African Strategy Research Lacks Continental Diversity, New Study Finds

A recent study has highlighted gaps in the diversity of African strategy research, revealing a concentration on a limited number of countries and topics.

The study, conducted by Gemechis Terfa Eticha, Workneh Kassa Tessema, and MMTC member Olof Brunninge Opens in new window., is a systematic literature review analyzing 161 academic articles focused on strategy within an African context. The findings, published in the Africa Journal of Management, show a disproportionate reliance on data from South Africa and Ghana, with a notable dominance of South African academic institutions in the authorship of these studies.

The study's authors note that while South Africa's prominence is understandable, given its many reputable business schools, this focus does not adequately represent the vast cultural and economic diversity of the African continent. The review also found that the field is heavily dominated by quantitative studies that primarily explore strategy-performance relationships, leaving socio-cultural influences on strategy largely unexplored.

This lack of diversity is seen as problematic, particularly as the broader strategy literature is already skewed towards research from the Global North. The authors argue that there is significant potential for African scholars to contribute more diverse perspectives to the global strategy discourse by incorporating findings from a wider range of African contexts.

Gemechis Terfa Eticha and Workneh Kassa Tessema are both affiliated with Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. Their work is part of a long-standing collaboration with Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University in Sweden.

The full open-access article is available online at Africa Journal of Management External link, opens in new window..