Synthesising Knowledge in Entrepreneurship Research : The Role of Systematic Literature Reviews

This chapter explains a method new to entrepreneurship inquiry and a recent introduction to management inquiry, the systematic literature review (SLR). It discusses the current status of entrepreneurship research and shows that it has been criticised for being fragmented when drawing evidence from its wide disciplinary base. The paper argues for greater reflection in entrepreneurship research and the SLR is introduced as one method which can achieve both reflection and integration. It progresses by introducing the method using examples from four previous studies and it outlines the basic principles. The conclusions highlight how the method can be of value within the field of entrepreneurship and outline its limitations