Innovation research in and on Africa: A literature analysis in 2015–2021

Abstract

Innovation scholars disseminate their significant findings through international scientific journals. We conducted content analysis of 2,869 peer-reviewed articles on innovation in Africa, examining their origins, themes, collaborative networks, and scholarly influence. These articles, spanning the years 2015–2021, were curated from the Web of Science database across scientific, social science, and humanities journals. The findings reveal that 46.3% of these articles lacked contributions from African organizations or scholars, while 25.1% involved collaborations between African and non-African entities. A remaining 28.6% were exclusively authored by African scholars, with South African universities being the most frequent contributors. Notably, articles authored by scholars from non-African institutions garnered more citations and appeared in journals with higher impact factors. Key themes within these articles revolved around the knowledge economy, African business innovation, agricultural advancements, and the role of mobile phones in knowledge dissemination and marketing. Surprisingly, sustainability topics were notably absent. South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana featured prominently in the discussions. In conclusion, it is imperative to foster broader participation from African nations and scholars in innovation research and ensure a stronger African perspective in international publications. Additionally, as open-access publishing gains momentum, concerns about escalating publishing costs warrant attention.

Keywords:

• Africa
• innovation
• innovation research
• knowledge
• sustainability
• scientific article
• South Africa

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge valuable assistance of Mr Aapo Käki in the organization of the research material.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The salaries of the assisting personnel were funded by the FAPI (Finland-Africa Platform for Innovation SDG9) at the University of Turku, Finland-Africa Platform for Innovation SDG9 Turku.