Abstract

In this article, we identify the concept of a theoretical concept review, a literature review that presents the theoretical concepts extracted from each primary study. We clarify what theoretical concepts are in the context of literature reviews and explain why theoretical contributions are valuable in literature reviews. We conduct a citation analysis that shows that, in general, theoretical concept reviews have been cited approximately 60% more than other kinds of reviews. Based on our findings, we recommend that literature review authors should routinely present the elements of theory in their reviews since this is demonstrably valuable to readers.

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A citation analysis of theoretical concept reviews

In this article, we identify the concept of a theoretical concept review, a literature review that presents the theoretical concepts extracted from each primary study. We clarify what theoretical concepts are in the context of literature reviews and explain why theoretical contributions are valuable in literature reviews. We conduct a citation analysis that shows that, in general, theoretical concept reviews have been cited approximately 60% more than other kinds of reviews. Based on our findings, we recommend that literature review authors should routinely present the elements of theory in their reviews since this is demonstrably valuable to readers.