Cultivating greater self-confidence in African management research

Although strategic management has taken root in many African organisations, much of the existing body of African management research offers little insight into the current state of knowledge and direction in terms of Africa finding its voice within the mainstream research. We draw on a review of the literature to develop a conceptual framework for classifying the contributions in African management research. The conceptual model captures the indigenous (intra-Africa) and inter-Africa dimension of macro-strategy and organisational behaviour/human resource research. The accumulated body of research indicates a sign of growing self-confidence in African management research which must be maintained and revitalised. The paper contributes to the literature by developing a unified conceptual model which captures both the indigenous and comparative dimensions of management research. A number of fruitful avenues for future research have been advanced.