating Community Gardening Impact Measures," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-12, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:104:y:2019:i:c:p:333-339. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.