Using theoretical framework level-0 as an agenda for literature review

Using theoretical framework level-0 as an agenda for literature review in the agile literature review approach could be done in the following way:

1. Use the academic ideas covered in the level-0 theoretical framework to do literature search on academic publishers' websites and Google Scholar.

2. Compile study notes on the academic literature that comprise the following academic ideas: (i) about the definitions of the academic ideas, (ii) about points of debates and research gaps on the academic ideas, (iii) about analytical notions, techniques and theories underlying the academic ideas, and (iv) about research methods that have been used to study the academic ideas. A theoretical framework populated with academic ideas so gathered is called theoretical framework level 1a. To do this task well, the researcher needs to also spare time to study literature review skills, e.g. see videos such as [this one].

3. Especially from (iii), develop research tasks for the various components of the theoretical frameworks. For example, if the academic idea is is employee-driven innovation, your research task can be: to evaluate how well ABC company is employing employee-driven innovation to support service innovation in the company by conducting semi-structured interview with a few chosen middle managers and operational staff.

4. Once all the academic ideas have been examined to produce a number of research tasks as associated with specific theoretical framework components, the theoretical framework level 1b is produced. [It needs to be stressed that the literature review be able to also shed light on how some of the components and academic ideas of the theoretical framework are associated with each other.]

5. Finally, research methods can be mapped onto the theoretical framework level 1b to come up with 1b + research maps [or, called the theoretical framework level 1c].

Using the theoretical framework level-0 template: an example

The following two diagrams provide an illustration on using the theoretical framework level-0 template:

Diagram 1: the theoretical framework level-0 template [that explicitly respond to a management-concerns diagram]

Diagram 2 is an example that adopts the theoretical framework level-0 template:

The academic concepts/ topics involved in the theoretical framework level-0 (re: Diagram 2) are: intensity of competition (e.g., in terms of Porter's Five-force model), service quality and service quality gap analysis, innovation capability, service innovation, talent management, and business performance evaluation (e.g. in terms of balanced scorecard, with special reference to sales turnover and profit performance). The researcher should use these academic concepts/ topics to conduct literature search and review. The major outputs from such a literature review exercise are the theoretical framework level-1a [with key words], 1b [with research tasks] and level-1 with research methods  mapping [research tasks + research methods mapping].

Using the management-concerns diagram template - an illustration

The following two diagrams illustrate the usage of the management-concerns diagram template

Diagram 1: the management-concerns diagram template

Diagram 2 is an example that adopts the management-concerns diagram template

Templates on management-concerns diagram and theoretical framework level-0 (ALRA)

The following diagrams are templates on management-concerns diagram and theoretical framework level-0 covered in the subject of the Agile Literature Review Approach (ALRA)

The template on the management-concerns diagram

The theoretical framework level-0 represents a researcher's intellectual response to the identified management concerns (re: management-concerns diagram). The template is as follows:

Each component of the theoretical framework level-0 should include at least one academic concept or academic topic. For example. service quality is an academic topic while food manual, most likely, is not an academic concept/ topic in the management field. By explicitly using academic jargon in the expression of the theoretical framework components, the level-0 theoretical framework serves as the agenda for literature review by the researcher.

Template on Chapter 7 - Recommendations of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 7 - Recommendations of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 7:         Recommendations: 

A detailed section which clearly links to the challenges / issues identified in your discussion section with commercially viable recommendations.

7.1. Chapter introduction

7.2. A discussion on the challenges and issues related to the recommendations made
7.2.1. Challenges and issues as related to recommendation 1
7.2.2. Challenges and issues as related to recommendation 2
7.2.3. Challenges and issues as related to recommendation 3

7.3. Some overall evaluative remarks on all the recommendations

Template on Chapter 6 - Conclusion of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 6 - Conclusion of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 6:         Conclusion: 

A summary of your researching findings 

6.1. A brief highlight of the main research findings and recommendations

6.2. A brief reflection on how well the research objective(s) and research question(s) have been addressed.

6.3. What further research questions could be examined in future research works [optional].

Template on Chapter 5 - Discussion of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 5 - Discussion of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 5:          Discussion: 

Discussion for empirical research or recommendations for organization based (an evaluation and critique of the data collected and predominant themes identified from the research).

5.1 Introduction: an overview of the chapter

5.2. An overall synthesis and assessment of the research methods findings and a discussion on their value in addressing the dissertation research objectives and research questions.

5.3. Some recommendations with justifications [to the major stakeholders on the examined business concerns in general or for a specific organization]
5.3.1 Recommendation 1
5.3.2. Recommendation 2
5.3.3. Recommendation 3
5.3.4. Recommendation 4

Template on Chapter 4 - Data Analysis of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 4:          Data Analysis: 

Evaluation and analysis of the data collected.

4.1 Introduction: an overview of the chapter

4.2. Findings and analysis of individual research methods

4.2.1. Primary data-related

4.2.1.1. Findings and analysis of research method 1: Interview research

4.2.1.2. Findings and analysis of research method 2: Questionnaire survey research

4.2.2. Secondary data-related

4.2.2.1. Findings and analysis from Internet research

4.2.2.2. Findings and analysis from non-Internet research

4.3. An overall synthesis and assessment of the research methods findings and a discussion on their value in addressing the dissertation research objectives and research questions

Template on Chapter 3 - Research Methods of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 3 - Research Methods of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 3:          Research Methods: 

A review of the methods you used to carry out your research with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach you followed and the approaches you rejected.  The actual conduct of the research including ethical considerations for participants or respondents.

3.1. An introduction of the chapter and the overall research strategy

3.2 A description of research methods employed
3.2.1 Research method 1: Interview research: description and how it is related to specific research objective(s) and question(s)
3.2.2. Research method 2: questionnaire survey research: description and how it is related to specific research objective(s) and question(s)
3.2.3. Research method 3: Internet research: description and how it is related to specific research objective(s) and question(s)

3.3. The overall research design - a flowchart/ gantt chart view

3.4. An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the overall research design and individual research methods [e.g., with research criteria such as internal validity, external validity, relevance, reliability, feasibility and ethical consideration]

Template on Chapter 2 - Literature Review of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 2 - Literature Review of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 2:          Literature Review: 

A review of the literature you have found on your subject, with a particular emphasis on theories and debates.  This will place your work into a broader academic context and may give you a theory or hypothesis you wish to test in your empirical research.

2.1. Chapter Introduction: Purpose and scope of the literature review

2.2. A brief introduction of the management subjects and academic topics relevant for informing the dissertation project investigation and sources of the literature search

2.3. Specific academic ideas and findings as related to particular research objectives and questions: what are these academic ideas and findings, what are the academic debates surrounding these ideas and findings, and how these ideas and findings are relevant to the present dissertation study.

2.4. Specific research questions, including hypothesis, formulated as an outcome of your literature review

2.5. A very brief indication on specific research methods chosen to be used, as an outcome of your literature review [optional]

Template on Chapter 1 - Introduction of Business Research Dissertation report

Template on Chapter 1 - Introduction of Business Research Dissertation report

Basic requirements for the dissertation report chapter

Chapter 1:          Introduction: 

A brief outline of the topic and how you came to choose it; what you wanted to find out; your research question, aim, objective, how you tacked it, and perhaps how the results fit into the broader picture.  This is also the place to include a brief description of the background, context and setting in which the study took place.

1.1 The business, social, academic and personal background that leads to the choice of a specific business topic and related business issues to be investigated in your dissertation project.

1.2. A brief description of the dissertation project background [may include a description of the chosen client system, e.g., 759 store, to be examined].

1.3. A brief description of the research objectives and research questions to be addressed with justifications on their practical and academic values [to whom]; also state the study scope of the dissertation project. 

1.4. A brief overview of the dissertation report structure

Dissertation report template for Business Research Dissertation

Dissertation report template for Business Research Dissertation

[word count: 10,000 words]

Report Title:

Acknowledgement

Executive summary

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature review

Chapter 3: Research methods

Chapter 4:  Data analysis

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

Chapter 7: Recommendations

List of Figures

List of Tables

References

Appendix

***
(a)  use outlining in report writing, e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, etc...
(b) use the following numbering format for Figures and Tables, e.g. Figure 1.1, Figure 1.2 for Chapter 1; Figure 2.1, Figure 2.2 for Chapter 2; Table 1.1, Table 1.2 for Chapter 1... etc.

A template for research objective formulation - business research dissertation subject

A template for research objective formulation - business research dissertation subject:

The template on research objective formulation

To [find out/ examine/ evaluate] how [topic A] [influences, contributes to] the [topic B] of [a company, a business sector] in Hong Kong: a [Research Strategy] study.

*************************

E.g. 1 - research objective: To evaluate how a company's reputation contributes to the its customer satisfaction in the cosmetics retail sector in Hong Kong: a mixed methods research.

**************************

E.g. 2 - research objective: To find out how the servicescape of a fast food restaurant influences customers' consumption experience at the major fast food restaurants in Hong Kong: a survey research.

Research question 1: How does a fast food restaurant's lighting affect its customers' consumption satisfaction in the restaurant?

Research question 2: How does a fast food restaurant's cleanliness affect its customers' consumption satisfaction in the restaurant?

Supplementary note on the Agile Literature Review Approach II

The following literature review extracts lend support to the theoretical stance of the Agile Literature Review Approach II (ALRA II)(Ho, 2018) and further clarify the nature of ALRA II per se. There are two groups of literature review extracts here:  (i)  "the decline of university management education", (ii) "need of changes on contemporary management education", and (iii) "the value of critical thinking in management education".

Literature extracts: 3 categories	Comments as related to ALRA II (Ho, 2018)
I. On the decline of university management education 1.1. ""To be educated," said Aristotle, "is in fact to be able to do this."That is, a person can only claim to be educated if he is able to be "critical" in a wide range of scientific knowledge - if he is able to distinguish between sense and nonsense even if he is not a specialist in any one area of knowledge" (Van Dren, 1991). 1.2 "...a man of "universal education" - who is none other than our Renaissance man - is one who is "critical' in all or nearly all branches of knowledge. Such a person does not have the "critical" ability in some special subject only. He has it all, or nearly all" (Van Dren, 1991). 1.3. "The twentieth century has seen radical change in this traditional scheme of education...... achieving expertise in one field while others attained expertise in theirs. Much easier to accomplish, this course led to a more comfortable academic community. Now an authority in one field need compete only with experts in his field.... The original belief that an educated person should be "critical" in more fields than his own no longer existed" (Van Dren, 1991).	These ideas clarify the underlying aspiration of ALRA II to respond effectively to the concern of management education decline.
II. Need of changes on contemporary management education 2.1. "Employers desire graduates who can approach a real-world decision under circumstances of genuine uncertainty, work with others, and make meaningful contributions to sound business decisions. (p. 325) They precisely set the context for our borrowed approach to a more effective business education—experience-based, active, problem-oriented, and modified by feedback" (Blaylock, McDaniel, Falk, Hollandsworth and Kopf. 2009). 2.2. "The learning experience should expose students to the integrated operations and processes of business; provide opportunities for teamwork and team decision making; move students from just a comprehension level of understanding to an applications level of understanding; offer students awareness of how their actions are interpreted by others and the impact they have on success; and support a comprehensive assessment of students’ managerial effectiveness, which can be shared with potential employers" (Blaylock, McDaniel, Falk, Hollandsworth and Kopf. 2009). 2.3. ""A consistent finding and concern raised by studies of the American educational system is that students at all levels are unable to think effectively (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; U.S. Department of Education, 1990). They cannot understand challenging texts or complex issues; their reasoning is often illogical and they do not critically assess arguments; they solve problems in a rote formulaic way, rather than through creative strategies grounded in sound analysis; and their decisions reflect biased appraisals that satisfy no plausible norms of rationality. This concern is echoed in studies of management education (Porter & McKibbin, 1988) and business school disciplines (cf. Accounting Education Change Commission, 1990) that urge programs to develop students’ higher order thinking skills" (Smith, 2003). 2.4. "Although conscious, high-level thinking goes by many names (reasoning, problem solving, and decision making, among others), it is essentially mental processing that uses one’s knowledge and intellectual capacities to achieve certain goals.....    Business schools that have accepted the challenge of teaching their students how to think typically address this task in one of two ways: by teaching critical thinking and through courses in managerial decision making" (Smith, 2003). 2.5. "When a concept has this aura, it tends to be overapplied. The educational system’s extolment of critical thinking has resulted in critical-thinking artifacts and activities that have no discernible effect on higher-order thought" (Smith, 2003).	The discussion on "need of changes" justifies the intellectual stance of ALRA II's specific pathway on management education as an appropriate for responding to the needed changes on contemporary management education.
III. The value of critical thinking in management education 3.1. "There has been a growing demand in the academic literature of the past Few years for management educators to engage more critically with their subjects than has been the tradition in business schools. There are examples of applying a critical perspective to various disciplines within the management curriculum (Alvesson & Willmott, 1992) and management education generally that employ a range of critical and postmodern ideas that highlight the social and moral aspects of management practice (Burgoyne & Reynolds, 1997; French & Grey, 1996)" (Reynolds, 1999). 3.2. "The principles of critical reflection might be summarized as follows: * a commitment to questioning assumptions and taken-for-granteds embodied in both theory and professional practice, and to raising questions that are moral as well as technical in nature and that are concerned with ends at least as much as with means; * an insistence on foregrounding the processes of power and ideology that are subsumed within the social fabric of institutional structures, procedures, and practices, and the ways that inequalities in power intersect with such factors as race, class, age, or gender; * a perspective that is social rather than individual, just as the nature of our experience as individuals is social; and * an underlying aim of realizing a more just society based on fairness and democracy, reflected in work and education as well as in social life generally" (Reynolds, 1999). 3.3. "Critical thinking is a form of higher-order thinking—consciously controlled reflective thought that draws on, but can be distinguished from, lower-order cognitive processes like perception, attention, and memory. Ennis (1991, p. 6) defined critical thinking as “reasonably reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do” (Smith, 2003). 3.4. "Scholars agree that critical thinking has both cognitive and attitudinal dimensions: One must know how to think critically, and one must be inclined to do so on appropriate occasions. Knowing how involves possession of certain skills (as for analyzing arguments) and related knowledge of strategies, methods, heuristics, concepts, and principles. The attitudinal side of critical thinking is referenced by Siegel’s (1990) notion of the “critical spirit.” It also is expressed in claims that critical thinkers exhibit certain mental dispositions (Ennis, 1996) or “perfections of thought” (Paul, 1989)—for instance, thinking that is clear, precise, relevant, deep, fair, and complete" (Smith, 2003).	These ideas makes clear the rationale of ALRA II's endorsement of critical thinking (and its nature) for its fundamental stance on management education.

This supplementary note is based on the literature review of the writer that is intended to clarify the work on ALRA II from the writer (Ho, 2018).

References

Alvesson, M., and Willmott, H. C. (Eds.). 1992. Critical management studies. London: Sage.

Blaylock, B.K., McDaniel, J.L., Falk, C.F., Hollandsworth, R., and Kopf, J.M. 2009. "A Borrowed Approach for a More Effective Business Education" Journal of Management Education 33(5) October: 577-595.

Burgoyne, J. and Reynolds, M. (Eds.). 1997. Management learning: Integrating perspectives in theory and practice. London: Sage Ltd.

Ennis, R. H. 1991. "Critical thinking: A streamlined conception" Teaching Philosophy, 14(1): 5-24.

Ennis, R.H. 1996. "Critical thinking dispositions: Their nature and assessability" Informal Logic, 18: 165-182.

French, R., and Grey, C. (Eds.). 1996. Rethinking management education. London: Sage Ltd.

Ho, J.K.K. 2018. "Some further conceptual clarification of the recently proposed agile literature review approach (ALRA)" European Academic Research 5(12) March: 6313-6328.

Paul, R.W. 1989. "Critical thinking in North America: A new theory of knowledge, learning, and literacy" Argumentation, 3: 197-235.

Reynolds, M. 1999. "critical reflection and management education: rehabilitating less hierarchical approaches" Journal of Management Education 23(5) October: 537-553.

Siegel, H. 1990. "The generalizability of critical thinking" Educational Philosophy and Theory, 23, 18-30.

Smith, G.F. 2003. "Beyond Critical Thinking And Decision Making: Teaching Business Students How To Think" Journal of Management Education 27(1) February: 24-51.

Van Dren, C. 1991. A History of Knowledge, Past, Present and Future, Ballantine Books, New York.