Theoretical Literature Review: Tracing the Life Cycle of a Theory and Its Verified and Falsified Statements

Abstract

The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) has proven to be a source of knowledge providing research in the forms of theory development, literature reviews, educational and descriptive analyses, critical analyses, and empirical research studies. Given this vast body of knowledge, there has not been a call for researchers to provide a literature review format for tracing the life cycles of individual theories, differentiating between formal and informal theories within human resource development's (HRD) body of knowledge. The current article proposes a format for conducting a theoretical literature review, using path-goal leadership theory and the learning organization as two examples to showcase the benefits of using a theoretical literature review. Incorporating theoretical literature reviews to some of the AHRD's journals could help in identifying and mapping the field's formal and informal theories while aiding in providing additional historical reviews for the discipline.

Land tenure in tea farming and exploring factors influencing a rural household’s decision to exit or enter farming

“…Theory either forecast or elucidates an event. Therefore, theory established by human being helps to understand our complex surrounding environment (TURNER et al, 2018). Thus, a theory also provides important information about certain actions performed or taken by human beings such as why farmers enter or exit in farming.…”

An integrative six‐domain model of employee training and development

“…Employee development can be defined as “an integrated set of planned programs, provided over a period of time, to help assure that all individuals have the competence necessary to perform to their fullest potential in support of the organization's goals” (Jacobs & Washington, , p. 344). To effectively build and then assess the effectiveness of employee development, several fields of human development and education should be brought to bear, including adult learning, instructional design, human resource development, management, and organizational psychology; however, these fields have not always been effectively integrated in the past (Turner, Baker & Kellner, ). While a comprehensive review of each of these fields is not within our current scope, we instead draw on selected literature from these fields as these studies relate to employee training and education.…”

“…In the development of a new model, rigorous testing is required to show empirically that its theoretical structure is well‐founded and can be used for predictive purposes (Turner, Baker, & Kellner, ). The consideration of the Six‐Domain Model provides organizational researchers and academic scholars numerous opportunities for such testing investigation.…”

“…Turner, Baker, and Kellner () describe the “life‐cycle” of a theory as progressing from theory development and initial peer review through testing and the creation of a formal theory to continuous refinement. Here, we seek to review the current state of scholarship and literature on employee training and development, and suggest a new theoretical model for employee training that could be applicable across a variety of sectors.…”

Literature Review

“…The organization of the literature review will, in most cases, depend on the focus of the literature review. For example, if a theoretical literature review (Turner, Baker, & Kellner, in press) were to be conducted, the organization of that review would be either chronological or theoretical. For empirical studies, a comprehensive review of the methodology chosen for the research study will also be expected.…”