David B. Zoogah

African Business Research: A Review of Studies Published in the Journal of African Business and a Framework for Enhancing Future Studies

ABSTRACT The development of Africa depends on productivity and effectiveness of businesses. One objective of the Journal of African Business (JAB) is to facilitate business effectiveness through dissemination of research and practitioner knowledge. Reviewing 96 articles published over a seven year period (2000–2006) published in JAB, the study looked for patterns in the research described (i.e., disciplinary focus, geographic coverage, characteristics of authors, etc). The study also focused on the degree of correspondence (or fit) between Western theory and data provided. Four important findings are: (1) JAB published research from diverse disciplines; (2) there seems to be a bias toward Business rather than Management disciplines, (3) a majority of the research is empirical; and (4) there seems to be a lack of context-specific theories. A proposed framework and implications for future research are discussed.

Why should I be left behind? Employees' perceived relative deprivation and participation in development activities.

Research on participation in development activities (PDA) has traditionally been examined from an advantage perspective: Employees engage in development activities out of a desire to enhance current and future advantages. In this study, the author examined PDA from a disadvantage perspective, which suggests that employees participate in development activities out of a desire to redress perceived disadvantages. Perceived individual relative deprivation was hypothesized to relate to PDA through intention to participate and counterfactual beliefs, and perceived behavioral control was proposed to interact with intention to participate in relating to development behaviors. In a sample of 144 employees from 27 companies in Ghana, an emerging economy, moderated structural equation modeling results confirm some of the hypotheses. Implications for PDA research and human resource management are discussed.

Strategic alliance team diversity, coordination, and effectiveness

Drawing upon literatures on strategic alliances, teams, and diversity, we propose that strategic alliance team diversity warrants further examination. We suggest that strategic alliance team coordination moderates the relationship between strategic alliance team diversity and effectiveness. Specifically, we hypothesize that coordination strengthens the negative relationship between observable diversity characteristics of nationality and gender and team effectiveness. We also argue that coordination strengthens the positive relationship between nonobservable diversity characteristic of functional background and team effectiveness. Results from 109 team members, 44 team leaders, and 34 alliance executives involved with 44 strategic alliance teams in 15 firms partially support our hypotheses.

Why Africa Journal of Management and Why Now

In this article, we provide the background as well as the rationale for the decision to establish the Africa Journal of Management. We begin by telling the story of the genesis of AFAM and its aspirational mission. Next, we discuss the forces and realities that make it the right time to introduce a journal dedicated to management and organizations in Africa. Thereafter, we describe our views on the challenges of doing research on management in Africa. We close with AFAMs aspirations for Africa Journal of Management.

Riding the Tide: Management in Africa and the Role of High-Impact Research

The increased interest in the potential of African countries to rise from their current states of underdevelopment is matched by concern about the lack of scientific and technical knowledge. Given the role of management in national development and the contribution of high-impact research (HIR), we identify drivers, processes, and outcomes of HIR based on a broad definition of scholarly impact. Using management scholarship and management practice dimensions we also identify four types of HIR: autochthonous, heterochthonous, cosmopolitan, and global. We argue for autochthonous HIR as a source of competitive advantage as well as growth and identity of management in Africa.

Advancing Africa through management knowledge and practice: the way forward

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and summarizes the articles that were accepted for the special issue focusing on “Advancing Africa through management knowledge and practice”. The paper also provides suggestions for future research focus for researchers on management issues in and about Africa.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a conceptual review the distinctiveness of the five articles in the special issue which focus a personal reflection about management research and education in Africa, effective leadership development in Africa and the African diaspora, performance management implementation in the public sector; internationalization process of African businesses with special reference to banks; and strategic factors that could be emphasized by African firms to improve their performance. These papers are synthesized to present a coherent management research framework for Africa.Findings – African management research requires a strategic choice approach, which asks intere...

Cross-cultural experience, strategic motivation and employer hiring preference: An exploratory study in an emerging economy

The relationship between self-complexity, strategic motivation, and organizational processes such as staffing seems lacking in the human resources management and organizational behavior (OB) literatures. In two studies we examined the self-complexity of potential employees with and without cross-cultural experience as determinant of preferences of employers mediated by strategic motivations of organizations. We found in a sample of 40 organizations from an emerging economy, Ghana, that employers seemed to prefer employees with cross-cultural experience who are perceived to facilitate achievement of their strategic motivations. Implications for international human resources management are discussed. Expérience interculturelle, motivation stratégique et préférence d’embauche de l’employeur : une étude exploratoire dans une économie émergeante David B. Zoogah & Augustus Abbey La relation entre l’auto-complexité (ou la complexité de soi), la motivation stratégique et les processus organisationnels, comme le recrutement ne parait pas avoir été prise en compte dans la littérature sur le comportement organisationnel et la gestion des ressources humaines. Nous avons étudié dans deux études l’auto-complexité d’employés potentiels, avec et sans expérience interculturelle, comme déterminant des préférences d’employeurs, déterminant par ailleurs modifié par les motivations stratégiques des organisations. Nous avons découvert, dans le cadre d’un échantillon de quarante organisations d’une économie émergeante, à savoir le Ghana, que les employeurs préfèrent les employés dotés d’expérience interculturelle car ils sont perçus comme pouvant faciliter la réalisation de leurs motivations stratégiques. Les implications en ce qui concerne la gestion des ressources humaines sont aussi étudiées.

Career Motivation, Mentoring Readiness, and Participation in Workplace Mentoring Programs: A Cross-Cultural Study

In this study, the author examined participation in workplace mentoring programs in two cultural (individualistic and collectivistic) contexts. Data were collected from two samples (United States = 83; Ghana = 132) of workers (from 80 organizations) at managerial development workshops. Analysis of variance showed differences in willingness to participate and intention to participate in mentoring programs. Hierarchical linear regression results also showed interactive effects of culture on participation and mentoring readiness as well as participation and career motivation. The findings show criterion validity for the mentoring readiness construct, which is important for selection of participants for mentoring programs.

Collective Personality, Culture, and Team Effectiveness

By viewing personality from knowledge structures and behavioral regularities perspectives as functionally isomorphic, referent-shift compositional models of self-concept and conscientiousness are developed. In these models, common measures of personality at the individual level are applied to the collective as a whole and hypothesized to influence team effectiveness linearly and interactively. Culture is also proposed to moderate the collective personality and team effectiveness relationship. The results supported some of the hypotheses in a sample of 62 teams of business students from the United States and Ghana. Implications for team research and management are discussed.

Experimenting with Resource Strategy: Experimental Analysis and Strategic Human Resources Management Research in Africa

Abstract Purpose We discuss how experimental analysis can be integrated into strategic human resources management (SHRM) research in Africa so as to develop theory and value principles to guide executives. Design/methodology/approach The model we propose – experiment-based SHRM – is predicated on the use of experimental approaches to demonstrate the value of SHRM and to derive principles that guide research and practice in Africa. Findings We illustrate how scholars can conduct experiments from an SHRM perspective. Research limitations/implications We discuss the strengths and limitations of the model and suggest ways of maximizing its potential. Practical implications The technique is a resource for scholars of SHRM in Africa. They can use it to supplement other approaches for studying SHRM. Originality/value This chapter discusses a typology of experimental analysis. The lack of such a typology in the context of Africa makes it a valuable contribution. Thus, it fills a contextual gap in the SHRM research methodology literature. It can therefore help graduate students and junior faculty improve their research.