An Investigation of How the Nature of Financial Management and Ethical Behavior Affects Business Performance
Michelle_Michy
Literaturereviewdetails.docx· It must be underpinned throughout by awareness of theory. Your argument should be placed within the context of existing theory relevant to the subject.
"the selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed." (Hart 1998)
"Typically, the literature review forms an important chapter in the thesis, where its purpose is to provide the background to and justification for the research undertaken (Bruce 1994, 218
Here are a few general pieces of advice for writing a successful literature review:
• Show the connections between your sources. Remember that your review should be more than merely a list of sources with brief descriptions under each one. You are constructing a narrative. Show clearly how each text has contributed to the current state of the literature, drawing connections between them.
• Engage critically with your sources. This means not simply describing what they say. You should be evaluating their content: do they make sound arguments? Are there any flaws in the methodology? Are there any relevant themes or issues they have failed to address? You can also compare their relative strengths and weaknesses.
• Signpost throughout to ensure your reader can follow your narrative. Each time you bring up a new source it should be made obvious to your reader why you are doing this and where the discussion is headed. Keep relating the discussion back to your specific research topic.
• Make a clear argument. Keep in mind that this is a chance to present your take on a topic. Your literature review showcases your own informed interpretation of a specific area of research. If you have followed the advice given in this guide you will have been careful and selective in choosing your sources. You are in control of how you present them to your reader.
· To show that you have a good understanding of your area of research.
· To show you have considered your research within the context of previous and ongoing research.
· To inform the reader of the current state of knowledge and questions in your research area.
· Remember that you can also challenge or comment on earlier research findings.
· You should usually attempt to refer to as wide a range of research as possible, and not rely on one or two examples.
A Literature Review might look something like this extract:
Early research on COO tried to understand how the originating country affected consumer perceptions about products, regardless of whether those perceptions were warranted. For example, Samlee (1994) found 60 empirical studies published on COO effects just from 1965 to 1994. Many studied country of origin effects and product perception (Al- Sulaiti and Baker, 1998; Bilkey and Nes , 1982; and Thakor and Katsanis , 1997.) Some researchers (e.g. Wang and Lamb, 1983) define COO effects as a negative consumer bias toward imported products. In fact, nationalism is a factor in a number of studies which found consumers generally prefer products made in their own countries (Olsen et al. , 1993; Bannister and Saunders, 1978; Chao and Rajendran , 1993; Gaedeke , 1973; and Nagashima , 1970). Levin et al. (1993) found a strong bias in US students for American-made cars over Japanese cars in the face of a “Buy America First” campaign. They concluded that nationalistic feelings may dominate other COO perceptions. Becker (1986), however, they found US consumers' desire to purchase American products dissipating in the face of perceived inferior quality. In addition, Ettenson et al. (1988) found only a minor COO effect for “Made in America” claims for a ladies' blouse and a man's dress shirt.
Source:(Adapted from) Drozdenko, R. and Jensen, M., (2008) Translating country-of-origin effects into prices, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Emerald Insight Publishing – www.emeraldinsight.com).
