Conducting a Literature Review - 2 ECTS

Course Coordinator: Professor Tanusree Jain
Department of Management, Society and Communication, CBS

Faculty

Professor Tanusree Jain
Department of Management, Society and Communication, CBS

Aim

In this course, we will learn to understand, evaluate, and juxtapose the different kinds of literature reviews on offer within the broader stream of Management and Organization, and learn to apply various approaches to conducting a systematic review. The objective is for you, a post graduate student, to understand the criticality of a good quality literature review, what it entails, and identify and formulate a plan to incorporate a literature review within your own doctoral research work. This module will not build your knowledge on your subject area, rather it will equip you with the knowledge and tools to conduct a systematic literature review, which you can apply to your own area of interest. This course will not cover the use of AI in conducting a literature review.

Learning objectives

Having completed this course, the student should be able to:

1. Learn to critically analyse existing review papers in terms of research design, method adopted, paper structure and flow.

2. Understand and evaluate the different kinds of literature reviews on offer.

3. Juxtapose various approaches employed in conducting literature reviews and assess their suitability to specific kinds of research questions.

4. Identify and formulate a plan to incorporate a literature review within your own doctoral research work.

5. Learn about reviewing and publishing a literature review paper in different management journals.

Workload

Pre-workshop preparation: 34 hours
Class sessions: 16 hours
Project preparation and presentation: 12 hours
Total 62 hours

Course content

This module draws on resources from multiple sources. This is arranged by lecture topic.

Required core course readings with be shared on canvas. Along with these readings, we will be basing our discussions on specific literature reviews provided as exemplars that have been published across a variety of high-quality AJG journals. Many of these exemplar reviews were authored by the professor of this course and students will get an insider perspective to crafting as well as publishing different kinds of reviews across different management journals. Students are expected to read all these literature reviews in advance of classes as strategies informing these reviews will be actively discussed and built on in this seminar.

The course is designed as a 2.5 day face-to-face in person seminar at Copenhagen Business School (Denmark). The course will follow a research seminar format that includes lecture presentations, guided discussions, group and individual work from 9 am to 4 pm with breaks. Day 3 will conclude with student presentations of their own literature review ideas that they will further develop during this course by applying seminar learnings and a seminar on reviewing and publishing a literature review paper in management journals. These presentations will be developmental in nature to get feedback and demonstrate understanding of the course. In addition to a critical and appreciative review of existing work, the seminar emphasizes constructive discussions aimed at helping students to design and progress their own literature reviews.

Teaching methods

Lectures, exercises, student presentations and discussions.

Lecture plan

All sessions will be taught by Professor Tanusree Jain

Day 1:
13.30 - 14.00: Welcome coffee and introduction to the course
14.00 - 16.00: Part 1: Introduction to a literature review

Day 2:
9:00 - 10.30: Part 2 A: Mechanics of a Literature Review
10.30 - 10.45: Coffee Break
10.45-12.15: Discussion
12.15- 12.45: Lunch Break
12.45-13.30: Part 2 B: Mechanics of a Literature Review
13.30 – 14.30 Group and individual work
14.30 – 14.45 Coffee Break
14.15- 15.45: Crafting your literature review ideas and guided discussion
15.45- 16.00 Wrap up

Day 3:
9.00 - 10.30: Part 3: Beyond Mechanics: Theorizing in a Literature Review 10.30 - 10.45: Coffee break
10.45 - 12.15: Part 4: Writing your own literature review within a doctoral thesis
12.15 - 12.45: Lunch Break
12.45 – 14.00 Student Presentations and Feedback
14.00 – 14.15 Coffee break
14.15 – 15.45 Reviewing and Publishing workshop
15.45 – 16.00 Conclusion to the Course.

Essential Readings

Kunisch, S., Menz, M., Bartunek, J. M., Cardinal, L. B., & Denyer, D. (2018). Feature topic at organizational research methods: how to conduct rigorous and impactful literature reviews?. Organizational Research Methods, 21(3), 519-523.

Short, J. (2009). The art of writing a review article. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1312-1317.

Hiebl, M. R. (2023). Sample selection in systematic literature reviews of management research. Organizational research methods, 26(2), 229-261.

Simsek, Z., Fox, B., & Heavey, C. (2023). Systematicity in organizational research literature reviews: A framework and assessment. Organizational Research Methods, 26(2), 292-321.

Aguinis, H., Ramani, R. S., & Alabduljader, N. (2023). Best-practice recommendations for producers, evaluators, and users of methodological literature reviews. Organizational research methods, 26(1), 46-76.

Laasonen, S., Fougère, M., & Kourula, A. (2012). Dominant articulations in academic business and society discourse on NGO–business relations: A critical assessment. Journal of Business Ethics, 109, 521-545.

Shepherd, D. A., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2011). Inductive top-down theorizing: A source of new theories of organization. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 361-380.

Breslin, D., & Gatrell, C. (2023). Theorizing through literature reviews: The miner-prospector continuum. Organizational Research Methods, 26(1), 139-167

Fan, D., Breslin, D., Callahan, J. L., & Iszatt‐White, M. (2022). Advancing literature review methodology through rigour, generativity, scope and transparency. International Journal of Management Reviews : IJMR, 24(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12291

Sharma, G., & Bansal, P. (2023). Partnering up: Including managers as research partners in systematic reviews. Organizational Research Methods, 26(2), 262-291.

Exemplar Literature Reviews for all Sessions

Aguilera, R. V., Rupp, D. E., Williams, C. A., & Ganapathi, J. (2007). Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations. Academy of management review, 32(3), 836-863.

Jain, T., & Jamali, D. (2016). Looking inside the black box: The effect of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility. Corporate governance: an international review, 24(3), 253-273.

Zaman, R., Jain, T., Samara, G., & Jamali, D. (2022). Corporate governance meets corporate social responsibility: Mapping the interface. Business & Society, 61(3), 690-752.

Jamali, D., Jain, T., Samara, G., & Zoghbi, E. (2020). How institutions affect CSR practices in the Middle East and North Africa: A critical review. Journal of World Business, 55(5), 101127.

Kirsch, A. (2018). The gender composition of corporate boards: A review and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(2), 346-364.

Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of management, 38(4), 932-968.

Donaldson, T. (2012). The epistemic fault line in corporate governance. Academy of Management Review, 37(2), 256-271.

Nardella, G., Brammer, S., & Surdu, I. (2023). The social regulation of corporate social irresponsibility: Reviewing the contribution of corporate reputation. International Journal of Management Reviews, 25(1),
200-229.

Xie, J., & Jain, T. (2024). Unpacking micro-CSR through a computational literature review: an identity heterogeneity view of internal stakeholders. Journal of Business Research, 172, 114451.

Note: In case we receive more registrations for the course than we have seats, seats will be filled based on the motivation uploaded upon registration. CBS PhD students will have priority.

Registration Deadline and Conditions

The registration deadline is 1 October 2026. If you wish to cancel your registration, it must be done by this date. By this deadline, we determine whether there are enough registrations to run the course or decide who should be offered a seat if we have received too many registrations.

If seats are still available, we will extend the registration deadline to fill the remaining spots. Once you receive our acceptance/welcome letter, your registration becomes binding, and no course fee refunds will be issued. The binding registration date is the deadline mentioned above.

Payment methods

Ensure you choose the correct payment method when finalizing your registration:

CBS students:

Select the payment method CBS PhD students. The course fee will be deducted from your PhD course budget.

Students from Other Danish Universities:

Select the payment method Danish Electronic Invoice (EAN). Provide your EAN number, attention, and any relevant purchase (project) order number.

If you do not pay via EAN number, select Invoice to pay via electronic bank payment (+71).

Students from Foreign Universities:

Select the payment method Payment Card. If you are unable to pay by credit card, choose Invoice International to pay via bank transfer.

Information about the Event

Date and time Tuesday 17 November 2026 at 13:30 to Thursday 19 November 2026 at 16:00

Registration Deadline Thursday 1 October 2026 at 23:55

Location TBA
To be confirmed
Frederiksberg
DK-2000

Organizer

Nina Iversen, CBS PhD School
Phone +45 3815 2475
ni.research@cbs.dk

About CBS PhD School

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) offers a range of PhD courses, covering the scientific disciplines of the school. The courses include research design, publication techniques, research methods such as qualitative or quantitative methods, and specialisation courses in eg. organisational analysis, marketing and political science.

Most courses are organised as intensive week-long courses, but other formats are applied as well. The courses are open to PhD students from other countries and institutions, but some prerequisites may apply. Please see the individual course descriptions.

The PhD courses are offered in English and are for PhD students only.

Conducting a Literature Review - 2 ECTS

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