Lecture note on the literature review tasks for writing an MBA dissertation report chapter 2 (literature review): on pragmatism

Lecture note on the literature review tasks for writing an MBA dissertation report chapter 2 (literature review): on pragmatism

 

In the context of doing an MBA dissertation project, based on pragmatism, recommend 4 specific literature review tasks to perform on writing the dissertation report chapter 2 (literature review).

For a pragmatist MBA dissertation, Chapter 2 should do more than catalogue theories: it should build an evidence-based route from a real managerial problem to a feasible, useful investigation. Pragmatism prioritises knowledge that helps explain and address problems in context, and it can support drawing on different forms of evidence where they are useful.

Four literature-review tasks

Task	What to do	Chapter 2 output
1. Diagnose the practical problem	Review academic studies alongside credible industry, policy, and organisational evidence to define the business problem, its context, stakeholders, consequences, and why it matters. Do not treat practitioner sources as substitutes for scholarly evidence; use them to establish the real-world setting and decision relevance.	A tightly bounded problem statement, such as: “Despite X initiative, Y outcome persists among Z stakeholders in [context].”
2. Map and critically synthesise solution-relevant knowledge	Organise literature by themes or mechanisms, not author-by-author. For each theme, compare findings: what is known, where studies agree or conflict, which contextual conditions matter, and what the evidence suggests managers can realistically influence.	3–5 thematic sections that end with a short “implication for the focal problem” paragraph. A literature review should synthesise sources, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and show consensus, disagreement, and development in the field.
3. Build a practical conceptual framework	Select only theories and constructs that help explain the focal problem or guide action. Specify the proposed links between factors, likely outcomes, and contextual conditions. In a pragmatist project, the framework may combine complementary theories if this produces a better explanation of the applied problem—provided you justify each component.	A diagram and accompanying propositions or guiding questions, e.g., “Perceived message credibility and customer trust may shape purchase intention, conditional on platform type.”
4. Derive the actionable gap and research design requirements	Identify a gap that is simultaneously scholarly and practical: an under-studied setting, an unresolved contradiction, weak evidence about an intervention, or insufficient understanding of stakeholder experience. Then review how prior studies investigated comparable questions—their samples, measures, data sources, and limitations—to justify the evidence you need in Chapter 3.	A concluding gap statement, refined research question(s), expected contribution to practice, and a rationale for your chosen method(s). Literature reviews are expected to identify gaps, establish the framework, and inform methodological choices.

How to apply the pragmatist lens

Use this repeating logic in each thematic subsection:

1.    What is the issue? Define the concept and its relevance to your managerial problem.

2.    What does the evidence say? Compare empirical findings rather than summarising individual articles.

3.    What works, for whom, and under which conditions? Examine contextual variation, contradictions, and study limitations.

4.    What does this mean for action and your investigation? State the managerial implication and what remains unknown.

For example, if your topic concerns customer retention in an online business, do not merely review “service quality,” “trust,” and “loyalty” as separate textbook concepts. Synthesise evidence on how service recovery, platform credibility, delivery performance, and customer communication jointly affect retention in comparable e-commerce settings—and use the unresolved practical question to determine what data to collect.

Suggested Chapter 2 structure

• 2.1 Scope and review approach — focal problem, boundaries, databases/search terms, inclusion criteria, and thematic structure.
• 2.2 Practical and contextual background — the applied management problem and stakeholder setting.
• 2.3–2.5 Thematic critical synthesis — the mechanisms, debates, evidence, and practical implications.
• 2.6 Conceptual framework — selected constructs and proposed relationships.
• 2.7 Research gap and implications for Chapter 3 — exact unanswered question, intended practical value, and methodological requirements.

The crucial test is: after reading Chapter 2, an MBA marker should see not only that a gap exists, but why answering it will produce evidence useful for a decision-maker in your specific setting.