Call for Papers
African Journal of Management
Volume Editors:
Benson Honig; Carsten Nico Hjortsø and Henrietta Onwuegbuzie
Submission Deadline: Dec 31, 2016
THE STATE OF THE ART IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
RESEARCH IN AFRICA
Experiencing unusually high economic growth rates, African countries are now in the
spotlight regarding infrastructure, globalization, and business development. The ability of
African societies to prosper from these opportunities and ensure sustainable economic and
social development depends on the existence of leadership and management capabilities to
unlock capacity of the workforce and achieve strategic goals.
With the emergence of the knowledge society, the economic importance of higher education,
including management education, is increasingly recognized by policy makers, international
donors, and local sector stakeholders. As a result, investments in the higher education sector
are increasing. However, little is known about the efficiency and effectiveness of African
institutions of higher education. Thus, research-based evidence is needed to guide
stakeholders in their efforts to further develop management education in Africa.
It is anticipated that business management education will play a prominent role in enabling
the development of ethical and sustainable management of businesses and resources in the
rapidly growing African economies. While historically, African management education has
been based on western theories, concepts and teaching approaches, there is ample opportunity
to develop new and appropriate practices that reflect the unique environments of the African
continent. However, little is known regarding the relevance and efficiency of this knowledge
and alternative practices across different institutional, cultural and social realities. For
example, the condition under which education is delivered in many African business schools
is significantly different from the western context. Class sizes of more than 200-300 students
are not uncommon. Staff resources are also often scarce as is teaching material and access to
research and literature. This places significant limitations on the use of creative and student-based
learning methods, but may also foster ingenious solutions involving creativity and
innovation at various institutions.
African societies display unique cultural and social qualities and face many challenges
unfamiliar to the contexts where contemporary management theories were developed. It is
reasonable to assume that more economically and socially appropriate educational practices
that meet the actual needs of today's African societies can be developed based on a better
insight into the mechanisms and conditions that shape the reality of future management
students in Africa. Therefore, there is a need for management scholars and others within and
outside Africa to reflect on the recent developments in management education in the
continent. Hence, this special issue is dedicated to management education in Africa.
Thus, we seek to place a scholarly spotlight on the state-of-the-art knowledge regarding the
institutional conditions framing management education, educational systems and their
organizations, teaching and learning practices, and the output and effect of business
management education.
This special issue will welcome papers addressing various dimensions of business
management education, for example, dealing with some of the following issues:
· Pedagogical and didactic approaches applied in management education, e.g., in relation
to curriculum design, best practices, innovation in teaching methods and assessment,
application of research-based teaching, and problem-based and student-centered teaching.
· University-industry interaction and stakeholder involvement in teaching and educational
development.
· The emergence of new organizational forms, such as private for-profit business schools,
transformation of teaching universities to research universities based on the Humboldtian
model and the consequences of these changes.
· The organizational politics of business schools and universities, e.g., the impact of incentives,
structures, quality assurance systems, and staff development policies and practices.
· The role of online and blended learning and MOOC's in management education – new
opportunities and limitations.
· Teaching content and methods relevant to establishing a job market-education match, e.g.,
· Examining to what extent students are educated to meet future job requirements or to fit
with traditional civil servant jobs.
· Unethical practices in higher educations, e.g., abuse of students, political and economic
corruption, and inadequate supervision of PhD students, as well as ethical practices that
may serve as role models for future educational development.
African scholars living in the continent as well as those in the diaspora are encouraged to
contribute to this special issue with the aim of contributing to and accelerating Africa's rising
expertise in management education. We invite scholars, entrepreneurs, development workers
and policy makers, to present empirical and theoretical research, discussing current issues to
help create a dialog leading to lasting transformational change in the African higher
education sector.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions are due no later than Dec. 31, 2016. All papers submitted must represent original
research not previously published elsewhere. All submissions will be subject to in-depth
review, and editorial decisions and revision requests will be communicated to authors by April 31,
2017. The targeted publication date for the volume is March 2018.
To ask questions about the content of this AJOM volume or the editorial process, please
contact volume editors
Benson Honig (bhonig@mcmaster.ca),
Carsten Nico Hjortsø (cnh@ifro.ku.dk), or
Henrietta Onwuegbuzie (honwuegbuzie@lbs.edu.ng).
Please submit, electronically, your manuscript to:
http://www.edmgr.com/rajm/default.aspx
Further information about AJOM is available at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rajm20/current