What is integrative thinking? A scoping review

Purpose The term integrative thinking has become widely used but without consensus on its meaning. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a scoping review of integrative thinking, toward establishing conceptual clarity with a unified and robust definition. Design/methodology/approach A systematic search was conducted to characterize the literature and to identify and analyze existing definitions of integrative thinking. Thematic analysis was used to code definitions to identify patterns of conceptualization and application of the term. Emergent themes were synthesized to propose a unified definition. Findings Definitions of integrative thinking were identified in 63 articles drawn from a wide range of time, geography and disciplines. Two primary contexts of use were identified: Shaping People, which was dominated by the education literature, and Shaping Practice, which was dominated by the business literature. Four themes were extracted from this collection of definitions: (T1) Perceiving holistic and interconnected systems; (T2) Synthesizing multiple disciplines and perspectives; (T3) Reconciling opposing ideas and creative tension resolution; (T4) Enacting reflection and metacognition. These two contexts and four themes were synthesized to propose a unified definition of integrative thinking. Originality/value This study is the first known comprehensive analysis of the breadth and focus of definitions of integrative thinking and the first to synthesize a unified definition.