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This paper examines the role of theory in public procurement research. Theoretical rigour is integral to management science, yet little is known on the extent and form of theory in public procurement. With the field starting to mature, addressing this issue is timely. From conducting a systematic literature review we find that 29 percent of articles are theoretically grounded, with the incidence of theory having increased in recent years. Economic, sociological, psychological, and management theories are all in evidence, but micro-economic theories predominate. Our findings also show that survey reporting and case studies account for almost half of all studies; procurement research is focused on organizational-level aspects more than regulatory-policy issues or public buyers; and studies to date have largely emanated from the North American and European regions. The contribution of this paper lies in clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of public procurement. Out of this we highlight the need for greater theoretical rigour, point to the under-use and even absence of theories that could have high validity and utility, and suggest a narrowing of research foci.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of theory building in public procurement by reviewing and classifying manuscripts published in the Journal of Public Procurement (JoPP) from 2001 to 2016.

The articles are divided into four important periods: discovery, agenda setting, embracing and expansion and consolidation. The articles are classified according to a hierarchical level of theory building composed of six levels: rapporteurs, reporters, testers, qualifiers, builders and expanders.

Key findings indicate that public procurement, in light of JoPP publications from 2001 to 2016, is at the tester level. There is also increase in the classification of articles with high level of theoretical contribution over time.

Scholars in the field of higher education take many approaches to apply theory in empirical research. However, this wide array of theoretical applications has prompted confusion among scholars who seek to integrate and understand how theory is situated in higher education research. This chapter explores the conceptualization, application, and visibility of theory in higher education research by presenting discourse from field leaders and discussing methodological definitions of theory, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual frameworks. Additionally, we conducted a summative content analysis of 239 empirical articles from the Review of Higher Education over a 10-year period, with the goal of understanding how theories were framed and applied in a subset of research. We conclude by reiterating the importance of theory in the study of higher education and providing strategies for effective theory application.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the profile of accounting research in the two academic accounting research journals in South Africa (Meditari Accountancy Research and SA Journal of Accounting Research) during the ten‐year period from 2000 to 2009.

The archival research method is applied, which analyses existing data (in this case the articles published in the South African (SA) accounting research journals) to come to research conclusions. The research method used to analyse the related articles in the SA accounting research journals is based on various international studies. The following dimensions are assessed: authorship; research field; the nature of the research; and research methods. Authorship is classified by institution, and the top seven authors by relative contribution are also identified. Both empirical and theoretical work are classified separately in different research methods.

These different dimensions provide a broad‐based review of the current profile of accounting research in South Africa.

Other refereed academic articles in the field of accounting have been published in non‐accounting specific SAPSE‐approved journals. These articles are also excluded from the scope of this research since the journals in which they are published have not been established by accounting academics specifically.

The motivation for doing this research is to identify the current profile of accounting research in South Africa that could be used as a basis for future research‐related development.

Knowledge of the profile of accounting research in South Africa could provide opportunities for scholars to expand identified research areas and explore methods that are currently under‐developed in the South African accountancy research field. The paper also acknowledges the contributions by the most prolific authors in the identified journals.

This paper attempts to seek answers to four questions. Two of these questions have been borrowed (but adapted) from the work of Defee et al.: RQ1. To what extent is theory used in purchasing and supply chain management (P&SCM) research? RQ2. What are the prevalent theories to be found in P&SCM research? Following on from these questions an additional question is posed: RQ3. Are theory‐based papers more highly cited than papers with no theoretical foundation? Finally, drawing on the work of Harland et al., the authors have added a fourth question: RQ4. To what extent does P&SCM meet the tests of coherence, breadth and depth, and quality necessary to make it a scientific discipline?

A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with the model outlined by Tranfield et al. for three journals within the field of “purchasing and supply chain management”. In total 1,113 articles were reviewed. In addition a citation analysis was completed covering 806 articles in total.

The headline features from the results suggest that nearly a decade‐and‐a‐half on from its development, the field still lacks coherence. There is the absence of theory in much of the work and although theory‐based articles achieved on average a higher number of citations than non‐theoretical papers, there is no obvious contender as an emergent paradigm for the discipline. Furthermore, it is evident that P&SCM does not meet Fabian's test necessary to make it a scientific discipline and is still some way from being a normal science.

This study would have benefited from the analysis of further journals, however the analysis of 1,113 articles from three leading journals in the field of P&SCM was deemed sufficient in scope. In addition, a further significant line of enquiry to follow is the rigour vs relevance debate.

This article is of interest to both an academic and practitioner audience as it highlights the use theories in P&SCM. Furthermore, this article raises a number of important questions. Should research in this area draw more heavily on theory and if so which theories are appropriate?

The broader social implications relate to the discussion of how a scientific discipline develops and builds on the work of Fabian and Amundson.

The data set for this study is significant and builds on a number of previous literature reviews. This review is both greater in scope than previous reviews and is broader in its subject focus. In addition, the citation analysis (not previously conducted in any of the reviews) and statistical test highlights that theory‐based articles are more highly cited than non‐theoretically based papers. This could indicate that researchers are attempting to build on one another's work.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate theoretical perspectives in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and contributes to understanding the current state of research in the field and its future development.

This paper conducts a structured literature review and aims at mapping the use of theories in the field. The authors assess the current state of research, looking in more details at popular theories, and propose possible future avenues for the field to develop.

Theory-building efforts in SSCM remain scarce, with the predominance of a few popular imported macro theories (resource-based view (RBV), stakeholder theory and institutional theory) having implications on the conceptualisation of SSCM and the topics researched to date. More theoretical contributions can potentially emerge from the adoption of original methodologies, the investigation of under-explored aspects of SSCM and the testing of recently developed frameworks.

Drawing on the analysis the authors propose an overarching map of popular theories in SSCM and define potential avenues towards the maturation of the discipline. A number of propositions are offered to guide future research. This study constitutes a first step towards understanding how theories in SSCM are developing and how SSCM has been conceptualised.

The originality of this paper lies in its analytical focus on theories in SSCM, which have not been mapped to date.

Qualified immigrants (QIs) and their work experiences have been studied using a wide variety of theoretical approaches with divergent characteristics. This paper reviews theoretical progress and proposes directions for future research and practice.

Using relevant keywords, articles indexed by Web of Science in management, business, industrial relations and applied psychology were systematically searched for and analysed. In total, 60 theoretical articles published during 2008–2018 were included. The theoretical progress and future theoretical and practical challenges were organised based on the notions of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Eight theoretical approaches utilised to study QIs' work experiences were recognised: (1) human capital theory, (2) career capital theory, (3) theory of practice, (4) intersectionality, (5) social identity theory, (6) sensemaking, (7) cultural identity transition and (8) the career-centred approach. The contributions and limitations of each theoretical lens were then scrutinised. Overall, research on QIs still lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework. As a step towards that, the paper proposes considering the role of organisations and labour market intermediaries, strategic view over the immigrant workforce, agency–institution play, identity–capital play and host–immigrant play.

The focus is on theory development and empirical papers with no clear theoretical foundation are excluded.

This review is the first attempt to summarise and direct the divergent research on the topic. The main contribution is setting an agenda for future research, particularly by proposing the elements of a comprehensive theoretical framework for studying QIs in the workplace.

There is still a lack of understanding why there is little progress when it comes to women seeking and obtaining top management and leadership positions in organizations today, and this is particularly true within the cross-cultural and international management and leadership contexts. One step forward, however, is to understand current work and trends in research and theory to identify these gaps. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recently published literature on the role of gender in management teams within and across cultures.

This content analysis has examined the most recent literature (i.e. January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2016) in 15 influential academic journals within the cross-cultural and international management field. The study has analyzed 152 primary and 85 secondary articles that met the strict criteria of the study.

Results include findings on journals/articles, gender of authors, countries included in data collection, constructs measured, tone of manuscripts (i.e. adverse outcomes associated with gender compared to the neutral/mixed or positive effects), and the theoretical frameworks utilized in the articles.

This analysis will be useful for researchers, theorists, and practitioners in understanding the current knowledge base and in discovering the emerging gaps and needs.

This is the first study of its kind within gender and cross-cultural/international management. The findings clearly show gaps in research and theory that will help guide future work.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the theoretical discussion of effectuation since the seminal paper in 2001 and to propose an agenda for future studies.

Systematic literature review and content analysis of 71 papers.

Most papers performed a replication of the concepts empirically, and few studies proposed to understand theoretical aspects of effectuation, among them, some authors presented theoretical advances to improve the approach and others participated in an ongoing debate that shows there is no consensus on whether the approach is theory or if considered, appears to be under construction at a rudimentary level or being questioned.

The method requires authors to make choices, so the database used and the criteria defined for searching papers that were analyzed are the main limitations of this research.

The authors suggest that researchers, teachers and practitioners use effectuation analytically and reflectively.

The authors present and analyze the current theoretical debate on effectuation. Results suggest the need for new discussions about the concepts, as well as new theoretical efforts of the researchers to analyze the potentialities and limitations of this approach.

Among empirical and applied research, with replications of the concepts of effectuation, this research contributes to a theoretical discussion based on a systematic literature review, seeking to bring new reflections about this approach. Additionally, the authors present an agenda of theoretical gaps for the development of future research.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic picture of how and to what extent Cohen and Levinthal’s (1990) seminal article on absorptive capacity was used in knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC) research from 1990 to 2013.

In this paper, 186 articles extracted from eight KM and IC journals were reviewed by conducting both content and text analyses. To facilitate research comparison, content analysis followed the method used by Roberts et al. (2012) and thus was based on categories, conceptualizations, levels of analysis and, additionally, temporal evolution of absorptive capacity from 1990 to 2013 was looked at. Text analysis was performed to identify major research themes developing the absorptive capacity construct.

Finding showed that absorptive capacity was largely underdeveloped in the KM and IC fields. KM, knowledge transfer and innovation were the top three research areas investigating absorptive capacity in the KM and IC fields.

This study had limitations related to time frame, covering a period from April 1990 to November 2013, and accessibility of articles due to specific restrictions in journal subscriptions.

This paper is a first attempt to review absorptive capacity in KM and IC research. It represented a primary reference for those interested to research absorptive capacity in the KM and IC fields.