Moses N. Kiggundu

The Challenges of Management Development in Sub‐Saharan Africa

The management development specialist, local or international, must understand Africa′s historical background in order to contribute effectively to the continent′s current management development needs. Important elements of management development in pre‐colonial Africa, from which lessons can be learned for present and future management development programmes, are outlined. The impact of the colonial period on institutional and management development, and the need to draw on local resources and indigenous knowledge systems for designing and implementing these programmes, is discussed. The institutional infrastructure commonly used for management development in Africa is outlined and the objectives, challenges and opportunities of national and regional institutes are discussed. Finally, practical guidelines for solicitation, design, implementation, and evaluation of management development programmes in Africa are provided.

Integrating strategic management tasks into implementing agencies: From firefighting to prevention

Abstract Management in developing countries is frequently characterized by reactive response to crises and firefighting. This reactive stance can be modified if managers incorporate the concepts and techniques of strategic management into their implementation toolkits. This article provides both a rationale and a suggested approach for integrating strategic management and operational administration in developing country organizations. The constraints to strategic management are also discussed. The application of the approach is briefly illustrated in the case of helping an African public sector agency build strategic alliances.

Limitations to the Application of Sociotechnical Systems In Developing Countries

An extensive review of the literature has found that the applications of sociotechnical systems (STS) in developing countries have been spotty and limited in scope. This article discusses the causes of these limitations, including the following: principles of the theory itself and the extent to which they conflict with prevailing conditions and practices in developing countries, the conduct of Western change agents operating in such countries, indigenous managers and other local stakeholders acting as potential change agents, and the quality of the partnerships between Western change agents and their counterparts in developing countries. Although the authorfinds STS theory and interventions epistemologically sound and robust, he notes that their application requires major adjustments both in developing countries and by Western change agents. The author concludes that the success of applications of STS will depend on the capacity of different developing countries to adjust and undertake interventions according to their individual and collective needs and circumstances.

The African Union's Agenda 2063: Aspirations, Challenges, and Opportunities for Management Research

As Africa emerges, rises, and begins to forge a more positive outlook ahead, scholars, business executives, community leaders, and policymakers are increasingly calling for concerted efforts to rethink the future and come up with big ideas for the 21st century. Recognizing this, in 2013, African heads of state and government launched the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. This agenda is an ambitious vision and action plan intended to drive Africas change, development, and transformation for the next 50 years. The purpose of this Insights Article is threefold. First, we present an overview of Agenda 2063, including a summary of the vision and action plans. Second, we discuss opportunities and challenges for the effective implementation of Agenda 2063 for Africas sustaining development and transformation. Finally, we propose specific areas for future management research related to Agenda 2063.

Entrepreneurship in Africa: Identifying the Frontier of Impactful Research

This review summarizes literature covering entrepreneurship research in Africa, examining 121 articles published in prominent entrepreneurship and management journals from 2002 to 2015. To do so, this research organizes the work done along three broad themes describing: the African entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial firm, and macro socio-economic conditions. Within this framework, the review examines entrepreneurial attributes with regard to gender, age, education, and work behavior. The topics explored that are relevant to the entrepreneurial firm include organizational forms (e.g., SMEs and family businesses), financial and social capital, as well as the informal economy. Macro socio-economic conditions with respect to the various circumstances African entrepreneurs are subject to are then considered. Issues typical to Africa concerning poverty, corruption, internationalization, and environmental concerns are also examined. In an effort to facilitate future work, this research highlights knowledge gaps concerning the theoretical nature of most of work done, which has primarily been focused within Anglophone African countries. This review concludes by considering what needs to be done to improve the quality of entrepreneurship studies within the African context.

Canada's global and business competitiveness: competition policy reform in a changing world

Purpose – Exploration of the policy reforms necessary to strengthen Canadas competitiveness among world trading economies. The paper aims to compare Canadas competitiveness with two economic partners, the USA and the UK, and two emerging economies, China and India.Design/methodology/approach – Data from the annual Global Competitiveness Reports (GCRs) were used to compare Canada with the other countries.Findings – Canada requires a national strategy to create a generation of Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs and executives with a global mindset.Research limitations/implications – Although Canada has many global trading partners, the paper compares Canadian competitiveness with only two economic partners and two emerging economics. Also, only data from the GCRs are used. Other measures of competitiveness need to be taken into consideration to better understand Canadas global and business competitiveness.Originality/value – This paper provides new insights into Canadas lack of global competitiveness. T...

Anti-poverty and progressive social change in Brazil: lessons for other emerging economies

This article examines Brazil’s experiences with anti-poverty and progressive social change, and spells out possible lessons for emerging economies with similar challenges. It draws on the Bolsa Familia conditional cash transfers (CCT) and the continuous cash benefits programmes and discusses important aspects of programme leadership, management and coordination. After a brief discussion of poverty, it presents a framework synthesizing key success factors for effective and sustaining programme implementation. Brazil does not offer a ‘blueprint’ for other countries to copy; only lessons from experience. Therefore the article concludes by discussing key ongoing challenges and suggests areas for future research, focusing on comparative studies across countries. Points for practitioners Progress has been made against global poverty, notably in countries experiencing sustained economic growth like Brazil. In spite of these remarkable efforts, challenges remain especially for countries which focus only on macroeconomic growth but not equity or inclusive development. Growth without equity does not eradicate poverty. Accordingly, emerging economies are being urged to pursue multipronged strategies: crafting innovative public policies, reshaping institutions for macroeconomic management, reaching out and engaging target communities, democratization, legislated and constitutionally mandated progressive social change. This article provides practical lessons from experience from Brazil, which practitioners from other emerging economies can adapt to their own circumstances for the effective and sustaining implementation of anti-poverty and progressive social change. It also provides a holistic framework for better understanding the institutional context, leadership, management, inter-government and cross-sectoral coordination and private sector participation. Finally, it identifies some of the key ongoing challenges in Brazil, and suggests areas for applied comparative research.

A Profile of the East African Community

Regional integration in East Africa dates back more than a hundred years. This article provides a general synopsis of the East African Community (EAC) and traces the evolution of regional integration in Eastern Africa from colonial times to the present. The EAC, one of the most integrating Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, and the focus of this special issue, is currently made up of five independent countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. The article describes the EACs governance and institutional arrangements and outlines key integration achievements to date, notably the establishment of the Common Market, the promise to establish the monetary union by 2017, and the ultimate goal of achieving a political federation. Noting that as elsewhere in the world regional integration is hard and often protracted among sovereign states, the article discusses the EACs challenges, opportunities, and drivers for deeper integration. It also provides a brief discussion of the regions natural resources, land, demography, and infrastructure. This provides the background for undertaking a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the EAC economies along the measures of governance, development capacity, economy, investment climate, and foreign direct investment inflows. Overall, the data paint a nuanced picture of impressive progress in the midst of daunting challenges. Looking forward, the article concludes that the prospects for deeper integration are promising, providing the EAC continues to build on its successes, confronts current and future challenges, and takes a holistic long-term approach to the effective management of deeper regional integration. We end by calling upon the international community to play a more strategic role, working with the EAC and member states for the effective and sustaining implementation of regional and continental integration.

Regional Integration: Review of the Management Literature and Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice

Regional integration is increasingly occurring in all corners of the world, and both domestic and multinational firms are facing the challenges and opportunities that accompany integration. In this article, we undertake a review of regional integration management literature and provide a foundation, reference point, and insights for scholars, managers, and policymakers interested in understanding how regional integration affects firm-level strategies and outcomes in Africa and globally. Only a limited number of the studies we reviewed focus on, or even mention regional integration, and fewer still include Africa. After a brief discussion of stages of regional integration and public-private drivers, we report on firm-level findings and outline directions for future research under the topics of subsidiary management, strategies, performance, leadership, and contextual factors. We conclude by posing questions to guide future research, policy and managerial practice for local and multinational firms operating in regionally integrating environments.

Kenya’s Safaricom, Ceo Bob Collymore and M-Pesa: Extended Notes from Keynote Address

This article is an extension of the keynote address given by Safaricom’s chief executive officer (CEO) at the 2016 AFAM Conference. It provides details about Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile telecommunications corporation, Safaricom’s CEO, Mr. Collymore, and the iconic M-PESA mobile innovation, its sister services and the ecosystem in which it operates. We saw an opportunity to contribute to local management knowledge regarding an expatriate CEO doing well and doing good in Kenya, leading a national strategic corporate champion and driving transformational technological change in an increasingly important digital economy. Discussions of Safaricom’s corporate performance include the extent to which the corporation is going well … making money … and doing good … environmental, social, governance contributions … and fighting against corruption. Discussions of M-PESA include its origins, development, performance, its wider impact on Kenya’s economy and society and the socio-economic ecosystem that contributes to its remarkable success. We hope that these discussions will stimulate research and practice by way of theory development and testing, management and organization development, education and training.