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100s of Free Management Dissertation Topics and Titles

Published by Grace Graffin at January 6th, 2023 , Revised On April 16, 2024

Introduction

The subject of management involves an in-depth understanding of the various aspects of business management, such as employee management, risk management, organisational behaviour, and many more.

When choosing a topic for your management dissertation, make sure to consider diverse topics that explore both the theoretical and practical aspects of management.

We understand that getting a dissertation topic approved can be extremely challenging as academic supervisors require students to research a unique case.

This is where our team of writers comes into play. Our writers can up with exciting and manageable management dissertation topics to help get the juices flowing in your head so you can write your dissertation on a unique and engaging topic.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question ,  aim and objectives ,  literature review  along with the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics for here.

How to Select the Best Management Dissertation Topic?

A dissertation topic must be selected based on research interests, availability of data, time limitations, and the research’s scope and significance. The following management dissertation topics are carefully shortlisted while considering all these parameters. Please review these topics and let us know if you have any queries.

Also Read: Operations Management Dissertation Topics

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• HRM Dissertation Topics
• Operations Management Dissertation Topics

2024 Management Research Topics

Topic 1: an evaluation of organizational change management- why do people tend to oppose change.

Research Aim: The research will aim to assess the structure of organizational change management and to find the reasons why people resist or oppose the changes in an organization. There are many reasons through which change in organization’s management becomes important but some employees’ does not accept that changes. There are many reasons why people resist changes on organization. In certain circumstances, resistance to change might be beneficial. Resistance to change is, in fact, a crucial feedback mechanism that must not be neglected.

Topic 2: Investigating the effectiveness of customer relationship management in airlines

Research Aim: The research will aim to study the efficiency of CRM in airlines. Customer relationship management has evolved into a critical technique used by every corporation to better its operations and obtain a competitive advantage over competitors. Customer relationship management has evolved into a key priority for airline firms and an integral part of airline businesses’ corporate strategy to distinguish themselves from rivals in the eyes of the consumer. The goal of facility organisations, such as airlines, is to provide services that attract and maintain satisfied, loyal customers who promote the airline.

Topic 3: How does leadership affect employees’ productivity? A case of IT firms

Research Aim: This research will focus on leadership positions in IT organisations with the goal of increasing staff productivity and performance. Leadership is essential for increasing employee retention, career drive, and efficiency. Most companies’ progress is accelerated by effective leadership. As a result, it is critical to organisational success. Employee performance, on the other hand, is a critical pillar of every firm, and companies must examine the variables that contribute to great performance. Leadership is based on confidence, which is based on skill, sincerity, ethics, transparency, reactivity, empathy, and kindness.

Topic 4: The effect of organisation advancement tools on business performance

Research Aim: The research will aim to find the effect of organization advancement on business performance. Organizational tools are objects that assist you in organising your workspace, resources, and tasks in order to make your workday more effective. Physical instruments, planners, and software platforms are examples of what they can be. Organization advancement tools are a great source to improve your business performance as they help you in managing your daily tasks and workforce.

Topic 5: The importance of leadership and social skills in new entrepreneurs: An investigative study

Research Aim: The research will aim to investigate the importance of leadership and social skills in new entrepreneurs. Developing talent, introducing innovative goods and services, delivering efficiency, and gaining market share all benefit from improved leadership qualities. If you wish to stay small, you might be able to get away with not growing your leaders. Otherwise, it will restrict your progress. Social skills enable entrepreneurs to interact with customers more effectively, resulting in more agreements and more profitability.

Covid-19 Management Research Topics

Crisis management during covd-19.

Research Aim: This study will identify crisis management aspects during COVD-19, including its challenges and solutions.

Business management during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will review business executives’ challenges in various scale industries and how they are recovering from the loss. How far did they succeed?

Hospital and medicine management during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will highlight the role of hospital management during COVID-19, the challenges they came across, and the ways to overcome those challenges.

Educational management during COVID-19

Research Aim: This study will address the issues faced by students and educational institutes. How are they trying to overcome the challenges of imparting education during the coronavirus pandemics?

Maternal health care management during COVID-19

Research Aim: The lockdown situation has been an issue of concern for the patients, including pregnant women. This study will address the role of Maternal health care management during COVID-19.

Management Dissertation Topics for 2023

Topic 1: analyzing the traditions and trends in public administration and management in post-wwii europe.

Research Aim: The purpose of the research will be to analyze the characteristics of cultural and national communities that have influenced public administration and management in the 1970s and 1980s in Europe. The study will be carried out using a systematic literature review.

Topic 2: The Impact of Gender-inclusive Gatekeeping and Predecessors Influence on the Success of Female CEOs

Research Aim: The purpose of the research will explore how local organisational agents and contexts can help women leaders overcome barriers and achieve success at higher levels in corporate firms. The study will focus on CEO succession events and predecessor CEOS factors and their influence on women post-succession. The research design will be developed qualitatively.

Topic 3: Analysing the Impact of Daily Psychological Power on Organisational Leaders

Research Aim: The research will use quantitative techniques to analyze power-holders relational and interdependent work contexts. The study will examine the effect of daily psychological power using the factors of abusive behaviour and perceived incivility.

Topic 4: Examining the Impact of Cultural Diversity on Interaction Process and Performance

Research Aim: Using quantitative techniques, the research will analyse the interaction process and performance factors in two groups of employees in the services industry – homogenous and culturally diverse. The effectiveness in operation and arrangements will be examined.

Topic 5: Analyzing the Impact of ‘Voice’ and ‘Silence’ on Destructive Leadership

Research Aim: The research will examine the limited and biased view of silence in management literature. The study will also analyse the impact of silence in an organisation in terms of a functional value using quantitative research techniques. Furthermore, how silence in organisations can be used as a strategic response will be discussed.

Topic 6: Examining the Relationship between Productivity, Management Practices, and Employee Ability in the UK Setting

Research Aim: Using quantitative techniques, the study will analyse a relationship between productivity, management practices, and employee ability using data from management practices surveys and employees’ longitudinal earnings records.

Topic 7: Analysing the Factors that Impact International Differences in Gender Pay Gap

Research Aim: The research will use quantitative techniques to analyse microdata from various countries between 1980 and 2010. The study will use the factors of wage structures, net supply, wage compression, collective bargaining coverage, and unionised wage setting to identify the lower gender pay gap internationally.

Topic 8: The Impact of Psychosocial Hazards on Workplace Risk Management

Research Aim: The study will investigate workplace risk management practices in industry sectors with a high risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and mental health disorders (MHDs) and the extent to which they may rise from psychosocial hazards. The research will be conducted using qualitative research techniques.

Strategic Management and Organisational Behavior Dissertation Topics

Strategic management and organisational behaviour can be described as the actions a firm takes to achieve its business objectives primarily derived from competitive markets’ dynamic behaviour. Following are some interesting dissertation topics under this field of study;

Topic 1: The Impact of Organisational Goals on Organisation Behavior

Research Aim: The primary focus of this research will be to combine factors from the theory of action, phases and self-determination theory to develop a motivational model that will explain the relationship between organisational goals setting process that lead to organisational behaviour. The research will be conducted using mixed methods of research techniques.

Topic 2: Integrating the Principles of Strategic Human Capital and Strategic Human Resource Management to Improve Organisational Performance

Topic 3: comparing the impact of family and non-family firm goals on strategy, family and organisational behavior.

Research Aim: This research will analyse the differences between family and non-family business goals and their impact on how businesses develop strategies. Also, the research will assess how these developed strategies would affect family and organisational behaviour. This research will use quantitative research techniques.

Topic 4: Analyzing the Effect of Strategy, Innovation, Networks and Complexity on Organisational Adaptability – The Mediating Effect of Leadership

Research Aim: The current study will use empirical analysis to examine the effects of strategy, innovation, networks, and complexity of organisational adaptability using leadership as a mediation factor.

Topic 5: Examining the Effect of Appointment of a Racial Minority Female CEO on White Male Top Manager Intrapsychic and Behavioral Responses

Research Aim: This research will examine white male managers’ behavioural responses to a female racial minority CEO’s appointment. The behaviour that the research will analyse is the amount of help that the white male top manager provides to their fellow executives. The research will be conducted using quantitative techniques.

Topic 6: Analysis of the Effectiveness of an Affect-Based Model to Portray Recipients Responses to Organisational Change Events

Research Aim: The study will use the Affect-Based Model developed by Oreg et al. (2016) to analyse if it is useful in documenting and portraying the recipient responses to organisational change events. The research will use factors of valence and activation to assess the effectiveness of the model. The study will be conducted using quantitative techniques.

Topic 7: Evaluating the Relationship between the personality of a CEO and Employee Motivation

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between a CEO’s personality and employee motivation. The core of this study will be to assess whether a CEO’s character possesses the power to influence employee motivation or not. Case studies from various companies will be used in this study.

Topic 8: Assessing the Role of Managers in Bringing and Implementing Technological Change in an Organisation

Research Aim: This research will focus on how managers implement technological change in their organisations. Change management is challenging as not all employees are open to accepting change. This research will focus on various ways through which managers successfully implement technological change in their companies.

Topic 9: An Analysis of Organisational Change Management: Why Employees Resist Change?

Research Aim: This research will focus on why employees resist change in organisations, i.e., why employees dislike change. Different causes and factors will be discussed in this study, and the research will conclude why employees do not wholeheartedly accept the change.

Knowledge Management Dissertation Topics

The importance of knowledge management for organisations can’t be understated because this aspect of management enhances the workforce’s capabilities and overall productivity. It leads to a competitive advantage and provides the basis for differentiating an organisation from its competitors. Some interesting dissertation topics under this field are;

Topic 1: Examining the Impact of Enterprise Social Networking Systems (ESNS) on Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning

Research Aim: The research will investigate the effect of ESNS on knowledge management processes and organisational learning. The research will use knowledge creation and sharing to play the mediating role in analysing the proposed relationship. The proposed study will use empirical research methods.

Topic 2: A Review of Knowledge Management Research

Research Aim: The research paper will use a systematic literature review technique for the proposed study. The research will review the last twenty years of knowledge management literature to assess the presence of bias in explaining knowledge integration over research by exploring knowledge differentiation processes.

Topic 3: The Impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on Innovation and Knowledge Management Capacity

Research Aim: The purpose of this research will be to investigate the plausible relationship between knowledge management systems, open innovation, knowledge management capacity, and innovation capacity in firms. The research will be conducted using empirical techniques to draw reliable conclusions.

Topic 4: The Impact of Strategic Knowledge Management on MNC and their Subsidiaries Performance

Research Aim: The research will develop a model to test the possibility of a relationship between strategic knowledge management (SKM) processes and organisation performance compared between multinational companies and their subsidiaries. The research will also analyse the impact of relational context on knowledge creation and transfer.

Topic 5: Analyzing the Relationship between Knowledge Management Practices and Knowledge Worker Performance - The Mediating Role of Organisational Commitment

Research Aim: The study will analyse the role of knowledge management practices to address the issues of insufficient organisational commitment and knowledge workers’ performance in the UK’s public sectors. The proposed study will use quantitative research techniques to fulfil its aim and objectives.

Topic 6: The Relationship between Knowledge Management Processes and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Private Business Schools in the UK

Research Aim: The proposed research will explore the impact of knowledge management processes on sustainable completive advantages by using knowledge-based view (KBV) and resource-based view (RBV) as mediators in the relationship. The research will be conducted using quantitative techniques of data collection (i.e. questionnaire) and analysis (i.e. structural equation modelling).

Topic 7: The Impact of Strategic Knowledge Management on Manufacturing Firm’s Performance

Research Aim: The purpose of the study will be to empirically investigate the relationship between the availability and use of IT solutions for strategic knowledge management and a manufacturing firm’s performance, which will be measured in unit production. The research will use the resource-based view and the knowledge-based theory to develop a conceptual framework to analyze this relationship’s effect.

Topic 8: Evaluating how Knowledge Management Impacts Company Performance: A Case Study of Sainsbury

Research Aim: This research will discuss the basic concepts of knowledge management. The study will also discuss the impact knowledge management has on a company’s performance, i.e. how it helps companies achieve their goals. The main focus of this research work will be on Sainsbury’s knowledge management framework.

Topic 9: Knowledge Management as a Core Competency? Evaluating the Application and Benefits of Knowledge Management

Research Aim: This research will uncover how companies utilise knowledge management as their core competency and how it benefits their business operations. This study’s main focus will be on applying the various concepts of knowledge management and their implication for businesses.

Topic 10: Exploring the Managerial Concerns and Issues in Knowledge Management and Their Impact on Organisations

Research Aim: This research will explore the managerial concerns and issues related to knowledge management. The study will also focus on assessing the impact of these issues on businesses and how they can influence day-to-day operations. This will be an evidence-based study where evidence from different companies and various situations will be evaluated.

Leadership and Management Information System Dissertation Topics

Leadership drives the organisational agenda and is regarded as one of the most influential factors in streamlining organisations’ processes. Good leadership results in better performance of any organisation because it gives direction to the business activities under the market conditions and requirements.

Similarly, management information systems are pivotal to any organisation’s success and successfully implementing them can benefit the organisation in many ways. Following are some dissertation topics under the subject of leadership and management information systems;

Topic 1: The Role of Information Systems (IS) in Enterprise Architecture and its Impact on Business Performance

Research Aim: This study will examine the relationship between IS Enterprise Architecture and business performance using technical alignment and IS capabilities mediators. This research will be conducted using quantitative techniques to fulfil its aim.

Topic 2: Exploring The Relationship between Ethical Leadership and Employee Knowledge Sharing

Research Aim: This research will use social learning theories and self-determination to investigate the relationship between ethical learning and employee knowledge sharing. The study will be conducted using empirical research techniques.

Topic 3: Analysing the Impact of Relationship Leadership and Social Alignment on Information Security Systems Effectiveness in Private Organisations

Research Aim: This research will use social capital theory as its theoretical foundation to explore the impact of relational leadership on social alignment between business and IT executives. The relational model will study the factors of integrated knowledge, information security system effectiveness, and organisational performance. This research will use empirical techniques.

Topic 4: Examining the Relationship between Operating Room (OR) Leadership and Operating Staff Performance

Research Aim: This research will analyse the relationship between Operating Room leadership and operating staff performance. This will be done using emotional intelligence and collaboration variables to assess staff performance, using recovery numbers. The relationship will also be examined through the mediating role of leadership principles. The data will be collected and assessed using quantitative research techniques.

Topic 5: The Role of Transformational Leadership as a Mediating Variable in the DeLone and McLean Information Success Model.

Research Aim: The research will use the DeLone and McLean Information Success Model to analyse if productivity software implemented in an organisation can improve its performance. However, the research will also evaluate the model and propose modifications to include transformational leadership as a mediating factor in the information success model. The research will be quantitative in nature.

Topic 6: Assessing the Role of Leadership in an Organisation to Help Adopt Advanced Technological Systems

Research Aim: This research will assess the role of leadership in an organisation to help companies realise the importance of innovative, technologically advanced systems. Many companies today are still naive to the ever more important role of technology. Thus this research will aim to help companies adopt innovative technological systems through leadership. The research will be evidence-based in nature.

Topic 7: Evaluating How Changing Business Leadership Impacts Technological Organisational Performance

Research Aim: Changing leadership in organisations can prove a disaster if not handled properly. The transition process is extremely challenging, and companies should have the capability to handle this phase. This research will explore how their decision to change leadership impacts technological and organisational performance and how to optimise the process. This research will be quantitative in nature.

Topic 8: Can Information Systems in Organisations Be Considered a Competitive Advantage?

Research Aim: Information systems, if implemented successfully, benefit organisations immensely. The impact that an information system has and its results help companies stay ahead of their competitors. This research will assess how companies can turn their information systems into a competitive advantage, and most importantly, whether they or not information systems should be considered a competitive advantage.

Topic 9: Understanding the Leadership Challenges of Implementing and Managing an Advanced Information System in an Organisation

Research Aim: This research will help explain the challenges that managers and the entire leadership of an organisation face when implementing an advanced information system. Bringing a change in a company is challenging, and throw in a technology to implement, the process becomes even more challenging. This study will explore in detail all related challenges through quantitative research.

Topic 10: Do all Business Processes in an Organisation need Information System Management?

Research Aim: It is often argued that not all business processes require information systems. However, when talking about today’s world and the technological advancements taking place, it is recommended that business processes in organisations adopt the technology. This research will be a comparative analysis of whether companies are successful and profitable with information systems or without them.

Also Read: Business Dissertation Topics

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Organisational Culture and International Business Dissertation Topics

Organisational culture shapes the work ethics and helps in defining the professional image of organisations. Organisational culture plays a huge role in international business.

Organisations that adopt the country’s culture they are operating in are known to run their operations more successfully. The following topics are related to organisational culture and international business and help students choose an appropriate topic according to their interests.

Topic 1: The Impact of Organisational Culture of Collaborative Networks Influence on IT Governance Performance in Large Enterprises

Research Aim: This research will explore the influence of collaborative networks’ organisational culture on IT governance performance. The study will use a case study to analyse multinationals as they have a wide working network. The purpose of the research will be to determine whether or not organisational culture helps businesses effectively use IT in business operations. The research will be conducted using mixed methods research.

Topic 2: Analysing the Relationship between Supervisor’s Job insecurity and Subordinates’ Work Engagement

Research Aim: The purpose of this research is two-fold. The research will analyse the relationship between the supervisor’s job insecurity and subordinates’ work engagement using a mediator and a moderator. The research will first examine the mediating role of subordinate’s pro-social voice between supervisor job insecurity and subordinates’ work engagement. Next, the research will examine the moderating role of organisational culture between the supervisor’s job insecurity and sub-ordinates pro-social voice. The research will be conducted through quantitative techniques.

Topic 3: Analysing the Impact of Individual Perception of Organisational Culture on the Learning Transfer Environment

Research Aim: The research will be conducted empirically to assess the relationship between culture (as perceived by employees) and the work environment based learning factors (i.e. learning transfer environment [LTE]) in the organisation). LTE is measured using feedback and coaching factors that received resistance or openness to chance, personal outcomes, and supervisor and peer support.

Topic 4: The Role of Organisational Culture on the Development of Psychological Distress in the Workplace

Research Aim: The purpose of the study will be to analyse how organisational culture may cause the symptoms of psychological distress in the workforce. The study will use corporate culture and work organisation conditions as base factors to relate them to employees’ psychological distress. The research will be conducted using quantitative research techniques.

Topic 5: Analysing the Role of Leadership and Organisational Culture

Research Aim: The research will examine the relationship between organisational culture, leadership and employee outcomes. The paper will focus on the mediator of leadership processes and their impact on the relationship between culture and employee outcomes. The study will be conducted using quantitative research techniques.

Topic 6: The Role and Relationships among Strategic Orientations, Cultural Intelligence, International Diversification and Performance of Organisations

Research Aim: The research will aim to understand the drivers of the international expansion of globalised firms. The research will explore the relationship between strategic orientations and cultural intelligence as drivers and international diversification and firm performance. Strategic orientations used in the study include international market orientation (IMO) and entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). The study will be conducted using quantitative research techniques.

Topic 7: Dynamics of Corruption Culture Distance to Core Values

Research Aim: The research will examine how corporate bribery is impacted by cultural distance between multinational enterprises (MNEs) in their home and host countries. The research will also analyse the organisational distance to core value between MNE’s entry into the host country and its headquarters. The research will use empirical data collection and analysis techniques.

Topic 8: Examining Organisational Export Performance by International Business Competencies

Research Aim: The study aims to explore the relationship between international business competencies and export performance. The research will also analyse export performance by singular analysis or combined analysis of the competencies. The research will be conducted using empirical data.

Topic 9: Does Organisational Culture Influence the Leadership Type that a Company Should Adopt?

Research Aim: This research will argue whether companies should hire leaders concerning their culture or not. Organisational culture and leadership are interconnected. Thus companies that do not operate according to their culture struggle to grow exponentially. This research will aim to focus on the possible relationship between leadership and organisational culture. The research will be evidence-based.

Topic 10: Organisational Culture and International Business Competition: Are they Interrelated?

Research Aim: Organisational culture plays a huge role in making a company competitive internationally. When a business’s culture is motivating to all employees and identifies the right culture for its employees, there is every likelihood of rapid growth for both the company and the employees. The research will explore how the two concepts are interrelated.

Important Notes:

As a management student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing management theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

The management field is vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like operations management , business , business administration , MBA , human resource management and more. That is why creating a management dissertation topic that is particular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field is imperative.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation , as you may end up in the cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

Keeping our advice in mind while developing a research topic will allow you to pick one of the best management dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and adds to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample management dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure your Management Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths while identifying research gaps. Break down the topic and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is establishing the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regards to implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : Make sure to complete this by your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Management Research Paper Topics

The field of management is an extremely broad discipline that draws upon concepts and ideas from the physical and social sciences, particularly mathematics, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. Within business, the field of management includes research paper topics and ideas also common to marketing, economics, finance, insurance, transportation, accounting, computer technologies, information systems, engineering, and business law.

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Get 10% off with 24start discount code, 300 management research paper topics, corporate planning and strategic management.

Aggregate Planning B2B B2E Management Barriers to Entry Best Practices Brainstorming Business Plan Capacity Planning Content Management System Decision Rules and Decision Analysis Decision Support Systems Diversification Strategy Divestment Downsizing and Rightsizing Economies of Scale and Economies of Scope Environmentalism and Sustainability Exit Strategy Exporting and Importing Franchising Free Trade Agreements and Trading Blocs Futuring Gap Analysis Generic Competitive Strategies Globalization Goals and Goal Setting Group Decision Making Knowledge-Based View of the Firm Location Strategy Long Tail Macroenvironmental Forces Make-or-Buy Decisions Manufacturing Resources Planning Market Share Mergers and Acquisitions Miles and Snow Typology Multiple-Criteria Decision Making New Product Development Open and Closed Systems Operations Strategy Opportunity Cost Order-Winning and Order-Qualifying Criteria Porter’s Five Forces Model Product Life Cycle and Industry Life Cycle Production Planning and Scheduling Results-Only Work Environment Strategic Integration Strategic Planning Failure Strategic Planning Tools Strategy Formulation Strategy Implementation Strategy in the Global Environment Strategy Levels SWOT Analysis Synergy Upselling Zero-Based Budgeting

EMERGING TOPICS IN MANAGEMENT

Activity-Based Costing Affirmative Action Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists Artificial Intelligence Assessment Centers B2B B2E Management Balanced Scorecard Bar Coding and Radio Frequency Identification Business Process Reengineering Cafeteria Plan—Flexible Benefits Cellular Manufacturing Chaos Theory Coalition Building Communities of Interest/Communities of Practice Complexity Theory Concurrent Engineering and Design Consulting Contingency Approach to Management Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Trends Corporate Governance Corporate Social Responsibility Customer Relationship Management Decision Support Systems Diversity Electronic Commerce Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Empowerment Enterprise Resource Planning Entrepreneurship Environmentalism and Sustainability Ethics Expatriates Expert Systems Five S Framework Flexible Spending Accounts Futuring Handheld Computers Health Savings Accounts Human Resource Information Systems Innovation Instant Messaging Intellectual Property Rights Intrapreneurship Knowledge-Based View of the Firm Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Metadata or Meta-Analysis Mobile Commerce Multiple-Criteria Decision Making Non-Compete Agreements Outsourcing and Offshoring Paradigm Shift Popular Press Management Books Quality of Work Life Results-Only Work Environment Robotics Social Networking Spirituality in Leadership Succession Planning Telecommunications Vendor Rating Virtual Corporations Women and Minorities in Management

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists Balance Sheets Brainstorming Break-Even Point Budgeting Business Plan Business Structure Cafeteria Plan—Flexible Benefits Case Method of Analysis Cash Flow Analysis and Statements Competitive Advantage Consumer Behavior Cost Accounting Customer Relationship Management Diversification Strategy Domestic Management Societies and Associations Due Diligence Economics Economies of Scale and Economies of Scope Effectiveness and Efficiency Financial Issues for Managers Financial Ratios First-Mover Advantage Futuring Gap Analysis Generic Competitive Strategies Income Statements Initial Public Offering Innovation Intellectual Property Rights International Business International Management Societies and Associations Intrapreneurship Inventory Management Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances Knowledge Management Knowledge Workers Leveraged Buyouts Licensing and Licensing Agreements Location Strategy Macroenvironmental Forces Make-or-Buy Decisions Market Share Marketing Concept and Philosophy Marketing Research Miles and Snow Typology Mission and Vision Statements New Product Development Non-Compete Agreements Organizational Development Outsourcing and Offshoring Patents and Trademarks Planning Poison Pill Strategies Popular Press Management Books Porter’s Five Forces Model Pricing Policy and Strategy Problem Solving Process Management Product Design Product Life Cycle and Industry Life Cycle Profit Sharing Research Methods and Processes Scenario Planning Securities and Exchange Commission Shareholders Stakeholders Strategic Planning Tools Strategy Levels Succession Planning SWOT Analysis Synergy Technology Transfer Value Creation Venture Capital Virtual Organizations

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING

Activity-Based Costing Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists Balance Sheets Balanced Scorecard Break-Even Point Budgeting Capacity Planning Cash Flow Analysis and Statements Corporate Social Responsibility Cost Accounting Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Debt vs. Equity Financing Domestic Management Societies and Associations Due Diligence Economics Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Employee Benefits Employee Compensation Executive Compensation Exit Strategy Financial Issues for Managers Financial Ratios Flexible Spending Accounts Health Savings Accounts Income Statements Initial Public Offering Insider Trading Internal Auditing International Management Societies and Associations International Monetary Fund Inventory Types Leveraged Buyouts Licensing and Licensing Agreements Long Tail Make-or-Buy Decisions Management Control Nonprofit Organizations Opportunity Cost Patents and Trademarks Profit Sharing Purchasing and Procurement Risk Management Securities and Exchange Commission Stakeholders Succession Planning Venture Capital Zero-Based Budgeting

GENERAL MANAGEMENT TOPICS

Aggregate Planning The Art and Science of Management Autonomy B2B B2E Management Balanced Scorecard Barriers to Entry Best Practices Black Friday Brainstorming Budgeting Business Plan Business Structure Communication Competitive Advantage Competitive Intelligence Contingency Approach to Management Continuous Improvement Corporate Governance Corporate Social Responsibility Delegation Disaster Recovery Diversity Divestment Downsizing and Rightsizing Economics Effectiveness and Efficiency Electronic Commerce Empowerment Financial Issues for Managers Financial Ratios Forecasting Generic Competitive Strategies Globalization Goals and Goal Setting Human Resource Management Innovation International Management Knowledge-Based View of the Firm Knowledge Management Leadership Styles and Bases of Power Leadership Theories and Studies Line-and-Staff Organizations Logistics and Transportation Management Control Management Functions Management Information Systems Management Science Management Styles Management Thought Managing Change Mission and Vision Statements Motivation and Motivation Theory Operations Management Organization Theory Organizational Analysis and Planning Organizational Behavior Organizational Chart Organizational Culture Organizational Learning Organizational Structure Organizational Development Organizing Paradigm Shift Participative Management Patents and Trademarks Paternalism Pioneers of Management Planning Process Management Quality and Total Quality Management Request for Proposal/Quotation Social Networking Strategic Integration Strategy Formulation Strategy Implementation Strategy in the Global Environment Strategy Levels Subject Matter Expert Succession Planning Training Delivery Methods Trends in Organizational Change

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Affirmative Action Artificial Intelligence Assessment Centers Autonomy Nonverbal Communication Brainstorming Cafeteria Plan—Flexible Benefits Coalition Building Communication Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Trends Discrimination Diversity Downsizing and Rightsizing Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Employee Assistance Programs Employee Benefits Employee Compensation Employee Evaluation and Performance Appraisals Employee Handbook and Orientation Employee Recruitment Employee Screening and Selection Employment Law and Compliance Empowerment Executive Compensation Flexible Spending Accounts Group Dynamics Health Savings Accounts Human Resource Information Systems Human Resource Management Japanese Management Job Analysis Knowledge-Based View of the Firm Knowledge Workers Mentoring Morale Motivation and Motivation Theory Nepotism Non-Compete Agreements Organizational Behavior Organizational Chart Organizational Culture Performance Measurement Personality and Personality Tests Privacy, Privacy Laws, and Workplace Privacy Quality of Work Life Reinforcement Theory Results-Only Work Environment Safety in the Workplace Scalable or JIT Workforce Sensitivity Training Social Networking Stress Succession Planning Sweatshops Task Analysis Teams and Teamwork Theory X and Theory Y Theory Z Time Management Training Delivery Methods Virtual Organizations Women and Minorities in Management

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Artificial Intelligence Bandwidth Bar Coding and Radio Frequency Identification Communication Competitive Intelligence Complexity Theory Computer Networks Computer Security Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Content Management System Data Processing and Data Management Decision Rules and Decision Analysis Decision Support Systems Delegation Electronic Commerce Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Environmentalism and Sustainability Experience and Learning Curves Expert Systems Forecasting Fuzzy Logic Handheld Computers Information Assurance Innovation The Internet Knowledge Centers Knowledge Management Knowledge Workers Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Management Information Systems Manufacturing Control via the Internet Metadata or Meta-Analysis Mobile Commerce Nanotechnology Product Design Project Management Robotics Service-Oriented Architecture Technology Management Technology Transfer Telecommunications Virtual Corporations Virtual Organizations Web 2.0 WiMax

INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

B2B Competitive Advantage Diversity European Union Expatriates Exporting and Importing First-Mover Advantage Franchising Free TradeAgreements and Trading Blocs Futuring Globalization International Business International Management International Management Societies and Associations International Monetary Fund International Organization for Standards Japanese Management Licensing and Licensing Agreements Location Strategy Macroenvironmental Forces Outsourcing and Offshoring Patents and Trademarks Popular Press Management Books Profit Sharing Strategy in the Global Environment Sweatshops Transnational Organization Value-Added Tax Vendor Rating Virtual Organizations World-Class Manufacturer

LEADERSHIP RESEARCH TOPICS

The Art and Science of Management Assessment Centers Best Practices Communication Contingency Approach to Management Corporate Governance Corporate Social Responsibility Delegation Domestic Management Societies and Associations Entrepreneurship Executive Compensation Expert Systems Goals and Goal Setting Human Resource Management International Management Societies and Associations Japanese Management Job Analysis Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances Knowledge Management Knowledge Workers Leadership Styles and Bases of Power Leadership Theories and Studies Line-and-Staff Organizations Management and Executive Development Management Functions Management Levels Management Styles Management Thought Managing Change Mechanistic Organizations Mentoring Mission and Vision Statements Morale Motivation and Motivation Theory Open and Closed Systems Operant Conditioning Organizational Culture Paradigm Shift Participative Management Personality and Personality Tests Pioneers of Management Problem Solving Reinforcement Theory Sensitivity Training Span of Control Spirituality in Leadership Strategy Formulation Succession Planning Teams and Teamwork Theory X and Theory Y Theory Z Women and Minorities in Management

LEGAL ISSUES

Affirmative Action Cafeteria Plan—Flexible Benefits Computer Networks Computer Security Corporate Governance Corporate Social Responsibility Discrimination Diversity Downsizing and Rightsizing Due Diligence Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Employee Assistance Programs Employee Benefits Employee Compensation Employee Evaluation and Performance Appraisals Employee Recruitment Employee Screening and Selection Employment Law and Compliance Ethics Executive Compensation Human Resource Management Insider Trading Intellectual Property Rights Job Analysis Leveraged Buyouts Management Audit Management Control Mergers and Acquisitions Nepotism Non-Compete Agreements Patents and Trademarks Personality and Personality Tests Privacy, Privacy Laws, and Workplace Privacy Quality of Work Life Risk Management Safety in the Workplace Stress Succession Planning Sunshine Laws Sweatshops Technology Transfer Whistle Blower Women and Minorities in Management

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Balanced Scorecard Bandwidth Bar Coding and Radio Frequency Identification Barriers to Entry Complexity Theory Computer Networks Computer Security Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Content Management System Data Processing and Data Management Decision Rules and Decision Analysis Decision Support Systems Distribution and Distribution Requirements Planning Electronic Commerce Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Service-Oriented Architecture Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma Systems Design, Development, and Implementation Technology Management Technology Transfer

MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH

Bar Coding and Radio Frequency Identification Business Process Reengineering Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing Concurrent Engineering and Design Decision Rules and Decision Analysis Decision Support Systems Distribution and Distribution Requirements Planning Expert Systems Location Strategy Logistics and Transportation Maintenance Make-or-Buy Decisions Manufacturing Resources Planning Models and Modeling Multiple-Criteria Decision Making New Product Development Operating System Operations Management Operations Scheduling Operations Strategy Product Design Production Planning and Scheduling Productivity Concepts and Measures Product-Process Matrix Project Management Purchasing and Procurement Quality and Total Quality Management Research Methods and Processes Reverse Supply Chain Logistics Scenario Planning Service Operations Service Process Matrix Simulation Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma Statistics Subject Matter Expert Systems Analysis Systems Design, Development, and Implementation Technology Transfer Warehousing and Warehouse Management World-Class Manufacturer

PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND ASSESSMENT

Activity-Based Costing Balance Sheets Balanced Scorecard Benchmarking Best Practices Break-Even Point Budgeting Cash Flow Analysis and Statements Continuous Improvement Cost Accounting Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Cycle Time Debt vs. Equity Financing Due Diligence Effectiveness and Efficiency Executive Compensation Financial Issues for Managers Financial Ratios Forecasting Gap Analysis Goals and Goal Setting Management Audit Management Control Management Information Systems Market Share Multiple-Criteria Decision Making Nepotism Order-Winning and Order-Qualifying Criteria Performance Measurement Pricing Policy and Strategy Profit Sharing Simulation Stakeholders Value Analysis Value Chain Management Value Creation Vendor Rating Zero-Based Budgeting Zero Sum Game

PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR MANAGERS

The Art and Science of Management Brainstorming Coalition Building Communication Consulting Contingency Approach to Management Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Trends Continuous Improvement Customer Relationship Management Delegation Diversity Employee Assistance Programs Empowerment Entrepreneurship Facilitator Feedback Goals and Goal Setting Group Dynamics Intrapreneurship Knowledge Workers Leadership Styles and Bases of Power Managing Change Mentoring Morale Motivation and Motivation Theory Multimedia Organizing Participative Management Personality and Personality Tests Planning Popular Press Management Books Problem Solving Profit Sharing Safety in the Workplace Sensitivity Training Spirituality in Leadership Strategic Planning Tools Stress Succession Planning SWOT Analysis Teams and Teamwork Time Management Trends in Organizational Change Value Creation

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Activity-Based Costing Aggregate Planning Bar Coding and Radio Frequency Identification Benchmarking Break-Even Point Business Process Reengineering Cellular Manufacturing Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Concurrent Engineering and Design Continuous Improvement Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Decision Rules and Decision Analysis Decision Support Systems Distribution and Distribution Requirements Planning Domestic Management Societies and Associations Five S Framework Flexible Manufacturing Forecasting Industrial Relations International Management Societies and Associations Inventory Management Inventory Types Japanese Management Layout Lean Manufacturing and Just-in-Time Production Location Strategy Logistics and Transportation Long Tail Maintenance Make-or-Buy Decisions Management Awards Manufacturing Control via the Internet Manufacturing Resources Planning Market Share New Product Development Operations Management Operations Scheduling Operations Strategy Order-Winning and Order-Qualifying Criteria Outsourcing and Offshoring Participative Management Poka-Yoke Popular Press Management Books Porter’s Five Forces Model Production Planning and Scheduling Productivity Concepts and Measures Product-Process Matrix Project Management Purchasing and Procurement Quality Gurus Quality and Total Quality Management Reverse Supply Chain Logistics Robotics Safety in the Workplace Scalable or JIT Workforce Service Factory Service Industry Service Operations Service Process Matrix Simulation Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma Statistics Strategic Integration Supply Chain Management Synergy Teams and Teamwork Technology Management Technology Transfer Theory of Constraints Time-Based Competition Upselling Warehousing and Warehouse Management World-Class Manufacturer

QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Communication Customer Relationship Management Domestic Management Societies and Associations Five S Framework Gap Analysis Goals and Goal Setting Innovation International Management Societies and Associations Japanese Management Management Awards Manufacturing Resources Planning Marketing Research Operations Strategy Opportunity Cost Order-Winning and Order-Qualifying Criteria Outsourcing and Offshoring Participative Management Popular Press Management Books Productivity Concepts and Measures Quality Gurus Quality and Total Quality Management Quality of Work Life Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma Strategic Planning Tools Teams and Teamwork Value Analysis Value Creation Vendor Rating World-Class Manufacturer

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Activity-Based Costing Business Process Reengineering Capacity Planning Cellular Manufacturing Coalition Building Communication Competitive Advantage Competitive Intelligence Computer Networks Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Conflict Management and Negotiation Customer Relationship Management Cycle Time Decision Support Systems Distribution and Distribution Requirements Planning Economies of Scale and Economies of Scope Effectiveness and Efficiency Electronic Commerce Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Enterprise Resource Planning Expert Systems Fulfillment Group Dynamics Industrial Relations Inventory Management Inventory Types Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances Lean Manufacturing and Just-in-Time Production Location Strategy Logistics and Transportation Long Tail Make-or-Buy Decisions Manufacturing Resources Planning Market Share Multiple-Criteria Decision Making New Product Development Operations Management Operations Scheduling Operations Strategy Organic Organizations Organizing Poka-Yoke Problem Solving Process Management Product Design Product Life Cycle and Industry Life Cycle Production Planning and Scheduling Productivity Concepts and Measures Product-Process Matrix Purchasing and Procurement Quality and Total Quality Management Reverse Auction Reverse Supply Chain Logistics Risk Management Span of Control Stakeholders Teams and Teamwork Vendor Rating Warehousing and Warehouse Management

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Artificial Intelligence Assessment Centers Autonomy Concurrent Engineering and Design Conflict Management and Negotiation Consulting Contingency Approach to Management Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Trends Continuous Improvement Corporate Social Responsibility Delegation Domestic Management Societies and Associations Downsizing and Rightsizing Employee Evaluation and Performance Appraisals Employee Handbook and Orientation Goals and Goal Setting Group Decision Making Human Resource Management Innovation Instant Messaging International Management Societies and Associations Job Analysis Knowledge Management Knowledge Workers Management and Executive Development Management Audit Marketing Communication Mission and Vision Statements Morale Motivation and Motivation Theory Multimedia Multiple-Criteria Decision Making Organizational Culture Organizational Learning Organizing Participative Management Personality and Personality Tests Popular Press Management Books Problem Solving Project Management Safety in the Workplace Sensitivity Training Simulation Stress Succession Planning SWOT Analysis Teams and Teamwork Training Delivery Methods Virtual Organizations Women and Minorities in Management

Management has applications in a wide variety of settings and is not limited to business domains. Management tools, as well as the art and science of management, find applications wherever any effort must be planned, organized, or controlled on a significant scale. This includes applications in government, the cultural arts, sports, the military, medicine, education, scientific research, religion, not-for-profit agencies, and in the wide variety of for-profit pursuits of service and manufacturing. Management takes appropriate advantage of technical developments in all the fields it serves.

The growth of the discipline of management has also led to specialization or compartmentalization of the field. These specialties of management make learning and study easier, but at the same time make broad understanding of management more difficult. It is particularly challenging to the entrepreneur and the small business owner to master the subject areas, yet this group is compelled to excel at all management functions to further their business’s success. Management specialties have grown to such an extent it is difficult for any single manager to fully know what management is all about. So rapid have been the strides in recent years in such subjects as decision making, technology, the behavioral sciences, management information systems, and the like, to say nothing of proliferating legislative and governmental regulations affecting business, that constant study and education is required of all managers just to keep current on the latest trends and techniques. Thus, managers and executives need a comprehensive management online reference source to keep up-to-date. Having the management essays and research papers in one comprehensive site saves valuable research time in locating the information.

In the growing age of specialists, there is a growing lack of generalists. Typically, a business manager spends a large percentage of their career developing a great familiarity and proficiency in a specialized field, such as sales, production, shipping, or accounting. The manager develops a very specialized knowledge in this area but may develop only a peripheral knowledge of advances in other areas of management. Yet as these individuals are promoted from a specialist-type position up the organizational chart to a more administrative or generalist supervisory or leadership position, the person with newly enlarged responsibilities suddenly finds that their horizon must extend beyond the given specialty. It must now include more than just a once-superficial understanding of all aspects of managing, including purchasing, manufacturing, advertising and selling, international management, quantitative techniques, human resources management, public relations, research and development, strategic planning, and management information systems. The need for broader management understanding and comprehension continues to increase as individuals are promoted.

This site has as its goal to bridge this gap in understanding and to offer every executive, executive-aspirant, management consultant, and educator and student of management, both comprehensive and authoritative information on all the theories, concepts, and techniques that directly impact the job of management. This reference source strives to make specialists aware of the other functional areas of the management discipline and to give the top manager or administrator who occupies the general manager position new insights into the work of the specialists whom he or she must manage or draw upon in the successful management of others. In addition, this site proposes to make all practitioners aware of the advances in management science and in the behavioral sciences. These disciplines touch upon all areas of specialization because they concern the pervasive problems of decision-making and interpersonal relations.

Every effort has been made to achieve comprehensiveness in choice and coverage of subject matter. The essays provided frequently go far beyond mere definitions and referrals to other sources. They are in-depth treatments, discussing background, subject areas, current applications, and schools of thought. In addition, information may be provided about the kinds of specialists who use the term in a given organization, the degree of current acceptance, and the possibilities for the future as the subject undergoes further development and refinement. Longer essays frequently provide charts, graphs, or examples to aid in understanding the topic.

Browse More Management Research Paper Topics:

• Business Management
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• Security Management
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• Human Resource Management

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Research Topics & Ideas: Business

50+ Management Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a business/management-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of  research ideas and topic thought-starters for management-related research degrees (MBAs/DBAs, etc.). These research topics span management strategy, HR, finance, operations, international business and leadership.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the management domain. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. In it, we cover the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from start to end. Be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic. 

Overview: Business Research Topics

• Business /management strategy
• Human resources (HR) and industrial psychology
• Finance and accounting
• Operations management
• International business
• Actual business dissertations & theses

Strategy-Related Research Topics

• An analysis of the impact of digital transformation on business strategy in consulting firms
• The role of innovation in transportation practices for creating a competitive advantage within the agricultural sector
• Exploring the effect of globalisation on strategic decision-making practices for multinational Fashion brands.
• An evaluation of corporate social responsibility in shaping business strategy, a case study of power utilities in Nigeria
• Analysing the relationship between corporate culture and business strategy in the new digital era, exploring the role of remote working.
• Assessing the impact of sustainability practices on business strategy and performance in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry
• An analysis of the effect of social media on strategic partnerships and alliances development in the insurance industry
• Exploring the role of data-driven decision-making in business strategy developments following supply-chain disruptions in the agricultural sector
• Developing a conceptual framework for assessing the influence of market orientation on business strategy and performance in the video game publishing industry
• A review of strategic cost management best practices in the healthcare sector of Indonesia
• Identification of key strategic considerations required for the effective implementation of Industry 4.0 to develop a circular economy
• Reviewing how Globalisation has affected business model innovation strategies in the education sector
• A comparison of merger and acquisition strategies’ effects on novel product development in the Pharmaceutical industry
• An analysis of market strategy performance during recessions, a retrospective review of the luxury goods market in the US
• Comparing the performance of digital stakeholder engagement strategies and their contribution towards meeting SDGs in the mining sector

Topics & Ideas: Human Resources (HR)

• Exploring the impact of digital employee engagement practices on organizational performance in SMEs
• The role of diversity and inclusion in the workplace
• An evaluation of remote employee training and development programs efficacy in the e-commerce sector
• Comparing the effect of flexible work arrangements on employee satisfaction and productivity across generational divides
• Assessing the relationship between gender-focused employee empowerment programs and job satisfaction in the UAE
• A review of the impact of technology and digitisation on human resource management practices in the construction industry
• An analysis of the role of human resource management in talent acquisition and retention in response to globalisation and crisis, a case study of the South African power utility
• The influence of leadership style on remote working employee motivation and performance in the education sector.
• A comparison of performance appraisal systems for managing employee performance in the luxury retail fashion industry
• An examination of the relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction in blue-collar workplaces, A systematic review
• Exploring HR personnel’s experiences managing digital workplace bullying in multinational corporations
• Assessing the success of HR team integration following merger and acquisition on employee engagement and performance
• Exploring HR green practices and their effects on retention of millennial talent in the fintech industry
• Assessing the impact of human resources analytics in successfully navigating digital transformation within the healthcare sector
• Exploring the role of HR staff in the development and maintenance of ethical business practices in fintech SMEs
• An analysis of employee perceptions of current HRM practices in a fully remote IT workspace

Topics & Ideas: Finance & Accounting

• An analysis of the effect of employee financial literacy on decision-making in manufacturing start-ups in Ghana
• Assessing the impact of corporate green innovation on financial performance in listed companies in Estonia
• Assessing the effect of corporate governance on financial performance in the mining industry in Papua New Guinea
• An evaluation of financial risk management practices in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia
• Exploring the role of leadership financial literacy in the transition from start-up to scale-up in the retail e-commerce industry.
• A review of influential macroeconomic factors on the adoption of cryptocurrencies as legal tender
• An examination of the use of financial derivatives in risk management
• Exploring the impact of the cryptocurrency disruption on stock trading practices in the EU
• An analysis of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in academic publishing houses
• A comparison of financial ratios performance in evaluating E-commerce startups in South Korea.
• An evaluation of the role of government policies in facilitating manufacturing companies’ successful transitioning from start-up to scale-ups in Denmark
• Assessing the financial value associated with industry 4.0 transitions in the Indian pharmaceutical industry
• Exploring the role of effective e-leadership on financial performance in the Nigerian fintech industry
• A review of digital disruptions in CRM practices and their associated financial impact on listed companies during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Exploring the importance of Sharia-based business practices on SME financial performance in multicultural countries

Ideas: Operations Management

• An assessment of the impact of blockchain technology on operations management practices in the transport industry of Estonia
• An evaluation of supply chain disruption management strategies and their impact on business performance in Lithuania
• Exploring the role of lean manufacturing in the automotive industry of Malaysia and its effects on improving operational efficiency
• A critical review of optimal operations management strategies in luxury goods manufacturing for ensuring supply chain resilience
• Exploring the role of globalization on Supply chain diversification, a pre/post analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic
• An analysis of the relationship between quality management and customer satisfaction in subscription-based business models
• Assessing the cost of sustainable sourcing practices on operations management and supply chain resilience in the Cocao industry.
• An examination of the adoption of behavioural predictive analytics in operations management practices, a case study of the
• Italian automotive industry
• Exploring the effect of operational complexity on business performance following digital transformation
• An evaluation of barriers to the implementation of agile methods in project management within governmental institutions
• Assessing how the relationship between operational processes and business strategy change as companies transition from start-ups to scale-ups
• Exploring the relationship between operational management and innovative business models, lessons from the fintech industry
• A review of best practices for operations management facilitating the transition towards a circular economy in the fast food industry
• Exploring the viability of lean manufacturing practices in Vietnam’s plastics industry
• Assessing engagement in cybersecurity considerations associated with operations management practices in industry 4.0 manufacturing

Topics & Ideas: International Business

• The impact of cultural differences in communication on international business relationships
• An evaluation of the role of government import and export policies in shaping international business practices
• The effect of global shipping conditions on international business strategies
• An analysis of the challenges of managing multinational corporations: branch management
• The influence of social media marketing on international business operations
• The role of international trade agreements on business activities in developing countries
• An examination of the impact of currency fluctuations on international business and cost competitiveness
• The relationship between international business and sustainable development: perspectives and benefits
• An evaluation of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in emerging markets such as the renewable energy industry
• An analysis of the role of internationalisation via strategic alliances in international business
• The impact of cross-cultural management on international business performance
• The effect of political instability on international business operations: A case study of Russia
• An analysis of the role of intellectual property rights in an international technology company’s business strategies
• The relationship between corporate social responsibility and international business strategy: a comparative study of different industries
• The impact of technology on international business in the fashion industry

Topics & Ideas: Leadership

• A comparative study of the impact of different leadership styles on organizational performance
• An evaluation of transformational leadership in today’s non-profit organizations
• The role of emotional intelligence in effective leadership and productivity
• An analysis of the relationship between leadership style and employee motivation
• The influence of diversity and inclusion on leadership practices in South Africa
• The impact of Artificial Intelligence technology on leadership in the digital age
• An examination of the challenges of leadership in a rapidly changing business environment: examples from the finance industry
• The relationship between leadership and corporate culture and job satisfaction
• An evaluation of the role of transformational leadership in strategic decision-making
• The use of leadership development programs in enhancing leadership effectiveness in multinational organisations
• The impact of ethical leadership on organizational trust and reputation: an empirical study
• An analysis of the relationship between various leadership styles and employee well-being in healthcare organizations
• The role of leadership in promoting good work-life balance and job satisfaction in the age of remote work
• The influence of leadership on knowledge sharing and innovation in the technology industry
• An investigation of the impact of cultural intelligence on cross-cultural leadership effectiveness in global organizations

Business/Management Dissertation & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a business-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various management-related degree programs (e.g., MBAs, DBAs, etc.) to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• Sustaining Microbreweries Beyond 5 Years (Yanez, 2022)
• Perceived Stakeholder and Stockholder Views: A Comparison Among Accounting Students, Non-Accounting Business Students And Non-Business Students (Shajan, 2020)
• Attitudes Toward Corporate Social Responsibility and the New Ecological Paradigm among Business Students in Southern California (Barullas, 2020)
• Entrepreneurial opportunity alertness in small business: a narrative research study exploring established small business founders’ experience with opportunity alertness in an evolving economic landscape in the Southeastern United States (Hughes, 2019)
• Work-Integrated Learning in Closing Skills Gap in Public Procurement: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study (Culver, 2021)
• Analyzing the Drivers and Barriers to Green Business Practices for Small and Medium Enterprises in Ohio (Purwandani, 2020)
• The Role of Executive Business Travel in a Virtual World (Gale, 2022)
• Outsourcing Security and International Corporate Responsibility: A Critical Analysis of Private Military Companies (PMCs) and Human Rights Violations (Hawkins, 2022)
• Lean-excellence business management for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Kurdistan region of Iraq (Mohammad, 2021)
• Science Data Sharing: Applying a Disruptive Technology Platform Business Model (Edwards, 2022)
• Impact of Hurricanes on Small Construction Business and Their Recovery (Sahu, 2022)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Fast-Track Your Topic Ideation

If you’d like hands-on help to speed up your topic ideation process and ensure that you develop a rock-solid research topic, check our our Topic Kickstarter service below.

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Great help. thanks

Hi, Your work is very educative, it has widened my knowledge. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for helping me understand how to craft a research topic. I’m pursuing a PGDE. Thank you

Effect of Leadership, computerized accounting systems, risk management and monitoring on the quality of financial Reports among listed banks

May you assist on a possible PhD topic on analyzing economic behaviours within environmental, climate and energy domains, from a gender perspective. I seek to further investigate if/to which extent policies in these domains can be deemed economically unfair from a gender perspective, and whether the effectiveness of the policies can be increased while striving for inequalities not being perpetuated.

healthy work environment and employee diversity, technological innovations and their role in management practices, cultural difference affecting advertising, honesty as a company policy, an analysis of the relationships between quality management and customer satisfaction in subscription based business model,business corruption cases. That I was selected from the above topics.

Research topic accounting

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How to conduct systematic literature reviews in management research: a guide in 6 steps and 14 decisions

• Review Paper
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• Published: 12 May 2023
• Volume 17 , pages 1899–1933, ( 2023 )

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• Philipp C. Sauer   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1823-0723 1 &
• Stefan Seuring   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4204-9948 2  

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Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) have become a standard tool in many fields of management research but are often considerably less stringently presented than other pieces of research. The resulting lack of replicability of the research and conclusions has spurred a vital debate on the SLR process, but related guidance is scattered across a number of core references and is overly centered on the design and conduct of the SLR, while failing to guide researchers in crafting and presenting their findings in an impactful way. This paper offers an integrative review of the widely applied and most recent SLR guidelines in the management domain. The paper adopts a well-established six-step SLR process and refines it by sub-dividing the steps into 14 distinct decisions: (1) from the research question, via (2) characteristics of the primary studies, (3) to retrieving a sample of relevant literature, which is then (4) selected and (5) synthesized so that, finally (6), the results can be reported. Guided by these steps and decisions, prior SLR guidelines are critically reviewed, gaps are identified, and a synthesis is offered. This synthesis elaborates mainly on the gaps while pointing the reader toward the available guidelines. The paper thereby avoids reproducing existing guidance but critically enriches it. The 6 steps and 14 decisions provide methodological, theoretical, and practical guidelines along the SLR process, exemplifying them via best-practice examples and revealing their temporal sequence and main interrelations. The paper guides researchers in the process of designing, executing, and publishing a theory-based and impact-oriented SLR.

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The burgeoning role of literature review articles in management research: an introduction and outlook

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

The application of systematic or structured literature reviews (SLRs) has developed into an established approach in the management domain (Kraus et al. 2020 ), with 90% of management-related SLRs published within the last 10 years (Clark et al. 2021 ). Such reviews help to condense knowledge in the field and point to future research directions, thereby enabling theory development (Fink 2010 ; Koufteros et al. 2018 ). SLRs have become an established method by now (e.g., Durach et al. 2017 ; Koufteros et al. 2018 ). However, many SLR authors struggle to efficiently synthesize and apply review protocols and justify their decisions throughout the review process (Paul et al. 2021 ) since only a few studies address and explain the respective research process and the decisions to be taken in this process. Moreover, the available guidelines do not form a coherent body of literature but focus on the different details of an SLR, while a comprehensive and detailed SLR process model is lacking. For example, Seuring and Gold ( 2012 ) provide some insights into the overall process, focusing on content analysis for data analysis without covering the practicalities of the research process in detail. Similarly, Durach et al. ( 2017 ) address SLRs from a paradigmatic perspective, offering a more foundational view covering ontological and epistemological positions. Durach et al. ( 2017 ) emphasize the philosophy of science foundations of an SLR. Although somewhat similar guidelines for SLRs might be found in the wider body of literature (Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ; Fink 2010 ; Snyder 2019 ), they often take a particular focus and are less geared toward explaining and reflecting on the single choices being made during the research process. The current body of SLR guidelines leaves it to the reader to find the right links among the guidelines and to justify their inconsistencies. This is critical since a vast number of SLRs are conducted by early-stage researchers who likely struggle to synthesize the existing guidance and best practices (Fisch and Block 2018 ; Kraus et al. 2020 ), leading to the frustration of authors, reviewers, editors, and readers alike.

Filling these gaps is critical in our eyes since researchers conducting literature reviews form the foundation of any kind of further analysis to position their research into the respective field (Fink 2010 ). So-called “systematic literature reviews” (e.g., Davis and Crombie 2001 ; Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ; Durach et al. 2017 ) or “structured literature reviews” (e.g., Koufteros et al. 2018 ; Miemczyk et al. 2012 ) differ from nonsystematic literature reviews in that the analysis of a certain body of literature becomes a means in itself (Kraus et al. 2020 ; Seuring et al. 2021 ). Although two different terms are used for this approach, the related studies refer to the same core methodological references that are also cited in this paper. Therefore, we see them as identical and abbreviate them as SLR.

There are several guidelines on such reviews already, which have been developed outside the management area (e.g. Fink 2010 ) or with a particular focus on one management domain (e.g., Kraus et al. 2020 ). SLRs aim at capturing the content of the field at a point in time but should also aim at informing future research (Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ), making follow-up research more efficient and productive (Kraus et al. 2021 ). Such standalone literature reviews would and should also prepare subsequent empirical or modeling research, but usually, they require far more effort and time (Fisch and Block 2018 ; Lim et al. 2022 ). To achieve this preparation, SLRs can essentially a) describe the state of the literature, b) test a hypothesis based on the available literature, c) extend the literature, and d) critique the literature (Xiao and Watson 2019 ). Beyond guiding the next incremental step in research, SLRs “may challenge established assumptions and norms of a given field or topic, recognize critical problems and factual errors, and stimulate future scientific conversations around that topic” (Kraus et al. 2022 , p. 2578). Moreover, they have the power to answer research questions that are beyond the scope of individual empirical or modeling studies (Snyder 2019 ) and to build, elaborate, and test theories beyond this single study scope (Seuring et al. 2021 ). These contributions of an SLR may be highly influential and therefore underline the need for high-quality planning, execution, and reporting of their process and details.

Regardless of the individual aims of standalone SLRs, their numbers have exponentially risen in the last two decades (Kraus et al. 2022 ) and almost all PhD or large research project proposals in the management domain include such a standalone SLR to build a solid foundation for their subsequent work packages. Standalone SLRs have thus become a key part of management research (Kraus et al. 2021 ; Seuring et al. 2021 ), which is also underlined by the fact that there are journals and special issues exclusively accepting standalone SLRs (Kraus et al. 2022 ; Lim et al. 2022 ).

However, SLRs require a commitment that is often comparable to an additional research process or project. Hence, SLRs should not be taken as a quick solution, as a simplistic, descriptive approach would usually not yield a publishable paper (see also Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ; Kraus et al. 2020 ).

Furthermore, as with other research techniques, SLRs are based on the rigorous application of rules and procedures, as well as on ensuring the validity and reliability of the method (Fisch and Block 2018 ; Seuring et al. 2021 ). In effect, there is a need to ensure “the same level of rigour to reviewing research evidence as should be used in producing that research evidence in the first place” (Davis and Crombie 2001 , p.1). This rigor holds for all steps of the research process, such as establishing the research question, collecting data, analyzing it, and making sense of the findings (Durach et al. 2017 ; Fink 2010 ; Seuring and Gold 2012 ). However, there is a high degree of diversity where some would be justified, while some papers do not report the full details of the research process. This lack of detail contrasts with an SLR’s aim of creating a valid map of the currently available research in the reviewed field, as critical information on the review’s completeness and potential reviewer biases cannot be judged by the reader or reviewer. This further impedes later replications or extensions of such reviews, which could provide longitudinal evidence of the development of a field (Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ; Durach et al. 2017 ). Against this observation, this paper addresses the following question:

Which decisions need to be made in an SLR process, and what practical guidelines can be put forward for making these decisions?

Answering this question, the key contributions of this paper are fourfold: (1) identifying the gaps in existing SLR guidelines, (2) refining the SLR process model by Durach et al. ( 2017 ) through 14 decisions, (3) synthesizing and enriching guidelines for these decisions, exemplifying the key decisions by means of best practice SLRs, and (4) presenting and discussing a refined SLR process model.

In some cases, we point to examples from operations and supply chain management. However, they illustrate the purposes discussed in the respective sections. We carefully checked that the arguments held for all fields of management-related research, and multiple examples from other fields of management were also included.

2 Identification of the need for an enriched process model, including a set of sequential decisions and their interrelations

In line with the exponential increase in SLR papers (Kraus et al. 2022 ), multiple SLR guidelines have recently been published. Since 2020, we have found a total of 10 papers offering guidelines on SLRs and other reviews for the field of management in general or some of its sub-fields. These guidelines are of double interest to this paper since we aim to complement them to fill the gap identified in the introduction while minimizing the doubling of efforts. Table 1 lists the 10 most recent guidelines and highlights their characteristics, research objectives, contributions, and how our paper aims to complement these previous contributions.

The sheer number and diversity of guideline papers, as well as the relevance expressed in them, underline the need for a comprehensive and exhaustive process model. At the same time, the guidelines take specific foci on, for example, updating earlier guidelines to new technological potentials (Kraus et al. 2020 ), clarifying the foundational elements of SLRs (Kraus et al. 2022 ) and proposing a review protocol (Paul et al. 2021 ) or the application and development of theory in SLRs (Seuring et al. 2021 ). Each of these foci fills an entire paper, while the authors acknowledge that much more needs to be considered in an SLR. Working through these most recent guidelines, it becomes obvious that the common paper formats in the management domain create a tension for guideline papers between elaborating on a) the SLR process and b) the details, options, and potentials of individual process steps.

Our analysis in Table 1 evidences that there are a number of rich contributions on aspect b), while the aspect a) of SLR process models has not received the same attention despite the substantial confusion of authors toward them (Paul et al. 2021 ). In fact, only two of the most recent guidelines approach SLR process models. First, Kraus et al. ( 2020 ) incrementally extended the 20-year-old Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) three-stage model into four stages. A little later, Paul et al. ( 2021 ) proposed a three-stage (including six sub-stages) SPAR-4-SLR review protocol. It integrates the PRISMA reporting items (Moher et al. 2009 ; Page et al. 2021 ) that originate from clinical research to define 14 actions stating what items an SLR in management needs to report for reasons of validity, reliability, and replicability. Almost naturally, these 14 reporting-oriented actions mainly relate to the first SLR stage of “assembling the literature,” which accounts for nine of the 14 actions. Since this protocol is published in a special issue editorial, its presentation and elaboration are somewhat limited by the already mentioned word count limit. Nevertheless, the SPAR-4-SLR protocol provides a very useful checklist for researchers that enables them to include all data required to document the SLR and to avoid confusion from editors, reviewers, and readers regarding SLR characteristics.

Beyond Table 1 , Durach et al. ( 2017 ) synthesized six common SLR “steps” that differ only marginally in the delimitation of one step to another from the sub-stages of the previously mentioned SLR processes. In addition, Snyder ( 2019 ) proposed a process comprising four “phases” that take more of a bird’s perspective in addressing (1) design, (2) conduct, (3) analysis, and (4) structuring and writing the review. Moreover, Xiao and Watson ( 2019 ) proposed only three “stages” of (1) planning, (2) conducting, and (3) reporting the review that combines the previously mentioned conduct and the analysis and defines eight steps within them. Much in line with the other process models, the final reporting stage contains only one of the eight steps, leaving the reader somewhat alone in how to effectively craft a manuscript that contributes to the further development of the field.

In effect, the mentioned SLR processes differ only marginally, while the systematic nature of actions in the SPAR-4-SLR protocol (Paul et al. 2021 ) can be seen as a reporting must-have within any of the mentioned SLR processes. The similarity of the SLR processes is, however, also evident in the fact that they leave open how the SLR analysis can be executed, enriched, and reflected to make a contribution to the reviewed field. In contrast, this aspect is richly described in the other guidelines that do not offer an SLR process, leading us again toward the tension for guideline papers between elaborating on a) the SLR process and b) the details, options, and potentials of each process step.

To help (prospective) SLR authors successfully navigate this tension of existing guidelines, it is thus the ambition of this paper to adopt a comprehensive SLR process model along which an SLR project can be planned, executed, and written up in a coherent way. To enable this coherence, 14 distinct decisions are defined, reflected, and interlinked, which have to be taken across the different steps of the SLR process. At the same time, our process model aims to actively direct researchers to the best practices, tips, and guidance that previous guidelines have provided for individual decisions. We aim to achieve this by means of an integrative review of the relevant SLR guidelines, as outlined in the following section.

3 Methodology: an integrative literature review of guidelines for systematic literature reviews in management

It might seem intuitive to contribute to the debate on the “gold standard” of systematic literature reviews (Davis et al. 2014 ) by conducting a systematic review ourselves. However, there are different types of reviews aiming for distinctive contributions. Snyder ( 2019 ) distinguished between a) systematic, b) semi-systematic, and c) integrative (or critical) reviews, which aim for i) (mostly quantitative) synthesis and comparison of prior (primary) evidence, ii) an overview of the development of a field over time, and iii) a critique and synthesis of prior perspectives to reconceptualize or advance them. Each review team needs to position itself in such a typology of reviews to define the aims and scope of the review. To do so and structure the related research process, we adopted the four generic steps for an (integrative) literature review by Snyder ( 2019 )—(1) design, (2) conduct, (3) analysis, and (4) structuring and writing the review—on which we report in the remainder of this section. Since the last step is a very practical one that, for example, asks, “Is the contribution of the review clearly communicated?” (Snyder 2019 ), we will focus on the presentation of the method applied to the initial three steps:

(1) Regarding the design, we see the need for this study emerging from our experience in reviewing SLR manuscripts, supervising PhD students who, almost by default, need to prepare an SLR, and recurring discussions on certain decisions in the process of both. These discussions regularly left some blank or blurry spaces (see Table 1 ) that induced substantial uncertainty regarding critical decisions in the SLR process (Paul et al. 2021 ). To address this gap, we aim to synthesize prior guidance and critically enrich it, thus adopting an integrative approach for reviewing existing SLR guidance in the management domain (Snyder 2019 ).

(2) To conduct the review, we started collecting the literature that provided guidance on the individual SLR parts. We built on a sample of 13 regularly cited or very recent papers in the management domain. We started with core articles that we successfully used to publish SLRs in top-tier OSCM journals, such as Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) and Durach et al. ( 2017 ), and we checked their references and papers that cited these publications. The search focus was defined by the following criteria: the articles needed to a) provide original methodological guidance for SLRs by providing new aspects of the guideline or synthesizing existing ones into more valid guidelines and b) focus on the management domain. Building on the nature of a critical or integrative review that does not require a full or representative sample (Snyder 2019 ), we limited the sample to the papers displayed in Table 2 that built the core of the currently applied SLR guidelines. In effect, we found 11 technical papers and two SLRs of SLRs (Carter and Washispack 2018 ; Seuring and Gold 2012 ). From the latter, we mainly analyzed the discussion and conclusion parts that explicitly developed guidance on conducting SLRs.

(3) For analyzing these papers, we first adopted the six-step SLR process proposed by Durach et al. ( 2017 , p.70), which they define as applicable to any “field, discipline or philosophical perspective”. The contrast between the six-step SLR process used for the analysis and the four-step process applied by ourselves may seem surprising but is justified by the use of an integrative approach. This approach differs mainly in retrieving and selecting pertinent literature that is key to SLRs and thus needs to be part of the analysis framework.

While deductively coding the sample papers against Durach et al.’s ( 2017 ), guidance in the six steps, we inductively built a set of 14 decisions presented in the right columns of Table 2 that are required to be made in any SLR. These decisions built a second and more detailed level of analysis, for which the single guidelines were coded as giving low, medium, or high levels of detail (see Table 3 ), which helped us identify the gaps in the current guidance papers and led our way in presenting, critically discussing, and enriching the literature. In effect, we see that almost all guidelines touch on the same issues and try to give a comprehensive overview. However, this results in multiple guidelines that all lack the space to go into detail, while only a few guidelines focus on filling a gap in the process. It is our ambition with this analysis to identify the gaps in the guidelines, thereby identifying a precise need for refinement, and to offer a first step into this refinement. Adopting advice from the literature sample, the coding was conducted by the entire author team (Snyder 2019 ; Tranfield et al. 2003 ) including discursive alignments of interpretation (Seuring and Gold 2012 ). This enabled a certain reliability and validity of the analysis by reducing the within-study and expectancy bias (Durach et al. 2017 ), while the replicability was supported by reporting the review sample and the coding results in Table 3 (Carter and Washispack 2018 ).

(4) For the writing of the review, we only pointed to the unusual structure of presenting the method without a theory section and then the findings in the following section. However, this was motivated by the nature of the integrative review so that the review findings at the same time represent the “state of the art,” “literature review,” or “conceptualization” sections of a paper.

4 Findings of the integrative review: presentation, critical discussion, and enrichment of prior guidance

4.1 the overall research process for a systematic literature review.

Even within our sample of only 13 guidelines, there are four distinct suggestions for structuring the SLR process. One of the earliest SLR process models was proposed by Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) encompassing the three stages of (1) planning the review, (2) conducting a review, and (3) reporting and dissemination. Snyder ( 2019 ) proposed four steps employed in this study: (1) design, (2) conduct, (3) analysis, and (4) structuring and writing the review. Borrowing from content analysis guidelines, Seuring and Gold ( 2012 ) defined four steps: (1) material collection, (2) descriptive analysis, (3) category selection, and (4) material evaluation. Most recently Kraus et al. ( 2020 ) proposed four steps: (1) planning the review, (2) identifying and evaluating studies, (3) extracting and synthesizing data, and (4) disseminating the review findings. Most comprehensively, Durach et al. ( 2017 ) condensed prior process models into their generic six steps for an SLR. Adding the review of the process models by Snyder ( 2019 ) and Seuring and Gold ( 2012 ) to Durach et al.’s ( 2017 ) SLR process review of four papers, we support their conclusion of the general applicability of the six steps defined. Consequently, these six steps form the backbone of our coding scheme, as shown in the left column of Table 2 and described in the middle column.

As stated in Sect.  3 , we synthesized the review papers against these six steps but experienced that the papers were taking substantially different foci by providing rich details for some steps while largely bypassing others. To capture this heterogeneity and better operationalize the SLR process, we inductively introduced the right column, identifying 14 decisions to be made. These decisions are all elaborated in the reviewed papers but to substantially different extents, as the detailed coding results in Table 3 underline.

Mapping Table 3 for potential gaps in the existing guidelines, we found six decisions on which we found only low- to medium-level details, while high-detail elaboration was missing. These six decisions, which are illustrated in Fig.  1 , belong to three steps: 1: defining the research question, 5: synthesizing the literature, and 6: reporting the results. This result underscores our critique of currently unbalanced guidance that is, on the one hand, detailed on determining the required characteristics of primary studies (step 2), retrieving a sample of potentially relevant literature (step 3), and selecting the pertinent literature (step 4). On the other hand, authors, especially PhD students, are left without substantial guidance on the steps critical to publication. Instead, they are called “to go one step further … and derive meaningful conclusions” (Fisch and Block 2018 , p. 105) without further operationalizations on how this can be achieved; for example, how “meet the editor” conference sessions regularly cause frustration among PhDs when editors call for “new,” “bold,” and “relevant” research. Filling the gaps in the six decisions with best practice examples and practical experience is the main focus of this study’s contribution. The other eight decisions are synthesized with references to the guidelines that are most helpful and relevant for the respective step in our eyes.

The 6 steps and 14 decisions of the SLR process

4.2 Step 1: defining the research question

When initiating a research project, researchers make three key decisions.

Decision 1 considers the essential tasks of establishing a relevant and timely research question, but despite the importance of the decision, which determines large parts of further decisions (Snyder 2019 ; Tranfield et al. 2003 ), we only find scattered guidance in the literature. Hence, how can a research topic be specified to allow a strong literature review that is neither too narrow nor too broad? The latter is the danger in meta-reviews (i.e., reviews of reviews) (Aguinis et al. 2020 ; Carter and Washispack 2018 ; Kache and Seuring 2014 ). In this respect, even though the method would be robust, the findings would not be novel. In line with Carter and Washispack ( 2018 ), there should always be room for new reviews, yet over time, they must move from a descriptive overview of a field further into depth and provide detailed analyses of constructs. Clark et al. ( 2021 ) provided a detailed but very specific reflection on how they crafted a research question for an SLR and that revisiting the research question multiple times throughout the SLR process helps to coherently and efficiently move forward with the research. More generically, Kraus et al. ( 2020 ) listed six key contributions of an SLR that can guide the definition of the research question. Finally, Snyder ( 2019 ) suggested moving into more detail from existing SLRs and specified two main avenues for crafting an SLR research question that are either investigating the relationship among multiple effects, the effect of (a) specific variable(s), or mapping the evidence regarding a certain research area. For the latter, we see three possible alternative approaches, starting with a focus on certain industries. Examples are analyses of the food industry (Beske et al. 2014 ), retailing (Wiese et al. 2012 ), mining and minerals (Sauer and Seuring 2017 ), or perishable product supply chains (Lusiantoro et al. 2018 ) and traceability at the example of the apparel industry (Garcia-Torres et al. 2019 ). A second opportunity would be to assess the status of research in a geographical area that composes an interesting context from a research perspective, such as sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in Latin America (Fritz and Silva 2018 ), yet this has to be justified explicitly, avoiding the fact that geographical focus is taken as the reason per se (e.g., Crane et al. 2016 ). A third variant addresses emerging issues, such as SCM, in a base-of-the-pyramid setting (Khalid and Seuring 2019 ) and the use of blockchain technology (Wang et al. 2019 ) or digital transformation (Hanelt et al. 2021 ). These approaches limit the reviewed field to enable a more contextualized analysis in which the novelty, continued relevance, or unjustified underrepresentation of the context can be used to specify a research gap and related research question(s). This also impacts the following decisions, as shown below.

Decision 2 concerns the option for a theoretical approach (i.e., the adoption of an inductive, abductive, or deductive approach) to theory building through the literature review. The review of previous guidance on this delivers an interesting observation. On the one hand, there are early elaborations on systematic reviews, realist synthesis, meta-synthesis, and meta-analysis by Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) that are borrowing from the origins of systematic reviews in medical research. On the other hand, recent management-related guidelines largely neglect details of related decisions, but point out that SLRs are a suitable tool for theory building (Kraus et al. 2020 ). Seuring et al. ( 2021 ) set out to fill this gap and provided substantial guidance on how to use theory in SLRs to advance the field. To date, the option for a theoretical approach is only rarely made explicit, leaving the reader often puzzled about how advancement in theory has been crafted and impeding a review’s replicability (Seuring et al. 2021 ). Many papers still leave related choices in the dark (e.g., Rhaiem and Amara 2021 ; Rojas-Córdova et al. 2022 ) and move directly from the introduction to the method section.

In Decision 3, researchers need to adopt a theoretical framework (Durach et al. 2017 ) or at least a theoretical starting point, depending on the most appropriate theoretical approach (Seuring et al. 2021 ). Here, we find substantial guidance by Durach et al. ( 2017 ) that underlines the value of adopting a theoretical lens to investigate SCM phenomena and the literature. Moreover, the choice of a theoretical anchor enables a consistent definition and operationalization of constructs that are used to analyze the reviewed literature (Durach et al. 2017 ; Seuring et al. 2021 ). Hence, providing some upfront definitions is beneficial, clarifying what key terminology would be used in the subsequent paper, such as Devece et al. ( 2019 ) introduce their terminology on coopetition. Adding a practical hint beyond the elaborations of prior guidance papers for taking up established constructs in a deductive analysis (decision 2), there would be the question of whether these can yield interesting findings.

Here, it would be relevant to specify what kind of analysis is aimed for the SLR, where three approaches might be distinguished (i.e., bibliometric analysis, meta-analysis, and content analysis–based studies). Briefly distinguishing them, the core difference would be how many papers can be analyzed employing the respective method. Bibliometric analysis (Donthu et al. 2021 ) usually relies on the use of software, such as Biblioshiny, allowing the creation of figures on citations and co-citations. These figures enable the interpretation of large datasets in which several hundred papers can be analyzed in an automated manner. This allows for distinguishing among different research clusters, thereby following a more inductive approach. This would be contrasted by meta-analysis (e.g., Leuschner et al. 2013 ), where often a comparatively smaller number of papers is analyzed (86 in the respective case) but with a high number of observations (more than 17,000). The aim is to test for statistically significant correlations among single constructs, which requires that the related constructs and items be precisely defined (i.e., a clearly deductive approach to the analysis).

Content analysis is the third instrument frequently applied to data analysis, where an inductive or deductive approach might be taken (Seuring et al. 2021 ). Content-based analysis (see decision 9 in Sect.  4.6 ; Seuring and Gold 2012 ) is a labor-intensive step and can hardly be changed ex post. This also implies that only a certain number of papers might be analyzed (see Decision 6 in Sect.  4.5 ). It is advisable to adopt a wider set of constructs for the analysis stemming even from multiple established frameworks since it is difficult to predict which constructs and items might yield interesting insights. Hence, coding a more comprehensive set of items and dropping some in the process is less problematic than starting an analysis all over again for additional constructs and items. However, in the process of content analysis, such an iterative process might be required to improve the meaningfulness of the data and findings (Seuring and Gold 2012 ). A recent example of such an approach can be found in Khalid and Seuring ( 2019 ), building on the conceptual frameworks for SSCM of Carter and Rogers ( 2008 ), Seuring and Müller ( 2008 ), and Pagell and Wu ( 2009 ). This allows for an in-depth analysis of how SSCM constructs are inherently referred to in base-of-the-pyramid-related research. The core criticism and limitation of such an approach is the random and subjectively biased selection of frameworks for the purpose of analysis.

Beyond the aforementioned SLR methods, some reviews, similar to the one used here, apply a critical review approach. This is, however, nonsystematic, and not an SLR; thus, it is beyond the scope of this paper. Interested readers can nevertheless find some guidance on critical reviews in the available literature (e.g., Kraus et al. 2022 ; Snyder 2019 ).

4.3 Step 2: determining the required characteristics of primary studies

After setting the stage for the review, it is essential to determine which literature is to be reviewed in Decision 4. This topic is discussed by almost all existing guidelines and will thus only briefly be discussed here. Durach et al. ( 2017 ) elaborated in great detail on defining strict inclusion and exclusion criteria that need to be aligned with the chosen theoretical framework. The relevant units of analysis need to be specified (often a single paper, but other approaches might be possible) along with suitable research methods, particularly if exclusively empirical studies are reviewed or if other methods are applied. Beyond that, they elaborated on potential quality criteria that should be applied. The same is considered by a number of guidelines that especially draw on medical research, in which systematic reviews aim to pool prior studies to infer findings from their total population. Here, it is essential to ensure the exclusion of poor-quality evidence that would lower the quality of the review findings (Mulrow 1987 ; Tranfield et al. 2003 ). This could be ensured by, for example, only taking papers from journals listed on the Web of Science or Scopus or journals listed in quartile 1 of Scimago ( https://www.scimagojr.com/ ), a database providing citation and reference data for journals.

The selection of relevant publication years should again follow the purpose of the study defined in Step 1. As such, there might be a justified interest in the wide coverage of publication years if a historical perspective is taken. Alternatively, more contemporary developments or the analysis of very recent issues can justify the selection of very few years of publication (e.g., Kraus et al. 2022 ). Again, it is hard to specify a certain time period covered, but if developments of a field should be analyzed, a five-year period might be a typical lower threshold. On current topics, there is often a trend of rising publishing numbers. This scenario implies the rising relevance of a topic; however, this should be treated with caution. The total number of papers published per annum has increased substantially in recent years, which might account for the recently heightened number of papers on a certain topic.

4.4 Step 3: retrieving a sample of potentially relevant literature

After defining the required characteristics of the literature to be reviewed, the literature needs to be retrieved based on two decisions. Decision 5 concerns suitable literature sources and databases that need to be defined. Turning to Web of Science or Scopus would be two typical options found in many of the examples mentioned already (see also detailed guidance by Paul and Criado ( 2020 ) as well as Paul et al. ( 2021 )). These databases aggregate many management journals, and a typical argument for turning to the Web of Science database is the inclusion of impact factors, as they indicate a certain minimum quality of the journal (Sauer and Seuring 2017 ). Additionally, Google Scholar is increasingly mentioned as a usable search engine, often providing higher numbers of search results than the mentioned databases (e.g., Pearce 2018 ). These results often entail duplicates of articles from multiple sources or versions of the same article, as well as articles in predatory journals (Paul et al. 2021 ). Therefore, we concur with Paul et al. ( 2021 ) who underline the quality assurance mechanisms in Web of Science and Scopus, making them preferred databases for the literature search. From a practical perspective, it needs to be mentioned that SLRs in management mainly rely on databases that are not free to use. Against this limitation, Pearce ( 2018 ) provided a list of 20 search engines that are free of charge and elaborated on their advantages and disadvantages. Due to the individual limitations of the databases, it is advisable to use a combination of them (Kraus et al. 2020 , 2022 ) and build a consolidated sample by screening the papers found for duplicates, as regularly done in SLRs.

This decision also includes the choice of the types of literature to be analyzed. Typically, journal papers are selected, ensuring that the collected papers are peer-reviewed and have thus undergone an academic quality management process. Meanwhile, conference papers are usually avoided since they are often less mature and not checked for quality (e.g., Seuring et al. 2021 ). Nevertheless, for emerging topics, it might be too restrictive to consider only peer-reviewed journal articles and limit the literature to only a few references. Analyzing such rapidly emerging topics is relevant for timely and impact-oriented research and might justify the selection of different sources. Kraus et al. ( 2020 ) provided a discussion on the use of gray literature (i.e., nonacademic sources), and Sauer ( 2021 ) provided an example of a review of sustainability standards from a management perspective to derive implications for their application by managers on the one hand and for enhancing their applicability on the other hand.

Another popular way to limit the review sample is the restriction to a certain list of journals (Kraus et al. 2020 ; Snyder 2019 ). While this is sometimes favored by highly ranked journals, Carter and Washispack ( 2018 ), for example, found that many pertinent papers are not necessarily published in journals within the field. Webster and Watson ( 2002 ) quite tellingly cited a reviewer labeling the selection of top journals as an unjustified excuse for investigating the full body of relevant literature. Both aforementioned guidelines thus discourage the restriction to particular journals, a guidance that we fully support.

However, there is an argument to be made supporting the exclusion of certain lower-ranked journals. This can be done, for example, by using Scimago Journal quartiles ( www.scimagojr.com , last accessed 13. of April 2023) and restricting it to journals in the first quartile (e.g., Yavaprabhas et al. 2022 ). Other papers (e.g., Kraus et al. 2021 ; Rojas-Córdova et al. 2022 ) use certain journal quality lists to limit their sample. However, we argue for a careful check by the authors against the topic reviewed regarding what would be included and excluded.

Decision 6 entails the definition of search terms and a search string to be applied in the database just chosen. The search terms should reflect the aims of the review and the exclusion criteria that might be derived from the unit of analysis and the theoretical framework (Durach et al. 2017 ; Snyder 2019 ). Overall, two approaches to keywords can be observed. First, some guides suggest using synonyms of the key terms of interest (e.g., Durach et al. 2017 ; Kraus et al. 2020 ) in order to build a wide baseline sample that will be condensed in the next step. This is, of course, especially helpful if multiple terms delimitate a field together or different synonymous terms are used in parallel in different fields or journals. Empirical journals in supply chain management, for example, use the term “multiple supplier tiers ” (e.g., Tachizawa and Wong 2014 ), while modeling journals in the same field label this as “multiple supplier echelons ” (e.g., Brandenburg and Rebs 2015 ). Second, in some cases, single keywords are appropriate for capturing a central aspect or construct of a field if the single keyword has a global meaning tying this field together. This approach is especially relevant to the study of relatively broad terms, such as “social media” (Lim and Rasul 2022 ). However, this might result in very high numbers of publications found and therefore requires a purposeful combination with other search criteria, such as specific journals (Kraus et al. 2021 ; Lim et al. 2021 ), publication dates, article types, research methods, or the combination with keywords covering domains to which the search is aimed to be specified.

Since SLRs are often required to move into detail or review the intersections of relevant fields, we recommend building groups of keywords (single terms or multiple synonyms) for each field to be connected that are coupled via Boolean operators. To determine when a point of saturation for a keyword group is reached, one could monitor the increase in papers found in a database when adding another synonym. Once the increase is significantly decreasing or even zeroing, saturation is reached (Sauer and Seuring 2017 ). The keywords themselves can be derived from the list of keywords of influential publications in the field, while attention should be paid to potential synonyms in neighboring fields (Carter and Washispack 2018 ; Durach et al. 2017 ; Kraus et al. 2020 ).

4.5 Step 4: selecting the pertinent literature

The inclusion and exclusion criteria (Decision 6) are typically applied in Decision 7 in a two-stage process, first on the title, abstract, and keywords of an article before secondly applying them to the full text of the remaining articles (see also Kraus et al. 2020 ; Snyder 2019 ). Beyond this, Durach et al. ( 2017 ) underlined that the pertinence of the publication regarding units of analysis and the theoretical framework needs to be critically evaluated in this step to avoid bias in the review analysis. Moreover, Carter and Washispack ( 2018 ) requested the publication of the included and excluded sources to ensure the replicability of Steps 3 and 4. This can easily be done as an online supplement to an eventually published review article.

Nevertheless, the question remains: How many papers justify a literature review? While it is hard to specify how many papers comprise a body of literature, there might be certain thresholds for which Kraus et al. ( 2020 ) provide a useful discussion. As a rough guide, more than 50 papers would usually make a sound starting point (see also Paul and Criado 2020 ), while there are SLRs on emergent topics, such as multitier supply chain management, where 39 studies were included (Tachizawa and Wong 2014 ). An SLR on “learning from innovation failures” builds on 36 papers (Rhaiem and Amara 2021 ), which we would see as the lower threshold. However, such a low number should be an exception, and anything lower would certainly trigger the following question: Why is a review needed? Meanwhile, there are also limits on how many papers should be reviewed. While there are cases with 191 (Seuring and Müller 2008 ), 235 (Rojas-Córdova et al. 2022 ), or up to nearly 400 papers reviewed (Spens and Kovács 2006 ), these can be regarded as upper thresholds. Over time, similar topics seem to address larger datasets.

4.6 Step 5: synthesizing the literature

Before synthesizing the literature, Decision 8 considers the selection of a data extraction tool for which we found surprisingly little guidance. Some guidance is given on the use of cloud storage to enable remote team work (Clark et al. 2021 ). Beyond this, we found that SLRs have often been compiled with marked and commented PDFs or printed papers that were accompanied by tables (Kraus et al. 2020 ) or Excel sheets (see also the process tips by Clark et al. 2021 ). This sheet tabulated the single codes derived from the theoretical framework (Decision 3) and the single papers to be reviewed (Decision 7) by crossing out individual cells, signaling the representation of a particular code in a particular paper. While the frequency distribution of the codes is easily compiled from this data tool, the related content needs to be looked at in the papers in a tedious back-and-forth process. Beyond that, we would strongly recommend using data analysis software, such as MAXQDA or NVivo. Such programs enable the import of literature in PDF format and the automatic or manual coding of text passages, their comparison, and tabulation. Moreover, there is a permanent and editable reference of the coded text to a code. This enables a very quick compilation of content summaries or statistics for single codes and the identification of qualitative and quantitative links between codes and papers.

All the mentioned data extraction or data processing tools require a license and therefore are not free of cost. While many researchers may benefit from national or institutional subscriptions to these services, others may not. As a potential alternative, Pearce ( 2018 ) proposed a set of free open-source software (FOSS), including an elaboration on how they can be combined to perform an SLR. He also highlighted that both free and proprietary solutions have advantages and disadvantages that are worthwhile for those who do not have the required tools provided by their employers or other institutions they are members of. The same may apply to the literature databases used for the literature acquisition in Decision 5 (Pearce 2018 ).

Moreover, there is a link to Step 1, Decision 3, where bibliometric reviews and meta-analyses were mentioned. These methods, which are alternatives to content analysis–based approaches, have specific demands, so specific tools would be appropriate, such as the Biblioshiny software or VOSviewer. As we will point out for all decisions, there is a high degree of interdependence among the steps and decisions made.

Decision 9 looks at conducting the data analysis, such as coding against (pre-defined) constructs, in SLRs that rely, in most cases, on content analysis. Seuring and Gold ( 2012 ) elaborated in detail on its characteristics and application in SLRs. As this paper also explains the process of qualitative content analysis in detail, repetition is avoided here, but a summary is offered. Since different ways exist to conduct a content analysis, it is even more important to explain and justify, for example, the choice of an inductive or deductive approach (see Decision 2). In several cases, analytic variables are applied on the go, so there is no theory-based introduction of related constructs. However, to ensure the validity and replicability of the review (see Decision 11), it is necessary to explicitly define all the variables and codes used to analyze and synthesize the reviewed material (Durach et al. 2017 ; Seuring and Gold 2012 ). To build a valid framework as the SLR outcome, it is vital to ensure that the constructs used for the data analysis are sufficiently defined, mutually exclusive, and comprehensively exhaustive. For meta-analysis, the predefined constructs and items would demand quantitative coding so that the resulting data could be analyzed using statistical software tools such as SPSS or R (e.g., Xiao and Watson 2019 ). Pointing to bibliometric analysis again, the respective software would be used for data analysis, yielding different figures and paper clusters, which would then require interpretation (e.g., Donthu et al. 2021 ; Xiao and Watson 2019 ).

Decision 10, on conducting subsequent statistical analysis, considers follow-up analysis of the coding results. Again, this is linked to the chosen SLR method, and a bibliographic analysis will require a different statistical analysis than a content analysis–based SLR (e.g., Lim et al. 2022 ; Xiao and Watson 2019 ). Beyond the use of content analysis and the qualitative interpretation of its results, applying contingency analysis offers the opportunity to quantitatively assess the links among constructs and items. It provides insights into which items are correlated with each other without implying causality. Thus, the interpretation of the findings must explain the causality behind the correlations between the constructs and the items. This must be based on sound reasoning and linking the findings to theoretical arguments. For SLRs, there have recently been two kinds of applications of contingency analysis, differentiated by unit of analysis. De Lima et al. ( 2021 ) used the entire paper as the unit of analysis, deriving correlations on two constructs that were used together in one paper. This is, of course, subject to critique as to whether the constructs really represent correlated content. Moving a level deeper, Tröster and Hiete ( 2018 ) used single-text passages on one aspect, argument, or thought as the unit of analysis. Such an approach is immune against the critique raised before and can yield more valid statistical support for thematic analysis. Another recent methodological contribution employing the same contingency analysis–based approach was made by Siems et al. ( 2021 ). Their analysis employs constructs from SSCM and dynamic capabilities. Employing four subsets of data (i.e., two time periods each in the food and automotive industries), they showed that the method allows distinguishing among time frames as well as among industries.

However, the unit of analysis must be precisely explained so that the reader can comprehend it. Both examples use contingency analysis to identify under-researched topics and develop them into research directions whose formulation represents the particular aim of an SLR (Paul and Criado 2020 ; Snyder 2019 ). Other statistical tools might also be applied, such as cluster analysis. Interestingly, Brandenburg and Rebs ( 2015 ) applied both contingency and cluster analyses. However, the authors stated that the contingency analysis did not yield usable results, so they opted for cluster analysis. In effect, Brandenburg and Rebs ( 2015 ) added analytical depth to their analysis of model types in SSCM by clustering them against the main analytical categories of content analysis. In any case, the application of statistical tools needs to fit the study purpose (Decision 1) and the literature sample (Decision 7), just as in their more conventional applications (e.g., in empirical research processes).

Decision 11 regards the additional consideration of validity and reliability criteria and emphasizes the need for explaining and justifying the single steps of the research process (Seuring and Gold 2012 ), much in line with other examples of research (Davis and Crombie 2001 ). This is critical to underlining the quality of the review but is often neglected in many submitted manuscripts. In our review, we find rich guidance on this decision, to which we want to guide readers (see Table 3 ). In particular, Durach et al. ( 2017 ) provide an entire section of biases and what needs to be considered and reported on them. Moreover, Snyder ( 2019 ) regularly reflects on these issues in her elaborations. This rich guidance elaborates on how to ensure the quality of the individual steps of the review process, such as sampling, study inclusion and exclusion, coding, synthesizing, and more practical issues, including team composition and teamwork organization, which are discussed in some guidelines (e.g., Clark et al. 2021 ; Kraus et al. 2020 ). We only want to underline that the potential biases are, of course, to be seen in conjunction with Decisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10. These decisions and the elaboration by Durach et al. ( 2017 ) should provide ample points of reflection that, however, many SLR manuscripts fail to address.

4.7 Step 6: reporting the results

In the final step, there are three decisions on which there is surprisingly little guidance, although reviews often fail in this critical part of the process (Kraus et al. 2020 ). The reviewed guidelines discuss the presentation almost exclusively, while almost no guidance is given on the overall paper structure or the key content to be reported.

Consequently, the first choice to be made in Decision 12 is regarding the paper structure. We suggest following the five-step logic of typical research papers (see also Fisch and Block 2018 ) and explaining only a few points in which a difference from other papers is seen.

(1) Introduction: While the introduction would follow a conventional logic of problem statement, research question, contribution, and outline of the paper (see also Webster and Watson 2002 ), the next parts might depend on the theoretical choices made in Decision 2.

(2) Literature review section: If deductive logic is taken, the paper usually has a conventional flow. After the introduction, the literature review section covers the theoretical background and the choice of constructs and variables for the analysis (De Lima et al. 2021 ; Dieste et al. 2022 ). To avoid confusion in this section with the literature review, its labeling can also be closer to the reviewed object.

If an inductive approach is applied, it might be challenging to present the theoretical basis up front, as the codes emerge only from analyzing the material. In this case, the theory section might be rather short, concentrating on defining the core concepts or terms used, for example, in the keyword-based search for papers. The latter approach is exemplified by the study at hand, which presents a short review of the available literature in the introduction and the first part of the findings. However, we do not perform a systematic but integrative review, which allows for more freedom and creativity (Snyder 2019 ).

(3) Method section: This section should cover the steps and follow the logic presented in this paper or any of the reviewed guidelines so that the choices made during the research process are transparently disclosed (Denyer and Tranfield 2009 ; Paul et al. 2021 ; Xiao and Watson 2019 ). In particular, the search for papers and their selection requires a sound explanation of each step taken, including the provision of reasons for the delimitation of the final paper sample. A stage that is often not covered in sufficient detail is data analysis (Seuring and Gold 2012 ). This also needs to be outlined so that the reader can comprehend how sense has been made of the material collected. Overall, the demands for SLR papers are similar to case studies, survey papers, or almost any piece of empirical research; thus, each step of the research process needs to be comprehensively described, including Decisions 4–10. This comprehensiveness must also include addressing measures for validity and reliability (see Decision 11) or other suitable measures of rigor in the research process since they are a critical issue in literature reviews (Durach et al. 2017 ). In particular, inductively conducted reviews are prone to subjective influences and thus require sound reporting of design choices and their justification.

(4) Findings: The findings typically start with a descriptive analysis of the literature covered, such as journals, distribution across years, or (empirical) methods applied (Tranfield et al. 2003 ). For modeling-related reviews, classifying papers against the approach chosen is a standard approach, but this can often also serve as an analytic category that provides detailed insights. The descriptive analysis should be kept short since a paper only presenting descriptive findings will not be of great interest to other researchers due to the missing contribution (Snyder 2019 ). Nevertheless, there are opportunities to provide interesting findings in the descriptive analysis. Beyond a mere description of the distributions of the single results, such as the distribution of methods used in the sample, authors should combine analytical categories to derive more detailed insights (see also Tranfield et al. 2003 ). The distribution of methods used might well be combined with the years of publication to identify and characterize different phases in the development of a field of research or its maturity. Moreover, there could be value in the analysis of theories applied in the review sample (e.g., Touboulic and Walker 2015 ; Zhu et al. 2022 ) and in reflecting on the interplay of different qualitative and quantitative methods in spurring the theoretical development of the reviewed field. This could yield detailed insights into methodological as well as theoretical gaps, and we would suggest explicitly linking the findings of such analyses to the research directions that an SLR typically provides. This link could help make the research directions much more tangible by giving researchers a clear indication of how to follow up on the findings, as, for example, done by Maestrini et al. ( 2017 ) or Dieste et al. ( 2022 ). In contrast to the mentioned examples of an actionable research agenda, a typical weakness of premature SLR manuscripts is that they ask rather superficially for more research in the different aspects they reviewed but remain silent about how exactly this can be achieved.

We would thus like to encourage future SLR authors to systematically investigate the potential to combine two categories of descriptive analysis to move this section of the findings to a higher level of quality, interest, and relevance. The same can, of course, be done with the thematic findings, which comprise the second part of this section.

Moving into the thematic analysis, we have already reached Decision 13 on the presentation of the refined theoretical framework and the discussion of its contents. A first step might present the frequencies of the codes or constructs applied in the analysis. This allows the reader to understand which topics are relevant. If a rather small body of literature is analyzed, tables providing evidence on which paper has been coded for which construct might be helpful in improving the transparency of the research process. Tables or other forms of visualization might help to organize the many codes soundly (see also Durach et al. 2017 ; Paul and Criado 2020 ; Webster and Watson 2002 ). These findings might then lead to interpretation, for which it is necessary to extract meaning from the body of literature and present it accordingly (Snyder 2019 ). To do so, it might seem needless to say that the researchers should refer back to Decisions 1, 2, and 3 taken in Step 1 and their justifications. These typically identify the research gap to be filled, but after the lengthy process of the SLR, the authors often fail to step back from the coding results and put them into a larger perspective against the research gap defined in Decision 1 (see also Clark et al. 2021 ). To support this, it is certainly helpful to illustrate the findings in a figure or graph presenting the links among the constructs and items and adding causal reasoning to this (Durach et al. 2017 ; Paul and Criado 2020 ), such as the three figures by Seuring and Müller ( 2008 ) or other examples by De Lima et al. ( 2021 ) or Tipu ( 2022 ). This presentation should condense arguments made in the assessed literature but should also chart the course for future research. It will be these parts of the paper that are decisive for a strong SLR paper.

Moreover, some guidelines define the most fruitful way of synthesizing the findings as concept-centric synthesis (Clark et al. 2021 ; Fisch and Block 2018 ; Webster and Watson 2002 ). As presented in the previous sentence, the presentation of the review findings is centered on the content or concept of “concept-centric synthesis.” It is accompanied by a reference to all or the most relevant literature in which the concept is evident. Contrastingly, Webster and Watson ( 2002 ) found that author-centric synthesis discusses individual papers and what they have done and found (just like this sentence here). They added that this approach fails to synthesize larger samples. We want to note that we used the latter approach in some places in this paper. However, this aims to actively refer the reader to these studies, as they stand out from our relatively small sample. Beyond this, we want to link back to Decision 3, the selection of a theoretical framework and constructs. These constructs, or the parts of a framework, can also serve to structure the findings section by using them as headlines for subsections (Seuring et al. 2021 ).

Last but not least, there might even be cases where core findings and relationships might be opposed, and alternative perspectives could be presented. This would certainly be challenging to argue for but worthwhile to do in order to drive the reviewed field forward. A related example is the paper by Zhu et al. ( 2022 ), who challenged the current debate at the intersection of blockchain applications and supply chain management and pointed to the limited use of theoretical foundations for related analysis.

(5) Discussion and Conclusion: The discussion needs to explain the contribution the paper makes to the extant literature, that is, which previous findings or hypotheses are supported or contradicted and which aspects of the findings are particularly interesting for the future development of the reviewed field. This is in line with the content required in the discussion sections of any other paper type. A typical structure might point to the contribution and put it into perspective with already existing research. Further, limitations should be addressed on both the theoretical and methodological sides. This elaboration of the limitations can be coupled with the considerations of the validity and reliability of the study in Decision 11. The implications for future research are a core aim of an SLR (Clark et al. 2021 ; Mulrow 1987 ; Snyder 2019 ) and should be addressed in a further part of the discussion section. Recently, a growing number of literature reviews have also provided research questions for future research that provide a very concrete and actionable output of the SLR (e.g. Dieste et al. 2022 ; Maestrini et al. 2017 ). Moreover, we would like to reiterate our call to clearly link the research implications to the SLR findings, which helps the authors craft more tangible research directions and helps the reader to follow the authors’ interpretation. Literature review papers are usually not strongly positioned toward managerial implications, but even these implications might be included.

As a kind of normal demand, the conclusion should provide an answer to the research question put forward in the introduction, thereby closing the cycle of arguments made in the paper.

Although all the works seem to be done when the paper is written and the contribution is fleshed out, there is still one major decision to be made. Decision 14 concerns the identification of an appropriate journal for submission. Despite the popularity of the SLR method, a rising number of journals explicitly limit the number of SLRs published by them. Moreover, there are only two guidelines elaborating on this decision, underlining the need for the following considerations.

Although it might seem most attractive to submit the paper to the highest-ranking journal for the reviewed topic, we argue for two critical and review-related decisions to be made during the research process that influence whether the paper fits a certain outlet:

The theoretical foundation of the SLR (Decision 3) usually relates to certain journals in which it is published or discussed. If a deductive approach was taken, the journals in which the foundational papers were published might be suitable since the review potentially contributes to the further validation or refinement of the frameworks. Overall, we need to keep in mind that a paper needs to be added to a discussion in the journal, and this can be based on the theoretical framework or the reviewed papers, as shown below.

Appropriate journals for publication can be derived from the analyzed journal papers (Decision 7) (see also Paul and Criado 2020 ). This allows for an easy link to the theoretical debate in the respective journal by submitting it. This choice is identifiable in most of the papers mentioned in this paper and is often illustrated in the descriptive analysis.

If the journal chosen for the submission was neither related to the theoretical foundation nor overly represented in the body of literature analyzed, an explicit justification in the paper itself might be needed. Alternatively, an explanation might be provided in the letter to the editor when submitting the paper. If such a statement is not presented, the likelihood of it being transferred into the review process and passing it is rather low. Finally, we want to refer readers interested in the specificities of the publication-related review process of SLRs to Webster and Watson ( 2002 ), who elaborated on this for Management Information Systems Quarterly.

5 Discussion and conclusion

Critically reviewing the currently available SLR guidelines in the management domain, this paper synthesizes 14 key decisions to be made and reported across the SLR research process. Guidelines are presented for each decision, including tasks that assist in making sound choices to complete the research process and make meaningful contributions. Applying these guidelines should improve the rigor and robustness of many review papers and thus enhance their contributions. Moreover, some practical hints and best-practice examples are provided on issues that unexperienced authors regularly struggle to present in a manuscript (Fisch and Block 2018 ) and thus frustrate reviewers, readers, editors, and authors alike.

Strikingly, the review of prior guidelines reported in Table 3 revealed their focus on the technical details that need to be reported in any SLR. Consequently, our discipline has come a long way in crafting search strings, inclusion, and exclusion criteria, and elaborating on the validity and reliability of an SLR. Nevertheless, we left critical areas underdeveloped, such as the identification of relevant research gaps and questions, data extraction tools, analysis of the findings, and a meaningful and interesting reporting of the results. Our study contributes to filling these gaps by providing operationalized guidance to SLR authors, especially early-stage researchers who craft SLRs at the outset of their research journeys. At the same time, we need to underline that our paper is, of course, not the only useful reference for SLR authors. Instead, the readers are invited to find more guidance on the many aspects to consider in an SLR in the references we provide within the single decisions, as well as in Tables 1 and 2 . The tables also identify the strongholds of other guidelines that our paper does not want to replace but connect and extend at selected occasions, especially in SLR Steps 5 and 6.

The findings regularly underline the interconnection of the 14 decisions identified and discussed in this paper. We thus support Tranfield et al. ( 2003 ) who requested a flexible approach to the SLR while clearly reporting all design decisions and reflecting their impacts. In line with the guidance synthesized in this review, and especially Durach et al. ( 2017 ), we also present a refined framework in Figs.  1 and 2 . It specifically refines the original six-step SLR process by Durach et al. ( 2017 ) in three ways:

Enriched six-step process including the core interrelations of the 14 decisions

First, we subdivided the six steps into 14 decisions to enhance the operationalization of the process and enable closer guidance (see Fig.  1 ). Second, we added a temporal sequence to Fig.  2 by positioning the decisions from left to right according to this temporal sequence. This is based on systematically reflecting on the need to finish one decision before the following. If this need is evident, the following decision moves to the right; if not, the decisions are positioned below each other. Turning to Fig.  2 , it becomes evident that Step 2, “determining the required characteristics of primary studies,” and Step 3, “retrieving a sample of potentially relevant literature,” including their Decisions 4–6, can be conducted in an iterative manner. While this contrasts with the strict division of the six steps by Durach et al. ( 2017 ), it supports other guidance that suggests running pilot studies to iteratively define the literature sample, its sources, and characteristics (Snyder 2019 ; Tranfield et al. 2003 ; Xiao and Watson 2019 ). While this insight might suggest merging Steps 2 and 3, we refrain from this superficial change and building yet another SLR process model. Instead, we prefer to add detail and depth to Durach et al.’s ( 2017 ) model.

(Decisions: D1: specifying the research gap and related research question, D2: opting for a theoretical approach, D3: defining the core theoretical framework and constructs, D4: specifying inclusion and exclusion criteria, D5: defining sources and databases, D6: defining search terms and crafting a search string, D7: including and excluding literature for detailed analysis and synthesis, D8: selecting data extraction tool(s), D9: coding against (pre-defined) constructs, D10: conducting a subsequent (statistical) analysis (optional), D11: ensuring validity and reliability, D12: deciding on the structure of the paper, D13: presenting a refined theoretical framework and discussing its contents, and D14: deriving an appropriate journal from the analyzed papers).

This is also done through the third refinement, which underlines which previous or later decisions need to be considered within each single decision. Such a consideration moves beyond the mere temporal sequence of steps and decisions that does not reflect the full complexity of the SLR process. Instead, its focus is on the need to align, for example, the conduct of the data analysis (Decision 9) with the theoretical approach (Decision 2) and consequently ensure that the chosen theoretical framework and the constructs (Decision 3) are sufficiently defined for the data analysis (i.e., mutually exclusive and comprehensively exhaustive). The mentioned interrelations are displayed in Fig.  2 by means of directed arrows from one decision to another. The underlying explanations can be found in the earlier paper sections by searching for the individual decisions in the text on the impacted decisions. Overall, it is unsurprising to see that the vast majority of interrelations are directed from the earlier to the later steps and decisions (displayed through arrows below the diagonal of decisions), while only a few interrelations are inverse.

Combining the first refinement of the original framework (defining the 14 decisions) and the third refinement (revealing the main interrelations among the decisions) underlines the contribution of this study in two main ways. First, the centrality of ensuring validity and reliability (Decision 11) is underlined. It becomes evident that considerations of validity and reliability are central to the overall SLR process since all steps before the writing of the paper need to be revisited in iterative cycles through Decision 11. Any lack of related considerations will most likely lead to reviewer critique, putting the SLR publication at risk. On the positive side of this centrality, we also found substantial guidance on this issue. In contrast, as evidenced in Table 3 , there is a lack of prior guidance on Decisions 1, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 14, which this study is helping to fill. At the same time, these underexplained decisions are influenced by 14 of the 44 (32%) incoming arrows in Fig.  2 and influence the other decisions in 6 of the 44 (14%) instances. These interrelations among decisions to be considered when crafting an SLR were scattered across prior guidelines, lacked in-depth elaborations, and were hardly explicitly related to each other. Thus, we hope that our study and the refined SLR process model will help enhance the quality and contribution of future SLRs.

Data availablity

The data generated during this research is summarized in Table 3 and the analyzed papers are publicly available. They are clearly identified in Table 3 and the reference list.

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Sauer, P.C., Seuring, S. How to conduct systematic literature reviews in management research: a guide in 6 steps and 14 decisions. Rev Manag Sci 17 , 1899–1933 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00668-3

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00668-3

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