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European Management Journal

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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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Research Journal of Business Management

• Vol 13 (1), 2019

Systematic Review

A systematic review of literature about leadership and organization.

Received: April 19, 2018;   Accepted: June 26, 2018;   Published: February 26, 2019

How to cite this article

Introduction.

From trait theory, through human relations school of thought, to contingency and/or situational model, leadership research has come a long way 1 . However, as observed by Wren 2 , still very little is known about leadership and much remain unexplained. Around a century back, Stogdill 1 remarked, “There are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept”. More recently, while commenting on the huge number of articles written about leadership, Winston and Patterson 3 state that there seem to be a lot of blind men describing a moving elephant. Winston and Patterson 3 further remark that even 90+ dimensions of leadership are not sufficient enough to understand leadership. Such has been the history of leadership research that no clarity or consensus about its definition, styles, effective methods, etc., could emerge in the literature even after centuries of research.

During the last two decades or so, focused research about leadership issues has started gaining ground 4 . The field is now starting to take a rather holistic view of leadership as a result of which more positive forms of leadership are getting incorporated into the literature. This can mainly be attributed to the introduction and popularity of focused yet holistic journals in the field of leadership.

The journal covered under this article has emerged as one of the most regarded journal in the field of leadership research. While most of the prominent journals focus on either of organizational or leadership issues, this journal takes a coherent view and attempts to understand the effective application of leadership and other issues in an organizational context. Its vision of advancing the theory, research and practice of all aspects of leadership and organizations, makes the journal attract a wide range of contributors and readers from academia and corporate world. In order to inform the researchers and readers about the directions in the integrated field of leadership and organizational research, this paper systematically reviews the research papers published in the journal between 2010 and 2017 and makes an attempt to set-up the research agenda for future.

This paper uses the methodology of systematic review. Presenting a critique of reviews conducted in the field of Management research, Hart 5 maintains that those are usually narrative and biased as per the implicit biases of the researcher. This view is also supported by Davies 6 , Sharma and Bodla 7 , Sharma and Sanchita 8 . Davies 6 further argues that systematic reviews help overcome these limitations by bringing out the consistencies and variability’s of studies reviewed. In their landmark work on the methodology of systematic reviews, Tranfield et al . 9 stress upon producing a reliable knowledge stock by developing context-sensitive research. This paper follows the methodological rigor suggested by Tranfield et al . 9 .

THEORETICAL FRAME OF REFERENCE

Intended to recognize the key themes in reviewed literature, the authors conducted a systematic analysis of 208 papers published during 2010 to 2017 10 - 14 . For current study, the broad areas were leadership motivation, leadership excellence and leadership communication. These subjects were further divided into following topics:

Effect on job performance and work satisfaction: Taking into consideration the themes of the reviewed literature, this paper briefly presented these topics in the following sub-sections. It was important to emphasize that the objective of this section was not to discuss the main topics in leadership and organization but rather to present the themes explored by papers published during the selected time-frame.

Leadership style in general: Successful leader was one who can influence the followers to achieve the organizational objective. Different leadership styles affect the organizational and employee performance differently 15 . Leadership style did;//mz affect the culture of the concern, thus its efficiency. Leadership is a process of influencing the followers socially so that they can participate intentionally to achieve the organizational objective 16 . Leadership style can affect organizational commitment and work satisfaction explicitly and work satisfaction can further positively affect organizational commitment and work performance. The perception of employees about the transactional and transformational leadership style has a high degree of correlation with the motivation factors of the leader in the organization. The style of leadership has an impact on satisfaction level and trust in the leader. Organizational citizenship behavior directly influences the relation between style of leadership and commitment towards the organization 17 .

Leadership style can be divided into two broad types, namely transformational and transactional. A transformational leader is one who is influential, innovative and encourages others. This type of style creates an open and trustworthy culture, which motivates them to achieve the goal 18 . Transactional leader focuses on supervision, organization and performance. Both reward and punishment have used as a tool to encourage the followers to fulfill the required task. In the current scenario an organization needs a leader who can understand the demand of a complex environment. The relation between the leader and an employee and the leadership style enhances the satisfaction level of the follower.

Moderating factors in leadership: Moderating variables in leadership had drawn attention in the recent research. A number of theories had explored the moderating effects of variety of factors like subordinate, work and psychology on the relation between leadership and effectiveness. Knickerbocker 19 projected a theory of leadership that emphasized on the needs of the employees’.Knickerbocker 19 maintained that a coordinated relationship between the team members was required to achieve the target of a team, which could be achieved by presence of a leader. His opined that leadership effectiveness was dependent on the need of the employees. In contrary to this theory, De Vries et al . 20 explored the moderating role of need for the leader and found that higher urge for leader showed weaker relation between work stress of employees and task oriented leader. De Vries et al . 20 further maintain that high task oriented leader makes the employee feel more pressurized and thus leads to stress. The need for leadership was related to the characteristics of a leader. The study raised two important questions-(a) when the employees need support of a leader, do they show and (b) would the leader change the style of motivation and inspiration depending on the need of the employees.

Quitting intentions and leadership: To remain competitive in the dynamic business environment, holding on to the productive human resources and reducing the employee turnover, is the key. High turnover rate among employees can adversely impact the company in terms of high training cost, high selection cost, decreased productivity and low staff morale. Loyalty towards organization and leader, leads to positive intentions in employees to stay with the organization for long time 21 . Transformational leadership were found to be negatively related to employees’ voluntary organizational turnover intention, on the other side availability of job opportunity did not affect the transformational leadership and turnover intention 22 . Long et al . 23 remark that transformational and transactional leadership styles had negative impact on quitting intention. Puni et al . 24 found a positive association between autocratic leadership style, quitting intentions and counterproductive work behavior and a negative relationship between democratic leadership style, quitting intentions and counterproductive work behavior. Puni et al . 24 further noted that the leaders using laissez faire style yield negative relation with quitting intentions but positive with counterproductive work behavior. Further, the study observed that in autocratic style of leadership, a leader emphasized more on productivity than on people due to which employees’ quitting intentions increased dramatically.

Leadership perception: The climate and organizational environment highly depends on the perception of leaders, managers and employees. Perception was a difficult part of human behavior, the perception of different individual need not to be same. In the context of organization it became difficult to accomplish objectives when leaders and followers had very different perception 25 .

In today’s organizational perspective employees expects leader to be people oriented as they consider team work, relationship building as a basic pillar for organizational management. Madden 26 in his study found that there was a stereotype that women were insecure, over controlling and enable to engage in team play. Helgesen 27 argued that women were relationship oriented, non-hierarchical and take interest in sharing power and information.

Perception which was negative can lead to wrong decision and it could be dangerous for the leaders well as organization. Understanding the perception was a process in which the leader needs to analyze the situation and information in a rational manner. Listening and communication skills of leader lead to deal with the situation more empathetically and efficiently.

Role in learning: The competency of a leader in terms of technical proficiency is positively related with the employees’ creativity and learning behavior. In addition to these learning acts as a mediator between innovativeness of employees and competencies of the leader 28 . The transformational leaders enhance creativity in employees. Therefore, companies prefer such candidates as leaders who possess these skills or at least have the potential to become one.

Brown and Posner 29 found that leadership development programs and approaches should accomplish at personal and emotional level which furthers enhance insights about self and helps in creating learning and leadership mind sets. Transformational learning theories could be used to help and develop transformational leader.

Effect of leadership on job performance and work satisfaction: Saleem 30 observed that transformational leadership style increased job satisfaction among employees while transactional leadership leaves a negative impact on job satisfaction of employees. Goleman 31 suggests, “a leader should hold each leadership style in his bag like a golfer and he should be well averse to know that what style he should use in which situation because at every round of golf, you cannot use the same ball”. It is important to know that contingency theories play an important role in enhancing the job satisfaction.

Rad and Yarmohammadian 32 concluded that employees showed less satisfaction with salaries, benefits, promotion and communication and they will more satisfied with type of job and good supervisor. They proved significant correlation between the leadership behaviors and employees and job satisfaction. Good relationship with staff increases the satisfaction level of employees; however, situational leadership can negatively impact job satisfaction of employees.

METHODS AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

This paper systematically reviews 208 papers published on leadership and related areas from 2010 through 2017. As shown in Fig. 1 , out of 208 papers selected for study, 33 were out of context so they have been rejected, 56 papers have been rejected on the ground of not being related to the topic. Finally 119 papers used for further systematic review which were related to leadership studies.

By summarizing the issues addressed by the journal during the reference period, the paper provided valuable insights to the current researchers about the research gap and future research areas of leadership 9 . This research was divided into five major tasks:

Research mechanism and implementation: To get the miniature view of the articles studied for this systematic review, the authors had tabulated the leading points by coding each distinct feature.

Some of the articles have also covered more than one subject or domain so, multiple codes have also been assigned to the article on different key areas. Table 1 depicted that first classification of codes had been based on the context. The culture of every country was different, so was their management view of getting the things done and their leadership style. A motivation or leadership technique that had been proved successful in one country may not be replicated in another country. In this classification of context, the countries were categorized into four series, i.e., developed country, developing and emerging country, under developed country and if the research was not specifically done in/or for a particular country then it was categorized as not applicable. The codes A to D had been used to classify the context to the research.

The next classification in Table 1 had been done on the basis of the geographical region. For the purpose of coding, seven geographical regions have been used, namely-USA, UK, France, Germany, China, India and Islamic countries represented by code A to G respectively. Code H had been assigned to the papers not belonging to any of these countries. In case, research was not country specific then I code was used.

The third classification was done on the basis of the objective of the study. Code A was assigned to the empirical studies, in which direct or indirect observation had been used to gain the knowledge. For case study method, code B was assigned. If the article makes theoretical and methodological contributions to the topic, it came under Code C. Code D was used for conceptual study, while code E has been assigned to the studies not falling in the above categories.

Main subject of the research articles reviewed forms the basis for the fourth classification. The papers were coded as A, B, C and D. It depicts the focus point of the study on which the research article is based. The key subjects taken for the systematic review were leadership motivation, leadership excellence and leadership communication and others.

Fifth classification had been done on the basis of the main topic of the research. This classification further narrows down the research area that had been chosen in fourth category. Codes ranging from A to I have been assigned. It includes topics resembling leadership style in general, moderating factors, quitting intentions, leadership perception and role in learning, effect on job performance, work satisfaction, virtual leadership and others.

The sixth classification makes an attempt to categorize the leadership style evaluated in the papers coded as letter A to H. This categorization holds significance since style provides direction, helps implement the plans and motivates people. Besides giving codes to seven styles of leadership, one code is assigned to a category where no particular style is studied.

Industry studied, forms the base for the seventh classification. Leadership style, the way of working, culture and organizational structure is not common across industry. So, this part has been divided into four categories, namely-manufacturing, service, trading and others. Codes have been assigned from A to D, respectively.

Eighth classification depicts the time period of the research. Time period of research was taken as very crucial distinction in research design categorization. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. A was assigned to the articles with time-frame of less than one year, B depicts 1-5 years, C is assigned to papers with time frame of 6-10, years followed by D for more than 10 years. E was assigned to the articles where the time period was not applicable.

Ninth classification involves identifying the research methods used for research. Codes A to G have been assigned to this category. It was important to classify whether research is qualitative or quantitative. Other categories in this classification include conceptual method, case study and others if a research paper does not fall in the given category.

The tenth classification reveals the sample size of the research article. By sample size, the authors recognize a group of subjects that is selected from the population. For this category, the codes range from A to D. A category covers articles with sample size of less than 50, B category includes sample size of 51-100, C category is for more than 100 and D category covers the papers not falling in any of the above categories.

The eleventh classification relates to the size of the industry and is coded from A to C. Large scale industry is coded by A, small and medium industry by B, while others are coded as C. Size of the industry is important to categorize as different sizes of industry show different types of results since the number of employees, decentralization level, span of control is not same in each size.

Lastly, the twelfth category highlights different aspects of the results from the articles under review. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. In this coding, attempt has been made to seek the results of articles based on the information gathered. It included whether the results were consistent with previous literature or does it offer a new perspective.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section revealed the data classification and categorization of 119 papers on the basis of codes assigned to those in the previous section. The results were produced in Table 2 followed by their analysis and interpretation. On the basis of results, research gaps had been highlighted for further research.

Context: The first classification identified the context of the papers under review. For the purpose of coding, the context was divided into four parts A, B, C and D. Code A was assigned to developed countries, code B for developing and emerging countries, for under developed countries code C was given and code D if it was not applicable to any of these. The results were shown in the form of pie chart in Fig. 2 .

As depicted by Fig. 2 , majority of the studies 14 , 17 , 22 , 26 were not country specific. None of the reviewed studies focused on underdeveloped countries, 13.45% of the studies 18 , 21 deal with developed countries, 5.88% studies had been done in the context of developing and emerging countries, while 5.04% of the research articles belong to the context of both developed and developing and emerging countries. This revealed that studies on leadership and organizational issues pertaining to the underdeveloped country were lacking. This indicated a major research gap that needs to be investigated in future research.

Geographical area: For this category, seven geographical regions have been used namely USA, UK, France, Germany, China, India and Islamic countries represented by codes A to G respectively. Code H is assigned to the papers that do not belong to any of these countries. In case research was not country specific, code I is used. Figure 3 shows the analyses of codes based on the geographical area. Figure 3 showed that majority 19 , 22 , 25 of research articles (75%) were not specific to any geographical area, 6% of the studies belong to USA and 8% deal with other countries, 5% research articles focus on China, while 1% do not belong to any of these countries.

Objective: The third classification refers to identifying the objectives of the analyzed papers. Code A is assigned to the empirical studies, code B is assigned for case study method, code C is assigned to the articles based on theoretical and methodological contribution, code D is used for conceptual studies focusing on concept or theory explaining the phenomenon, code E has been assigned to studies belonging to any other category. The results as shown in Fig. 4 revealed that 69% of the reviewed papers 14 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 24 , 26 employ the empirical method, while 18% were conceptual studies, 6% use case study method and literature review.

Main subjects: The next classification was based on the main subject of the research articles reviewed for systematic review as A, B, C and D. It depicts the focus point of the study. The key subjects taken for the coding are leadership motivation, leadership excellence, leadership communication and others. As shown by Fig. 5 , the main focus of maximum research in the articles studied 18 , 22 , 26 was on leadership excellence (29%). 4% of the articles are relate to leadership motivation and 4% to leadership communication.

The remaining articles focus on other than the given subjects. The combinations studied are leadership motivation and excellence (5%), Leadership excellence and others (8%). The analysis of main subject shows that there are certain avenues open for the researchers in study of leadership motivation and leadership communication, though the previous researchers have focused on leadership excellence.

Topics: This classification was based on identification of the main topic of research. The codes assigned for this category range from A to, I. This classification further narrows down the research area t chosen in the previous category. It includes topics resembling leadership style in general, moderating factors, quitting intentions, leadership perception and role in learning, effect on job performance, work satisfaction, virtual leadership and others.

As shown in Fig. 6 , many code combinations had got developed while analyzing the papers for this category. The topics emerged during the research were the combination of two or more subjects. About 6% of the papers focused on moderating factors and effect on job performance, 8% study other factors along with moderating factors, 5% cover effect on job performance, work satisfaction with grouping of other topics. All the other combinations of codes contribute to only 1%. Only few articles focus on a single topic.

Leadership style evaluated: This classification is an attempt to categorize the leadership style evaluated in the papers studied, coded from A to H ( Fig. 7 ).

Besides giving codes to seven styles of leadership, one code is assigned to a category where no particular style is being evaluated. Majority of the studies (71%) do not concentrate on any particular leadership style, 15% of the articles evaluate transformational leadership style, 3% of the papers study mixed style and remaining researchers study combination of two or more styles.

Type of organization: This classification shows the categorization on the basis of industry. This part has been divided into three categories Manufacturing, Service, Trading and others. Codes have been assigned from A to D respectively. 21% articles focus on service industry, while 76% articles have not chosen any specific type of organization for their research. Figure 8 exhibits the results with regard to this classification.

Time period: The eighth classification depicts the time period of the research as exhibited in Fig. 9 . This category has been divided into five parts assigning codes from A to E; A- less than 1 years, B-1-5 years, C-6-10 years, D-10 years and more, E for the articles where time period is not applicable.92% percent of the articles do not cater to any specific time period, 5% articles base their analysis on less than one year, 2% of the research articles are based on 1-5 years of category.

Method: This category of classification involved identifying the research methods used for research as plotted in Fig. 10 . Codes from A to G had been assigned in which quantitative, qualitative, conceptual, quantitative and qualitative both, case study and none of these categories had been coded. About 42% of the papers use quantitative methods, 28% papers employed both quantitative and qualitative methods, 18% articles used conceptual method.

Sample size: This classification revealed the sample size of the articles analyzed as shown in Fig. 11 . For this category, codes ranged from A to D. A category contains the articles with sample size of under 50, B category comprises of papers with sample size of 51-100, C included papers with sample size of more than 100, D included papers other than these. Majority of the articles (52%) use the sample size more than 100, 40% articles fall in others category where sample size was not applicable, 6% articles had used sample size below 50.

Size of the industry: This classification related to size of the industry and the codes assigned ranged from A to C as shown in Fig. 12 . Large scale industry is coded by A, small and medium sized industry coded by B and others fall in category C. Most of the studies did not focus on analysis of a particular size of industry, 11% analyze the large industries, 2% focus on small and medium enterprises.

The last category ( Fig. 13 ) highlighted different aspects of the results of the research articles studied. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. It included whether the results were consistent with previous literature or leading to a new perspective, was it a previous model with different data set and time period, comparative study and others.

Majority of the articles (52%) present comparative analysis, 9% articles deal with each of category B and C that was consistent with previous literature and previous model with different data set and time period.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS

The main contribution of the current paper was to summarize the issues addressed by these articles and to bring out the research gaps. The current study explored 119 articles which were purely devoted to the study of leadership and organization. On the basis of the gaps explored, it can be stated that the research arena is wide open for the future research in the area of leadership and related areas that can be explored by novel research. The current research found that the future researchers can focus on underdeveloped countries and explore how leadership in organizations of underdeveloped countries can meet current and future organizational challenges. The future researchers can focus on conducting research in specific regions and explore the influence that leadership has on organizations of different regions. Future research can also focus on meta-analysis and explore the significance of case study/literature review or comparative analysis in addressing leadership problems in organizations. With respect to main subject of the study, it is found that most of the studies focus on leadership excellence whereas research on leadership motivation and communication is lagging behind. Therefore, future research can examine how leadership motivation and communication can help an organization achieve its results. It is vital to explore how an organization from a specific sector manages and motivates its employees through effective leadership. Future research can focus on other techniques that can justify the objective of leadership study.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

This study holds immense significance for two core reasons. One, the paper consolidates the existing literature about leadership and organization. Two, the paper brings out the research gaps and sets a research agenda for future researchers in the field. The organic contribution of the authors is in listing out (a) the objectives that can be pursued by the future researchers, (b) the methodology that can be adopted by the future researchers, (c) the tools that can be put to use while researching in this area and (d) the industry that the future researchers may emphasize upon.

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Maternal obesity management: a narrative literature review of health policies

• Elnaz Kalantari 1 ,
• Maryam Tajvar 1 ,
• Shohreh Naderimagham 2 , 3 &
• Amirhossein Takian 1 , 4 , 5  

BMC Women's Health volume  24 , Article number:  520 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Maternal obesity rates are increasing significantly, posing substantial risks to both mothers and their children. This study aims to introduce health policies addressing maternal obesity, identify preventive interventions, and highlight scientific gaps necessitating further research.

We identified documents through electronic searches in PubMed, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, and grey literature sources (ministry of health websites, national gynecology and obstetrics associations) from January 2013 to August 2023, updated in June 2024. The inclusion criteria focused on English-language documents discussing interventions or health policies that promote weight loss through lifestyle changes during pregnancy.

A total of 22 documents (10 studies and 12 guidelines) were included. 12 studies (N=1244) identified via databases; included two Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) from Canada and Singapore. Other 10 CPGs sourced from governmental websites and national associations: England (1), Australia (1), New Zealand (1), combined Australia and New Zealand (1), Canada (3), USA (1), Ireland (1), Germany (1). 10 guidelines focused on obesity in pregnancy, two on weight management during pregnancy. Covered interventions across pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum periods (9 guidelines); pre-pregnancy and pregnancy (2); exclusively postpartum (1). Seven guidelines offered evidence-based recommendations on maintaining healthy weight in mothers, largely based on expert opinions.

Maternal obesity poses significant risks to both mothers and children, underscoring the need for effective health policies and systems. However, few countries have integrated adequate responses into their healthcare policies and guidelines for professionals. Limited evidence exists on optimal practices to improve reproductive health outcomes in obese women. Hence, the crucial need to developing comprehensive guidelines and proactive strategies to manage maternal obesity. These measures can improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Increased focus on research and policymaking is essential to protect the health of mothers and their children.

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The global rise in obesity has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify it as a major health threat, particularly affecting young people, including women of reproductive age [ 1 ]. This has significant implications for both Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in the periods leading up to pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after childbirth [ 2 ], introducing challenges in obstetrics [ 3 ]. Maternal obesity is also associated with Childhood Obesity (CHO) and long-term Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) [ 4 , 5 ], exacerbating their impact. Thus, addressing this issue is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in the Low And Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) [ 6 ].

Life transitions, such as moving out, employment changes, and relationship shifts, can impede healthy behaviors and result in over 50% of women starting pregnancy with obesity [ 7 ]. In 2014, approximately 40 million pregnant women around the world were overweight or obese. While Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) have high rates of overweight, Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMICs) experience a higher prevalence of obesity during pregnancy [ 8 ]. Excessive Gestational Weight Gain (EGWG) is also a significant problem among pregnant women [ 7 ], with about 20% of them maintaining a post-birth weight exceeding 4.5 kg [ 4 ]. In general, nearly half of women experience pre-pregnancy obesity, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, and postpartum weight retention [ 9 ], which all contribute to maternal obesity [ 10 ].

Obesity during the early stages of pregnancy is linked to negative outcomes for both the mother and child on a global scale. Research has identified several risks, such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and pre-eclampsia, which contribute to the worldwide burden of diabetes and heart diseases [ 10 ]. Additionally, evidence within the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm (DOHaD) suggests that maternal obesity increases the risk of NCDs for both the mother and child [ 11 ]. This risk is further increased by the potential for childhood obesity to double [ 12 , 13 ], subsequently increasing the likelihood of NCDs in the future [ 11 ]. By 2030, the annual obesity-related medical costs are projected at $66 billion in the United States (US) [ 14 ], with every increase in adult Body Mass Index (BMI) resulting in an additional $6 billion in healthcare expenses [ 15 ]. Furthermore, healthcare costs for obese pregnancies will rise due to the need for additional specialized exams [ 3 ]. Taking into account factors such as age, parity, ethnicity, and comorbidities, costs were found to be 23% higher for overweight individuals and 37% higher for obese women, compared to those with normal weight [ 16 ].

Evidence supports the effectiveness of intervention programs in preventing maternal obesity by improving behavior, modifying the environment, adopting healthier eating habits, and increasing physical activity. These interventions are essential in breaking the cycle of intergenerational obesity and reducing the growing global burden of non-communicable diseases [ 11 ]. Research suggests that lifestyle interventions, combining self-monitoring, diet, and exercise, can significantly reduce postpartum weight in women [ 12 ]. Additionally, breastfeeding helps prevent maternal overweight by prolonging its duration, potentially preventing around 975,000 cases of childhood obesity [ 13 , 14 ]. In fact, focusing on maintaining weight after childbirth shows promise in reducing obesity-related diseases [ 15 ].

In this regard, various countries, particularly high-income nations, have issued guidelines to address maternal obesity, emphasizing its immediate health consequences for women of reproductive age [ 11 , 16 , 17 ]. However, certain countries, e.g., India, with limited focus on maternal obesity in health policies, may miss opportunities to effectively address this significant public health issue [ 18 ].

This study aims to introduce health policies addressing maternal obesity, identify preventive practices, and highlight scientific gaps necessitating further research. We anticipate that our findings will contribute to enhancing preventive measures and improving women’s health during pregnancy.

Materials and methods

We identified relevant documents through electronic searches conducted from January 2013 to August 2023, with updates in June 2024. The search encompassed databases including PubMed, CINAHL Plus, and EMBASE, as well as an exploration of grey literature, i.e., the ministry of health websites and national gynecology and obstetrics associations. The search incorporated text words and MESH terms related to maternal obesity and health policies (Table  1 ). Inclusion criteria specified a focus on English-language documents addressing interventions or health policies aimed at promoting weight loss through lifestyle changes before, during, and after pregnancy. We also included official health documents in the form of guidelines or policies, if they provided guidance to health professionals on managing maternal obesity through lifestyle changes and were the most recent version available. In total, we included 22 documents, comprising 10 studies and 12 guidelines (Fig.  1 ).

PRISMA 2009 flow diagram

We selected a total of 22 studies and policy documents for review. Among the 12 studies ( N  = 1244) found through databases, two were related to Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) from England [ 19 ] and Singapore [ 20 ]. The remaining 10 CPGs were found through governmental websites and national associations were from England [ 1 , 17 ], Australia [ 1 , 21 ], New Zealand [ 1 , 22 ], Australia and New Zealand guideline [ 1 , 23 ], Canada [ 3 , 24 , 25 , 26 ], the United States [ 1 , 27 ], Ireland [ 1 , 28 ], and Germany [ 1 , 29 ]. Ten guidelines specifically addressed obesity in pregnancy, while two focused on weight management or maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy. These guidelines covered interventions in various periods, including pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum (9 guidelines), pre-pregnancy and pregnancy (2 guidelines), and exclusively postpartum (1 guideline). Out of these, seven provided evidence-based recommendations regarding maintaining a healthy weight in mothers, primarily based on strong experts’ opinions. Tables  2 and 3 , and 4 outline the key features of the included studies and policy documents.

Below, we summarize some recommendations for the management of maternal obesity, as outlined by the included studies.

Weight management before, during and after pregnancy

The UK NICE guidelines for weight management before, during, and after pregnancy focus on healthcare providers supporting women in adopting healthy weight behaviors, diet, and exercise during the pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum periods. For effective weight-loss programs, the document recommends addressing barriers to weight loss, tailoring approaches to individual needs and preferences, being sensitive to weight-related concerns, promoting a balanced and healthy diet, encouraging regular physical activity, setting realistic goals of 0.5–1 kg (1–2 lb) per week, and actively identifying and addressing obstacles to successful change. Furthermore, it stands out among other guidelines by promoting postpartum weight loss as a strategy to prevent maternal obesity [ 17 ].

Management of obesity in pregnancy

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RANZCOG) provides guideline for managing obesity during pregnancy. The intended audience is healthcare professionals working in maternity care and their patients. Key recommendations include assessing height and weight before conceiving, promoting good nutrition and physical fitness, offering psychological support, and discussing appropriate weight gain during pregnancy based on early pregnancy BMI. Healthcare providers are encouraged to address the impact of obesity on fertility and pregnancy outcomes in a sensitive and non-judgmental manner. They should also monitor weight during and after pregnancy, providing ongoing nutrition and exercise guidance to women with obesity to support weight reduction [ 23 ].

Obesity in pregnancy

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Practice Bulletin seeks to offer a comprehensive approach to the management of obesity in reproductive-aged women who are planning for pregnancy. Dealing with obesity requires long-term strategies, including population-based public health and economic initiatives, as well as individual nutritional, behavioral, or surgical interventions. Obstetricians have a crucial role in providing care for pregnant women who are obese, while other healthcare professionals, such as nutritionists, can offer specialized knowledge based on the obstetrician’s level of comfort with obstetric care [ 27 ].

Management of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum obesity

The FIGO Committee’s guideline aims to offer practical guidance for obstetricians and gynecologists. It focuses on the management of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum obesity by consolidating clinical practice recommendations from international sources. The Pregnancy Obesity and Nutrition Initiative (PONI) emphasizes a life course approach, connecting preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum services to prevent excessive weight gain before and during pregnancy. Dietary advice before getting pregnant places importance on weight loss or halting further gain by consuming nutrient-dense foods customized to individual characteristics. Pregnant women with obesity are advised to restrict gestational weight gain to 5–9 kg to enhance outcomes. Postpartum, weight loss is encouraged through a healthy diet, breastfeeding if possible, and moderate physical activity. Long-term monitoring is crucial due to the increased risk of NCDs for both mothers and their children [ 11 ].

Obesity and pregnancy

The guideline set by the Association of Improvements in Maternity Services (AIMS) in Ireland aim to improve the management of obese women before, during, and after pregnancy. This guideline is intended for healthcare professionals, including those in training, who work in obstetric and gynecological services funded by the Health Service Executive (HSE). One important aspect emphasized in the guideline is the advice for obese women to lose weight prior to becoming pregnant. Primary care is vital in providing pre-pregnancy care for these women and is involved in various models of antenatal care. The guideline also highlights the importance of monitoring women’s weight during their initial antenatal visit in a primary care setting. It is recommended to educate women about healthy eating and to encourage regular physical exercise during and after pregnancy, unless there are medical or obstetric reasons not to do so [ 28 ].

Obesity and pregnancy (including post bariatric surgery)

This guideline provides recommendations for pregnant women who have a high BMI or a history of bariatric surgery. It stresses the significance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle during reproductive years and receiving specialized care for individuals with an elevated BMI. Additionally, it brings attention to the harmful effects of weight stigma on mental well-being and suggests various strategies to combat this, including respecting language preferences, improving non-judgmental communication, providing training, and fostering an understanding of the clinical impact of obesity. Professionals can improve communication by reflecting on their attitudes towards obesity [ 21 ].

This guideline, which is produced at the highest quality level (S3 level), aims to standardize care for pregnant women who are overweight or obese throughout all stages of pregnancy. It offers evidence-based recommendations for prevention and care in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Studies have shown that adopting a healthier lifestyle before getting pregnant, which includes exercising more and eating a proper diet, can have positive effects on pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. Numerous research studies, including ones specifically focused on overweight or obese pregnant women, support the recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). A meta-analysis of 36 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has shown that dietary changes, increased exercise, or a combination of both can result in an average weight loss of approximately 0.7 kg for these women. [ 29 ].

This narrative literature review aimed to identify strategies, health policies, or Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for preventive recommendations encompassing maternal obesity or weight management across pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum. We also highlighted areas where gaps exist to inform stakeholders to enhance preventive measures to improve the health of women of reproductive age.

We found a consensus that maternal obesity rates are rising dramatically, which poses serious risks to both mothers and their offspring [ 33 , 41 ]. Multiple studies found that obese women face higher risks of complications, i.e., gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, breastfeeding cessation, longer hospital stays, and higher rates of caesarean sections or instrumental deliveries [ 42 ]. Their babies also face higher risks of being admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit or suffering birth injuries [ 41 , 43 ].

Preconception lifestyle health in tackling maternal and childhood obesity is a key priority for the World Health Organization (WHO). A life course approach can improve outcomes for both mothers and children [ 37 ]. Enhancing health across the life course requires a comprehensive and integrated approach, involving education, work, community environments, and health professionals to engage young women before pregnancy and optimize their health [ 39 ]. The lack of specific guidelines for managing weight before and after pregnancy may lead to missed opportunities for intervening and supporting women throughout their reproductive journey [ 44 ]. Lifestyle interventions such as maintaining a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, and receiving behavioral counseling, especially before pregnancy, effectively prevent maternal obesity [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], and are essential components of obstetric care aimed at modifying maternal weight to prevent obesity [ 21 , 28 , 29 ].

Challenges to effective lifestyle interventions during pregnancy include time constraints, diverse preferences, socioeconomic status (SES), competing demands, and healthcare professionals’ self-efficacy. Overcoming these barriers requires creating supportive environments for healthy changes aligned with public health strategies [ 48 , 49 ]. Educating and supporting obese women empowers informed decision-making about their health during and after pregnancy [ 6 ]. Moreover, robust economic evidence is crucial for evaluating policy interventions targeting environmental changes to prevent maternal obesity [ 50 ].

In the context of high-Income countries (HIC) such as England and Australia, there is a strong emphasis on the management of maternal obesity [ 51 ], which has led to the development of evidence-based guidelines to address this concern [ 33 ]. However, preventive recommendations concerning diet, physical activity, and behavior vary across guidelines, and most preventive recommendations for maintaining a healthy lifestyle in women are strongly based on experts’ opinion [ 11 , 52 ]. For instance, the preventive recommendations outlined in the 2020 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) committee guidelines for pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-partum obesity are generally considered weak due to insufficient evidence. Therefore, further research is needed to enhance our understanding of their effectiveness, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). One notable exception is the strong endorsement of moderate-intensity exercise during pregnancy [ 11 ]. International consensus on guidelines of maternal weight management, particularly focusing on pre-pregnancy and post-partum periods, can lead to consistencies in care and potentially suboptimal outcomes for pregnant women with obesity [ 50 ].

There are significant research gaps in optimizing women’s health before and during pregnancy, particularly regarding lifestyle interventions for weight management [ 52 ]. Ecological Systems Theory (EST) Model demonstrates that maternal obesity is the result of a complex interplay between women and their surrounding environments. By developing a better understanding of how these systems interact, we can design more effective interventions and policies to support women in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight before, during and after pregnancy [ 9 ]. The WHO advocates a multifaceted approach, incorporating policy, mass media, community, and primary health care strategies to tackle the obesity epidemic [ 45 ].

At the individual level, women’s behavior play a significant role in weight gain during and after pregnancy [ 9 ]. However, it is essential to recognize that women are not isolated entities and their partner and family members can either bolster or hinder their endeavors to maintain a healthy diet and stay physically active [ 53 ].

At the community level, characteristics such as access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity, and social norms about body size shape a woman’s weight [ 54 , 55 ]. For instance, a community with many fast food restaurants and no sidewalks or parks will make it more difficult for a woman to maintain a healthy weight than one with farmer’s markets, bike lanes, and recreational facilities [ 55 ]. Therefore, community-level policies and environments, such as promoting breastfeeding, increasing access to affordable healthy food, enjoying paid maternity leave, and providing nutrition information, may help curb obesity rates [ 53 , 56 , 57 , 58 ].

Healthcare practitioners play a crucial role in promoting healthy nutrition and weight before pregnancy [ 45 ]. Current guidelines emphasize early, women-centered care focusing on gradual lifestyle changes through improved diet and exercise [ 25 , 59 ]. However, research predominantly targets modifying behaviors of pregnant women, overlooking barriers faced by healthcare professionals, such as limited knowledge, challenges in addressing weight sensitively, resource constraints, and insufficient evidence on effective interventions [ 24 ]. These barriers hinder effective management of maternal obesity, underscoring the need for targeted interventions and support systems. Integrating nutrition services into Antenatal Care (ANC) can enhance support for obese pregnant women and promote healthy behaviors during pregnancy [ 33 , 60 ]. Nonetheless, robust evidence is needed to identify effective strategies for enabling behavioral changes among healthcare professionals to better support obese pregnant women [ 61 ].

FIGO guideline specifically offer intervention and tool aimed at facilitating the prevention of obesity [ 11 , 51 ]. For instance, the Pregnancy Obesity and Nutrition Initiative (PONI) established by the FIGO’s Pregnancy and NCDs (PNCD) Committee assists healthcare professionals in creating collaborative actions to prevent and alleviate obesity’s impact [ 62 ]. Additionally, tools such as the FIGO’s Nutrition Checklist can aid obstetricians in enhancing their knowledge and time management when providing care to women [ 11 ].

Limitations of Review

First, the limited database search may have weakened the findings by potentially omitting relevant studies that could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Additionally, the lack of a full-text review means that important details and nuanced information may have been missed, which could impact the depth and accuracy of the analysis. These constraints highlight the need for a more extensive and thorough approach in future research to ensure a more robust and detailed exploration of the subject. Second, although a narrative review has limitations compared to a systematic review, this study provides valuable initial data and insights. It serves as a foundational step in identifying research gaps and guiding future systematic reviews and policy development. This review highlights important aspects of maternal obesity, preventative strategies, and management during pregnancy and postpartum. While a systematic review might offer stronger conclusions, this study identifies areas needing further investigation and policy improvements, laying the groundwork for future research. Implementing suggested improvements will enhance the manuscript’s contribution to the field.

Maternal obesity poses major risks on mother and their child that require a coordinated policy and healthcare response [ 33 ]. Only a few nations have addressed these health risks adequately in their policies and guidelines for healthcare professionals [ 11 , 52 , 63 ]. Moreover, there is limited evidence on best practices to improve reproductive health outcomes in obese women, and national guidelines lack specific details and supporting evidence for implementing management changes that would improve outcomes [ 64 ]. Current care recommendations are mostly based on good clinical practice than strong evidence, with variations in nutrition, physical activity, and behavior modification strategies across different pregnancy stages [ 51 , 52 , 65 ]. The absence of standardized international guidelines may lead to diverse practices in managing maternal obesity globally [ 50 ]. Many studies lack the statistical power to address clinical outcomes effectively, hindering their application in practice [ 66 ]. Challenges such as ensuring access to nutritious food further obstruct evidence-based care for pregnant women with obesity. Developing comprehensive, high-quality guidelines and proactive implementation strategies is essential. Identifying and engaging stakeholders is also crucial for success. These measures can help healthcare professionals and women achieve better outcomes, reduce disparities, and lower health and economic costs. Research gaps in maternal weight management underscore the need for evidence to inform policies and interventions for improved maternal and child health outcomes [ 9 , 33 , 52 , 63 ].

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Association of Improvements in the Maternity Services

Body Mass Index

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm

Excessive Gestational Weight Gain

Ecological Systems Theory

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India

German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Health Service Executive

Institute of Medicine

Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Maternal and Child Health

Non-Communicable Diseases

National Institute for Healthcare and Excellence

Pregnancy and Non-Communicable Diseases

Pregnancy Obesity and Nutrition Initiative

Randomized Controlled Trial

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Sustainable Development Goals

Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada

Upper-Middle-Income Countries

World Health Organization

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This work is a part of PhD thesis for the degree of PhD policy, funded by Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS).

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A.T. and E.K. conceived the study, its methodology and obtained funding. E.K. collected and analyzed data, and drafted the manuscript. M.T. and S.N. were the advisors and gave comments on the draft. A.T. supervised the study, helped in the interpretation of findings, and provided feedback for the intellectual development of the manuscript. He is guarantor.

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Kalantari, E., Tajvar, M., Naderimagham, S. et al. Maternal obesity management: a narrative literature review of health policies. BMC Women's Health 24 , 520 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03342-2

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What do we know about managerial ability? A systematic literature review

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This study aims to analyze the trends, progress, and opportunities for future research on managerial ability literature. Since receiving a lot of attention after the study of Demerjian et al. (Manag Sci 58:1229–1248, 2012. http://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1487 ), there has been no literature review study on managerial ability research. Using a systematic review process, this study includes 120 papers. The studies’ period ranged from 1974 to 2020. The findings of this literature review are presented in two parts, namely (1) a discussion of trends in the five classifications (topics, research settings, theories, methods, and primary data analysis techniques) and the current progress in existing studies; and (2) suggestions for future research. We classify suggestions for future research into nine themes: firm performance, capital market, reporting quality, auditing, investment decisions, financial decisions, tax, corporate social responsibility, and others. In addition, the development of managerial ability definition over time is provided prior to the literature review findings.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Deputy for Research and Development Empowerment, Ministry of Research and Technology/National Innovation Agency for the financial support provided for this study. This study is funded by the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Innovation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia under the scheme of PMDSU, contract number 2141/UN1/DITLIT/DIT-LIT/PT/2020.

This study is funded by the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Innovation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia under the scheme of PMDSU, contract number 2141/UN1/DITLIT/DIT-LIT/PT/2020.

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Anggraini, P.G., Sholihin, M. What do we know about managerial ability? A systematic literature review. Manag Rev Q 73 , 1–30 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-021-00229-6

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-021-00229-6

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Middle meningeal artery embolization versus conventional management for patients with chronic subdural hematoma: An umbrella review

Affiliations.

• 1 School of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, New York, NY 11203, USA.
• 2 Department of Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY 10029, USA.
• 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
• PMID: 39321577
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2024.108572

Background and objectives: Conventional surgical modalities, including twist drill craniotomy, burr hole evacuation, and craniotomy, are the standard surgical interventions for chronic subdural hematomas (cSDH). More recently, treatment of cSDH with middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) is being explored. The comparative effectiveness of MMAE versus conventional surgical modalities remains controversial. The objective of this study is to analyze various postoperative outcomes in an umbrella review of existing meta-analysis comparing MMAE and conventional management in patients with cSDH.

Methods: A systematic literature search was executed with defined criteria across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Data was analyzed utilizing the metaumbrella R package, employing equivalent Hedges' g values. The quality assessment of each meta-analysis was carried out using AMSTAR2, assigning scores within the range of 0-11. The credibility of the evidence was determined by applying the Ioannidis criteria.

Results: This umbrella review study included five meta-analyses. Upon pooling the meta-analyses, MMAE was associated with fewer reoperations and recurrence, supported by a weak level of evidence (class IV). Conversely, findings related to other postoperative outcomes did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion: Our umbrella review offers a comprehensive summary investigating MMAE and conventional management for the treatment of cSDH. MMAE had fewer reoperations and recurrence, but they were classified as being of weak significance. These findings underscore insufficient evidence within the existing literature, emphasizing the imperative need for additional research in this area.

Keywords: Chronic subdural hematoma; Embolization; Meta-analysis; Middle meningeal artery; Umbrella review.

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