Problem Solving in Organizations A Methodological Handbook for Business and Management Students

Introduction

In this chapter we are concerned with the search and use of existing scientific knowledge. No two field problem-solving (FPS) projects are identical. At the same time, no business problem is completely different from all other business problems. Given the long history of management research, it is likely that problems that are comparable to your business problem have been studied already. As we have explained, FPS projects benefit from the use of this existing scholarly literature. Although the literature will never provide complete answers, it can offer important input to each of the steps of a problem-solving project.

Literature reviews need to be undertaken with a clear focus and the same methodological rigour as empirical research. Unfortunately, literature reviews in the field of management are sometimes of poor quality. They can be opportunistic and biased by personal preferences, which limits their value for evidenceinformed practice and for the accumulation of knowledge (Tranfield et al., 2003).

Recent years have witnessed a growing concern about the development of methods for the systematic review and utilization of existing research (see, for example, Pawson, 2002a; Denyer and Tranfield, 2006, 2009; Ridley, 2008) and the emergence of dedicated review journals, like the Academy of Management Annals and the International Journal of Management Reviews. The aim of this chapter is to provide an introduction to systematic methods and thereby aid you with your first dive into the literature, which often is an overwhelming experience. In particular, we discuss the development of design propositions through a systematic review of the literature, as proposed by Denyer et al. (2008). A systematic review of the literature enables an FPS project to benefit optimally from existing knowledge on a subject. By focusing on the generation of design propositions through such a systematic review, you can generate an overview of the design knowledge to guide diagnosis and redesign. In addition, systematic reviews may enhance the state of the field of management knowledge by integrating what is fragmented and evaluating what is contested.

In this chapter, we first describe different types of publications. Then we discuss approaches to finding and selecting literature. Finally, we offer guidelines for the integration of findings from a literature review.