Practical Techniques for Theorizing from Literature Reviews

There is a proliferation of IS articles on techniques and methods for performing literature reviews, such as searching and synthesizing. However, there is little understanding of literature driven theorizing and how it is achieved. This commentary suggests practical and creative ways to theorize and improve conceptual thinking in literature reviews. The paper first acknowledges inherent difficulties in novel theorizing, particularly in reviews that include a synthesis of the literature, and then, based on exemplars and a recent IS exemplary review, it explains the dual necessity of critically evaluating the current status quo and thinking differently. A range of theorizing objectives to purposely pursue both goals is suggested. Moreover, manual and algorithmic techniques for each objective to help researchers initiate and carry out theorizing are provided. Concrete examples and visualizations illustrate how these methods can be employed. The paper concludes by explaining how the theorizing objectives and associated manual and algorithmic techniques can be applied in a complementary and iterative way. Researchers could use these ideas and associated practical techniques to advance IS theory and applied knowledge.