Reproductive Health Management and Transformative Business Practice; A Literature Review and Future Avenues for Research

A major reproductive health issue affecting millions globally is infertility (Zhang et al., 2022). Currently, in Canada, around 16% of women experience infertility (CFAS, 2022). The infertility treatment market generated $1,770.6 million in 2023 (Ghosh, 2024) and is projected to grow to 62.8 billion in 10 years (The Lancet, 2024). Despite the prevalence and high monetary, physiological, and psychological costs of infertility, studies in business, including consumer psychology, examining infertility/fertility preservation are scarce and is limited to qualitative studies. We aim to systematically review research on the fertility industry, including infertility treatments and fertility preservation, to assess the current state of research, identify the gaps in the literature, and explore potential future directions within the areas of consumer psychology and decision-making. Using a systematic domain-based review approach (Snyder, 2019; Paul & Criado, 2020), we analyzed articles on the Scopus and Business Source Complete databases. We reviewed 449 articles based on their title, abstract, and keywords. Our results, including final 39 articles, unveil various themes of research on the influence of physiological, psychological, socioeconomic, financial, career, legal, and technological factors, as well as access to information, on fertility preservation and treatment decisions. Furthermore, we evaluate the psychological, relational, and career outcomes associated with these factors and discuss their implications for business and for health systems. We suggest future research directions and areas for improvement to guide subsequent studies in this field. This literature review is the first to explore fertility healthcare services through the lens of consumer psychology and business research.