Extending Fisch and Block’s (2018) tips for a systematic review in management and business literature

Abstract

A systematic literature review is designed to synthesize meaningful knowledge from a large number of studies on a research topic. Over the past decade, management researchers have begun to adopt this review methodology with a goal of providing a comprehensive understanding of a business literature topic. This methodology can provide a context for existing literature, guide future research, and by translating theoretical observations into useable real-world principles, help business leaders make better decisions. A systematic literature review serves a different purpose than a traditional literature review, providing a more organized and complete exploration of research literature. However, systematic literature review is new to many management researchers. To aid in the understanding of this methodology, the editors of Management Review Quarterly, Fisch and Block (Mange Rev Q 68:103–106,2018), present six tips for conducting a systematic literature review. In this paper, we will examine their six tips, which we applied in a recent systematic literature review of leader credibility. By sharing our thoughts on the application of their tips, we hope to bolster the rigor and consistency of future systematic reviews of management literature. In addition to Fisch and Block’s six tips, based on our experiences, we offer three additional tips that became evident in our work to aid in future systematic literature reviews.