Undertaking a review of the literature is an important part of any research project. The researcher both maps and assesses the relevant intellectual territory in order to specify a research question which will further develop the knowledge base. However, traditional 'narrative' reviews frequently lack thoroughness, and in many cases are not undertaken as genuine pieces of investigatory science. Consequently they can lack a means for making sense of what the collection of studies is saying. These reviews can be biased by the researcher and often lack rigour. Furthermore, the use of reviews of the available evidence to provide insights and guidance for intervention into operational needs of practitioners and policymakers has largely been of secondary importance. For practitioners, making sense of a mass of often-contradictory evidence has become progressively harder. The quality of evidence underpinning decision-making and action has been questioned, for inadequate or incomplete evidence seriously impedes policy formulation and implementation. In exploring ways in which evidence-informed management reviews might be achieved, the authors evaluate the process of systematic review used in the medical sciences. Over the last fifteen years, medical science has attempted to improve the review process by synthesizing research in a systematic, transparent, and reproducible manner with the twin aims of enhancing the knowledge base and informing policymaking and practice. This paper evaluates the extent to which the process of systematic review can be applied to the management field in order to produce a reliable knowledge stock and enhanced practice by developing context-sensitive research. The paper highlights the challenges in developing an appropriate methodology.

A Product Service-System (PSS) is an integrated combination of products and services. This western concept embraces a service led competitive strategy, environmental sustainability, and the basis to differentiate from competitors who simply offer lower priced products. This paper aims to report the state-of-the-art of PSS research by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on this topic. The literature is classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed.On this basis, this paper defines the PSS concept, reports on its origin and features, gives examples of applications along with potential benefits and barriers to adoption, summarises available tools and methodologies, and identifies future research challenges. AbstractA Product Service-System (PSS) is an integrated combination of products and services. This western concept embraces a service led competitive strategy, environmental sustainability, and the basis to differentiate from competitors who simply offer lower priced products. This paper aims to report the state-of-the-art of PSS research by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on this topic. The literature is classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed.On this basis, this paper defines the PSS concept, reports on its origin and features, gives examples of applications along with potential benefits and barriers to adoption, summarises available tools and methodologies, and identifies future research challenges.

The field of organization and management studies has a significant and ever increasing published research base, often criticized as fragmented and of limited relevance for practice. A design science approach to management has argued that more room for the development of solution-oriented or prescriptive knowledge would increase its relevance. In this article we discuss prescriptive knowledge cast in the form of design propositions following the so-called 'CIMO-logic', extending previous applications of the design proposition notion. This logic involves a combination of a problematic Context, for which the design proposition suggests a certain Intervention type, to produce, through specified generative Mechanisms, the intended Outcome(s). We discuss how design-oriented research synthesis provides a vehicle for addressing fragmentation and increasing the chances of application. Moreover, we explore how the development of design propositions can result from synthesizing previously published research and illustrate this with the design of high-reliability organizations (HROs).

The paper which follows this short foreword is intended to demarcate many of the intellectual and practical challenges facing all of us who engage in management research. As such, the paper ends with a series of propositions which, in the tradition of social science, are 'testable' by further analysis and research. This is the intention for future substantial research activity within the British Academy of Management (BAM). The Academy represents the interests of scholars in management research. To do this effectively, there is a need for BAM to lead, to engage and to examine the emerging and future nature of management research. As a practical forward step, it is proposed to try and establish a Fellowship for a fixed period to examine and refine the propositions for mode 2 This paper argues for the distinctiveness of management research and develops a perspective concerning management research policy. It argues that the key defining characteristic of management research is its applied nature, and that its central concern should be 'the general (engineering) problem of design'. Because a key goal of management research is to improve the relationship between theory and practice, a fundamental concern lies with its diverse nature and the consequential difficulty of integration of sub-disciplines, as well as with the issue of the relevance and the application of findings. As a policy paper, it aims to introduce a limited number of analytical frameworks in order to develop a policy position, thus helping frame the debate concerning the role of management research. Specifically, it achieves this, first by exploring the ontology of management research, examining its form, features, peculiarities and idiosyncrasies using Becher's conceptual schema for exploring the nature of disciplines; second by identifying a requisite form of social organization to support management research activity using the Gibbons et al. taxonomy of knowledge production systems; and finally, by identifying some conclusions, research policy implications, and suggesting a set of policy propositions concerning the conduct of management research.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to address the qualitative synthesis and use of existing management research to inform management practice. Design/methodology/approach -Three methods of qualitative synthesis, each with contrasting methodologies, are presented and their potential contribution in the management field explored. Findings -Professional practice could be improved if practitioners had better access to the products of a large body of management research. Evidence-based reviews of the literature in the management field could form a crucial bridge between research and practice. The task of reviewing and synthesising qualitative studies comprises a key challenge.Research limitations/implications -The key issues in conducting qualitative synthesis are highlighted and the barriers and enablers to the application of the product of qualitative synthesis in practice are discussed. Originality/value -The paper stimulates debate about what counts as an effective synthesis of qualitative research and highlights the growing array of approaches. In so doing the paper presents new models for the production of evidence-based reviews.