Sustainability and global value chains in Africa: Introduction to the Special Issue

ABSTRACT

The challenges and opportunities facing African organizations reflect a long history of tensions, tragedies, triumphs, and accomplishments in relationships across continental boundaries. For example, Africa has long been a source of critical minerals and other raw materials that are integral to a wide range of global industries, but scholars of management have not integrated an understanding of Africa's role in global commerce fully in research on international exchange. Perhaps most importantly, scholarship in the field of management has not addressed the extensive opportunities for the development of innovative ideas, capabilities, capacities, inventions, and breakthroughs that would be made possible by international investments in human development and human capital on the continent. Resolving African problems and pursuing African opportunity requires renewed commitment by management scholars to this agenda. In this introductory article, we focus particularly on the structure of relationships across continental boundaries through global value chains (GVCs) and the role political and corporate sustainability conversations and initiatives play. We also seek to explore their implications especially for African organizations that simultaneously pursue economic growth and constructive social and environmental impact. We conclude with a framework for further study by management scholars on these important issues.

KEYWORDS:

• sustainability
• global value chains
• Africa
• supply chains

There is increasing interest in economic growth and sustainability in African countries. The escalation of social, political, and ecological problems on the continent since the end of the twentieth century (Neff, 2007; Zoogah, 2013) has been accompanied by commensurate escalation in the continent's potential to contribute demographically, politically, socially and economically to global prosperity (Africa Report, 2011). The COVID-19 pandemic has both amplified these problems and similarly pointed to the importance of the continent to the prosperity of everyone everywhere.

The backdrop of conditions in Africa prior to the pandemic reflected tensions, paradoxes, and unique characteristics that give rise to unprecedented opportunities of global significance that originate on the continent. While environmental, social and economic performance of most African nations and companies are below the levels of other world regions, the continent has the youngest average age among all on the planet, and is a focus of global investment and development. As a result, Agenda 2063 and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) seek not only to harness the large market size of Africa but also to establish mechanisms that allow African economies to create enabling environments that support vibrant businesses without harming people and the natural environment. African conceptualizations of prosperity itself can provide a template for innovative business and public policies that can shape new approaches to development for both the private and public sectors. Engagement of all sectors is critical to the achievement of economic goals, such as those expressed under AfCFTA (Ghadge, Kidd, Bhattacharjee, & Tiwari, 2019) and as the UN Sustainable Development Goals under the UN Global Compact. Private-sector organizations – including corporations and non-governmental agencies – working together with representatives from all levels of government – highlight the important role of Africa in scaling sustainable solutions to the most pressing problems in the world today.

When we conceptualized this special issue in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, we focused on global value chains (GVCs) – notably, the procurement practices of “Global North” companies sourcing in Africa, as well as the actions of African firms endeavoring to find ways to add value in export-based and import-based GVCs. Because GVCs are the primary economic pathways linking African economic activity to world systems, we saw them as central to the resolution of economic development challenges and to the cultivation of African comparative advantages in international exchange. At that time, we also conceived of GVCs as critical for shaping environmental practices and, therefore, sustainability of labor practices and environmental impact within Africa (Gibbon & Ponte, 2005). For example, Global North companies use defined supplier codes of conduct regarding labor and environmental practices to improve working conditions, product quality, and environmental impact of African suppliers, thus making these suppliers competitive globally (Distelhorst & McGahan, 2021). Through such actions, procurers around the world have the potential to mobilize collective action with other companies or government bodies to improve sustainability. However, as Taglioni and Winkler (2016) indicate, African nations view GVCs as potential traps that create a new core-periphery pattern with “good” jobs in the North and “bad” jobs in the South (World Bank, 2020). Another challenge is that many African businesses lag behind in measuring, reporting, and addressing sustainability concerns, issues, and problems. In Kenya, for example, only 0.05 percent of all registered businesses in the country are accounted for in the national Global Compact Network – even though the country is strong in exporting to Western countries. This suggests that African suppliers into GVCs have yet to embark on adopting the sustainability practices that prevail in GVCs, and that corporate procurement policies and practices lack sufficient fit to the African context.

The COVID-19 pandemic made vividly clear just how deep and pervasive these tensions are. Without sufficient local manufacturing capacity, African nations were unable to manufacture the equipment, diagnostic tests, and medicines necessary to contain the virus. African healthcare systems were quickly overwhelmed. However, a few companies – Bedi Investments Limited (Kenya), DTRT Apparel (Ghana), East Africa Lion Brands Industries (Ethiopia), Pharmalab Limited (Rwanda), Recyplast SARL (Côte d’Ivoire), and Steel Wood Furniture Limited (Uganda) – scaled up and repurposed their production activities in a bid to bridge the gap (AsokoInsight, 2021). Even though African trading partners closed ranks to prioritize the health needs of citizens, thus cutting off the African continent from timely access to internationally available goods and services, some African companies rose to the challenge. In Kenya, for example, the government earmarked seventeen industrial firms in April 2020 to produce critical medical supplies, and Morocco swiftly mobilized its manufacturers to ensure its medical garments needs were met (AsokoInsight, 2021). The supply-chain crisis that accompanied the partial re-opening of the global economy during 2021 pointed to weaknesses in GVCs in which African companies were embedded. As organizations scrambled to respond to immediate demands, the emphasis on environmental sustainability waned. At the same time, the impacts of the pandemic made clear that global systems were not organized in ways that were sustainable economically, politically, socially, medically, and environmentally.

Understanding these challenges and other factors affecting the sustainability of various business and public practices in Africa requires nuanced analysis. The ethnic and cultural diversity of Africa as well as national laws, local institutions, power, dependence, transparency, and distance between organizations involved in GVCs influence sustainability, which in turn shapes the experiences of Africans on many dimensions of prosperity. Also important are the underlying mechanisms of policy that drive change in the sustainability practices of African organizations in all sectors (Goerzen, Iskander, & Hofstetter, 2021); contingencies influencing GVC behaviors towards sustainability in Africa; and strategies that encourage suppliers to act sustainably in multinational value chains (Ponte & Ewert, 2009). For example, we can understand the diffusion of multinational buyer firms’ sustainability strategies into the business practices of companies in Africa (Wohlgezogen, Hofstetter, Brück, & Hamann, 2021).

In formulating the call for papers for this special issue, “Sustainability and Global Value Chains in Africa,” we recognized that we were addressing long-standing topics that have been considered in the field of development – old topics that hitherto have been receiving too little attention in academic research, at least in the management field. At the time, we wondered why. The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that one reason is the extraordinary complexity of the relationship between organizations in Africa and those on other continents. An investigation into GVCs quickly leads the researcher into questions about history, context, power dynamics, economic relationships, disrupted systems, and the urgency of the achievement of the SDGs. At the centerpiece of these issues is the criticality of Africa's contributions to global prosperity. Historically, many researchers have justifiably focused on African raw materials, but sometimes unjustifiably to the exclusion of considerations of the vast human resources and potential of Africans.

This framework of understanding has shaped research on GVCs. Some attention from supply-chain scholars arose from the fact that many raw materials originate from Africa, making Africa a mandatory member in many global value chains. Diamond rings, chocolate delights, coffee, cars, portable electronics are all integrally grounded in African content. The vital contributions of Africa have not been fully integrated into scholarly understanding of supply or value chains, however. In contrast, there is an abundance of literature on the many drastic social, environmental, and economic problems in Africa. The years of debate among, and voluntary engagement by, actors in the Global North have resulted in some improvements, which are however considered by many as too few to solve the big issues we face. Governments in the Global North have started to enact new laws that hold companies responsible and liable for practices in their upstream supply chains beyond national boundaries (Kim & Davis, 2016; Sarkis, Dewick, Hofstetter, & Schröder, 2021). Why do we, as management researchers, spend so little attention on how management practices by Global North companies reduce or solve social, environmental and economic problems in Africa? The increasing interest in impact – scholarly, practical, societal, policy, and educational (Wickert, Post, Doh, Prescott, & Prencipe, 2021) – suggests that management scholars can make an impact in Africa if they direct their lenses to the context where the grand societal challenges seem to be even more complex. The urgency of answering this question has been made even more vivid by the ways in which Africa was cut off from access to vital supplies during the pandemic by long-standing trading partners that depend on African content for a wide range of products and services.¹

Our goal for this special issue was to focus attention on the lived experiences of Africans and on the specific issues confronting organizations that do business in Africa. Few journals, with the Africa Journal of Management being an important exception, have noteworthy coverage of phenomena in management that are specific to the African context (George, Corbishley, Khayesi, Haas, & Tihanyi, 2016). Considering that much of the business activity in Africa that has the largest social or environmental impact is related to trade with the Global North, we narrowed the call on the macro phenomenon of sustainability issues related to African companies that are part of global value chains (Gibbon & Ponte, 2005; Riisgaard, 2009).

Each of the five papers that comprise this special issue constitutes an important contribution on the issues confronting African organizations and their stakeholders. Bam and DeBruyne address the particular conditions that shape iron and steel exportation in an article entitled “The product space, sustainability, and GVC oriented industrial policies: the case of iron and steel in the SACU.” The focus in this article is the tradeoffs that policymakers face in measuring and regulating how companies in this industry report on social and environmental impact. The goal of the article is to demonstrate how policymakers balance social and environmental goals with economic growth – especially when tradeoffs arise. The analysis yields a framework that policymakers may use in setting industry targets that reflect the balancing of these competing goals. The case study on the iron and steel industry in the South African Customs Union (SACU) suggests areas for further research.

Blalock et al. apply a different lens to supply chains by examining how entrepreneurship training in Ethiopia could shape the sustainability of supply chains in the country. The perspective taken in this article is to explore how training programs might enable local suppliers to integrate their activities more effectively into the activities of multinational firms that seek to purchase goods and services from Ethiopians. The heart of the research is in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that measures the effects of training workers in a potential animal-bone collection industry. In this industry, bones would be processed for conversion to fertilizer for agricultural uses. The results suggest that the training improved the experiences of workers but, at the same time, also illustrate the challenges of interventions, as availability and access of adequate venues and trained enumerators constrained the researchers through the course of the study. The authors discuss the difficulty of conducting research in such a setting, thereby demonstrating in sharp relief the challenges that Africans face in interacting with those seeking to reshape local practices.

In “The emergence of GVCs for frontier markets: Insights from the African mobile telecommunications industry,” Jakanbakht and Mostafa examine mobile telecommunications in Africa, which has evolved through several stages documented by the authors. Initially, the industry was characterized by a classic pattern of investments by multinational corporations using technologies that had been primarily developed for European and North American applications. Over time, spin-outs from these multinationals worked locally with state-owned enterprises and other organizations to develop capacity. Most recently, the industry has been characterized by innovation in downstream markets to overcome bottlenecks in both supply of essential services and demand structures. Today, the replication across many African countries of indigenous approaches to telephony have reshaped the continent's communications infrastructure. The role of local leaders, contractors, and suppliers in this transformation stands as an inspiring example of African leadership in the transformation of industry structure with global implications.

Oyinlola et al. in “Digital innovations for transitioning to circular plastic value chains in Africa” examine the handling of plastic waste in countries across the African continent. The motivation for this study is that plastics are a widespread source of adverse environmental, social and economic impact. African entrepreneurs have developed a series of innovations in plastic GVCs to stimulate recycling while simultaneously reducing reliance on plastics. These innovations are supported by new digital technologies that include surveillance, online market-making, app-based exchange systems, and even 3D-printing. Through a series of case studies, the authors show how non-African multinationals that promote consumer goods on the African continent participate constructively in the promotion of recycling. The authors conclude that, while these initiatives are essential to progress in the transition to sustainable value gains that operate on a model of circular recycling, they are insufficient alone. Policy changes implemented at various levels of government are also necessary to achieve impact at scale.

In “Trade and sustainability: Three decades of change across Africa,” Yenkey and Hill conduct a continent-wide analysis of input and output across industries on criteria that include sustainability indicators. Covering three decades, the article shows how African exporters have changed their patterns of interaction on several dimensions, including particularly in choices of trading partners and in the products of exchange. The key insight that emerges from the analyses is that African countries exhibit strategic understanding of the sustainability implications of their trading relationships and industry specialization. Over time, the authors find evidence of a shift toward sustainability, particularly in light of the historical exportation of natural resources. At the same time, sustainability achievements are challenging given the prioritization of within-Africa trade among countries. The results point to the need for future research on the sustainability implications of interactions between trading patterns across countries and over time.

Each of these articles highlights at least one surprising and/or understudied aspect of Africa's role in GVCs, and the complex link to sustainability. Whereas much research emphasizes the role of African firms as suppliers of materials that move from Africa to other countries, both Blalock et al. and Oyinlola et al. focus on the often overlooked role for African firms to generate a domestic source of inputs that can displace reliance on goods imported from the Global North (or that can be used by non-African multinationals that are doing business in Africa). Intriguingly, both studies illuminate cases in which such African suppliers can accomplish this by repurposing or recycling what has historically been waste material, thus creating a profitable business, reducing reliance on imports, and reducing environmental degradation simultaneously. And, whereas much research indicates the frequency with which African firms remain relegated to low-value activities, as noted above, Jahanbakht and Mostafa describe how domestic African firms expanded into high-value parts of the telecom industry value chain, to the point of generating innovations and insights that MNCs then imported to other parts of the world. Bam and DeBruyne also highlight the importance of trade-offs between economic growth, social objectives, and environmental goals when it comes to natural resources such as iron and/or steel given that achievement of all simultaneously can sometimes be challenging. Finally, on a less optimistic note, whereas there is a general sense that greater engagement in global trade will enhance the well-being of African nations along many dimensions, including several touted by the UN SDGs regarding human development and environmental protection – albeit perhaps not as rapidly as one would like – Yenkey and Hill offer cautionary evidence that the relationship between such engagement and improved well-being is far more fickle and nuanced than received wisdom would suggest.

Collectively, these articles point to the urgent need for more fully developed conceptual and analytical tools to understand the experiences of Africans and the activities of African organizations in exchange across continental boundaries, in particular with regard to sustainability. Sparked by the articles in this issue, we envision a framework that can advance knowledge regarding three types of organizations. The first type encompasses African firms that participate in outbound GVCs - either directly by engaging with non-African firms or indirectly by trading with other African firms that in turn engage with non-African firms - often by providing raw materials that are exported either to be sold as end-products (i.e., agricultural products) or to be further processed elsewhere (i.e., petroleum products and minerals). The second type encompasses African firms that participate (directly or indirectly) in inbound GVCs. These firms have typically relied on materials produced abroad that are available in Africa only at unfavorable conditions, but locally produced alternatives are increasingly competitive (e.g., insourcing or local start-ups using circular economy models). The third type encompasses non-African firms engaged in business activity on the continent. Traditionally, these firms' efforts have entailed exporting raw materials or importing and selling finished goods, but increasingly these firms are partnering with African firms to leverage African knowledge for both African and non-African markets. We also envision this framework informing three levels of analysis: the individual, the firm, and the society. Our hope is that this framework can spur and organize research that goes far beyond the conventional focus on African exports of raw materials or imports of finished goods or waste, and that affords greater focus on agency of African actors. We next elaborate on these dimensions of the framework, and then lay out a series of resulting research questions.

The individual. Agency resides in the individual. A range of literatures focuses on the role of the individual in sensing and seizing new opportunities, and in changing the scope and activities of an existing organization (Lawrence & Phillips, 2019; Lawrence & Suddaby, 2006; Teece, 2007). As we study the routes by which African exporting firms can find ways to move into higher-value activities within GVCs as well as the birth and growth of African firms that produce new products for domestic markets, it is crucial to focus on the individuals who generate change. Relatedly, it is critical to illuminate the extent to which recognizing and acting on opportunities can be learned, and what types of training best facilitate this. There is now a vibrant and growing literature on entrepreneurship training worldwide (e.g., Camuffo, Cordova, Gambardella, & Spina, 2020), with an increasing focus on training in Africa (e.g., Dimitriadis & Koning, 2021; McKenzie, 2021). Much of this research is focused on the development of generic entrepreneurship skills. We believe there is a significant opportunity to link this research stream to the specific issues of moving into higher-value activities (Jakanbakht & Mostafa) and/or creating business models that profitably enhance sustainability (Blalock et al.). Although we envision that the bulk of this research will focus on individuals who start or manage African firms, there is also an opportunity to focus on individual action by executives of non-African firms whose efforts facilitate or hinder the potential trajectory of African firms. For example, as African firms develop the capabilities for moving into higher-value activities, what decisions by a manager of a non-African firm will influence whether these firms are able to achieve their potential? Alternatively, under what circumstances will a local MNC manager decide that it is worth investing in training local individuals who might then generate a localized supply of valuable inputs?

The firm: The firm is the unit of analysis for much management research. Many of the field's most common concerns – issues of competitive advantage, appropriate governance, successful business models, make-vs.-buy – are easily interpreted in terms of the firm. As scholars expand our Africa-related research focus to consider evolution to higher-value parts of the GVC or the development of domestic businesses that enhance sustainability, these classic concerns will remain central to the analysis: What business models will be particularly effective or ineffective in profitably converting waste into desirable products or inputs (Oyinlola et al.)? What competitive or “coopetitive” strategies will be particularly successful or unsuccessful for firms that produce higher-value goods within GVCs, and under what circumstances will African exporters have competitive advantage in that sphere (Jakanbakht & Mostafa)? What key capabilities can firms develop or locate in Africa that allow the generation of higher rents? When will non-African firms find it preferable to contract at arms-length with stand-alone African firms, vs. working closely with them to build up their capabilities?

The society: While we call this level society to ensure a comprehensive approach, we deliberately invoke both “state” or “nation” to reflect that there are (at least) two ways to conceive of the context in which individuals and firms operate. A sovereign state is a territory that can create its own formal institutions and forge treaties with other states. A vast literature in management and cognate disciplines focuses on the crucial role of background institutions – usually but not always interpreted as formal institutions – to facilitate economic activity (Li & Zahra, 2012; Sahasranamam & Nandakumar, 2020). This ranges from establishing firm property rights (Ensminger, 1997; Joireman, 2008), through enforcement of contracts (Fafchamps, 1996), constitutional restraints against government expropriation (Levy & Spiller, 1994), and so on. The conventional literature on African states has tended to emphasize the weakness of formal institutions (Mbaku, 2004), with the implication being that this constrains the ability or willingness of African individuals and firms to pursue value-adding economic activity (Mbaku, 1997) and also reduces the willingness of Global North MNCs to invest in or to share knowledge with local players (Mangaliso, 1999). Conversely, literature suggests that such state weakness leads to a lack of regulation that protects local firms from MNCs and possibly to state capture by Global North interests (Grossman & Helpman, 1994). That said, there are success stories such as Rwanda, which has attracted large foreign direct investment. Liu and Steenbergen (2021, p. 351), for example, found that customs data show that “firms in the four focus sectors in goods GVCs contribute significantly to Rwanda's export basket.” We encourage additional research on the formal institutions that support African firms in their efforts to move into higher-value activities, and more generally to build African MNC champions along the lines of those developed in other parts of the Global South (e.g., Embraer in Brazil). Beyond this, current events reflect the multifaceted set of objectives that states might have regarding the welfare of their citizens – health, economic well-being, environmental stability, etc. States at different levels of development face different pressures for prioritization among these objectives; we encourage further research that can help illuminate the tradeoffs among these for African countries (Bam & De Bruyne).

Of particular interest in Africa, however, is the role of the nation. A nation generally is a large group of people who are connected by history, culture, kinship, or another common bond. These may comprise a subset of the people in one state, and may also span across state boundaries. There is longstanding evidence from across the globe that kinship groups can maintain norms that might be difficult to maintain outside of the group (e.g., Greif’s 1993 study of the Maghribi traders). Unfortunately, in Africa, the positive effect of kinship ties does not hold because of the multitude of ethnic groups within nations. Even in countries with fewer ethnic groups (e.g., Rwanda) we have witnessed disastrous conflicts. Kinship ties compete with national ties. As a result, Samora Machel argued that “in order for the [state] to live, the tribe must die” (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2008).² We think that the contest between ethnic group (or nation) and the state is a salient issue in the African context, given that state boundaries of most African countries did not arise organically (i.e., they were determined by colonial powers) and given the historic alienation of the population from state government during colonial rule (Ekeh, 1975). So, one could leverage Davis (1971) to argue that “in order for the tribe to live the state must die.” Obviously, that is ontologically meaningful but economically not viable. Consequently, we envision a significant opportunity for research that highlights the efficacy of informal institutions and norms within a nation to support the development and competitiveness of African firms (as well as the potential for individual actors to exploit these norms in negative ways, as in Yenkey (2018)).

With this background, a number of urgent research questions reveal themselves. These are presented in Table 1. Answers to these questions will help advance individuals, firms, and societies in Africa to better connect into global value chains and to achieve social, environmental and economic objectives, locally and globally. With these, they can address major issues that are important for Africa today. Collectively, this will help Africa flourish.

Table 1. Framework with research questions.

	Individual (entrepreneur)	Firm	Society (nation / state)
African firms that participate in inbound GVCs, directly or indirectly*	Key questions: How can individuals identify new opportunities to convert waste into marketable products? To what extent can entrepreneurship skill be learned? How can African managers better engage in the global actions that aim at changing business practices to improve sustainability locally? How can African entrepreneurs scale up the many frugal innovations for the African market? What conditions imposed by global trade limit or support African managers in the development of sustainable business?	Key questions: Under what circumstances will domestic suppliers be able to displace imported inputs? From what types of waste can firms develop marketable products? How can African firms better engage in the global actions that aim at changing business practices to improve sustainability locally? How can African firms turn the many frugal innovations into successful offerings? What conditions imposed by global trade limit or support African firms in the development of sustainable business?	Key questions: What regulatory policies or other infrastructure will enhance the likelihood of successful ventures that replace the need to import inputs? Which government or civil society activities support African firms’ awareness about and compliance with GVC requirements? How could African firms engage in more collective action to change business practices towards GVC requirements?
African firms that participate in outbound GVCs, directly or indirectly*	Key questions: What characteristics (personal qualities; risk preferences; experience) best enable individuals to start viable firms that can engage with the GVC? What characteristics best enable individuals to navigate their firms to higher-value roles in the GVC? To what extent can entrepreneurship skill be learned? How can African managers better engage in the global actions that aim at changing business practices to improve sustainability globally? How can African entrepreneurs scale up the many frugal innovations for the world market?	Key questions: Under what circumstances will engagement in GVC improve outcomes for the firm/employees/stakeholders? Under what circumstances can a firm move up to high-value activities How can African firms better engage in the global actions that aim at changing business practices to improve sustainability globally? How can African firms turn the many frugal innovations that are attractive to GVCs? What conditions imposed by global trade limit or support African firms in the development of sustainable business?	Key questions: Under what circumstances will engagement in GVC by a state's firms improve outcomes for societal metrics? What regulatory policies or other infrastructure will enhance the likelihood of good outcomes from such engagement? What should a state prioritize among the multiple metrics for societal well-being? What should a nation prioritize among the multiple metrics for societal well-being? How do tensions between the state and nation affect interactions between African firms and non-African firms?
Non-African firms operating in Africa as part of outbound or inbound GVCs	Key questions: How can managers in non-African firms enable their employer to better align their business practices with the local African context to achieve sustainability aims? How can managers in non-African firms support African firms in better aligning their business practices with GVC requirements? How can MNCs develop individual entrepreneurs who become reliable partners?	Key questions: How can non-African firms enable their African business partners to better align their business practices with their requirements? How can non-African firms explore and deploy Africa-specific capabilities to enhance value added in Africa (and thus salaries)? How can foreign MNCs work with African MNCs in a way that is mutually beneficial?	Key questions: How can non-African firms be enabled to better consider traditional structures that African companies are exposed to? How can non-African firms loosen their tight requirements to allow action that is specific to the challenges of the respective location? How can MNCs work with African societies to enable the latter to thrive?

* A firm can participate in a GVC either directly, by engaging with non-African firms, or indirectly, by trading with other African firms that in turn engage with non-African firms.

Acknowledgements

The call for papers for this special issue resulted from conversations at the Professional Development Workshop (PDW) “Africa in Global Value Chains – The Diffusion of Multinational Buyer Firms’ Sustainability Strategies”, held at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2019, and co-organized by the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM) and the International Forum on Sustainable Value Chains (ISVC). We thank the journal's editor Bruce Lamont for his excellent support in realizing this special issue, as well as the numerous anonymous reviewers and the authors of the submitted manuscripts.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joerg S. Hofstetter

Joerg S. Hofstetter is Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at KEDGE Business School. He earned the PhD at the University of St. Gallen. Professor Hofstetter's research has been published in such outlets as Organization & Environment, International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of International Business Policy, and Resources, Conservation and Recycling. His current research addresses circular economy, sustainable supply chains, sub-supplier management, and global value chains. He is currently the President of the International Forum on Sustainable Value Chains.

Anita M. McGahan

Anita M. McGahan is University Professor and George E. Connell Chair in Organizations and Society at the University of Toronto. Her primary appointments are at the Rotman School of Management and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She earned the PhD at Harvard University. Professor McGahan's research has been published in such outlets as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Management Science, Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, and Strategic Organization. Her current research emphasizes entrepreneurship in the public interest and innovative collaboration between public and private organizations. She is a past President of the Academy of Management.

Brian S. Silverman

Brian S. Silverman is the J.R.S. Prichard and Ann Wilson Chair in Management in the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He earned the PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Silverman's research has been published in such outlets as Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Management Science, Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, and Strategic Organization. His research focuses on the ways that firms’ strategies and organizational structures interact to affect their performance – notably, their ability to access and exploit technological capabilities. He currently is Co-Editor of the Strategic Management Journal.

Baniyelme D. Zoogah

Baniyelme D. Zoogah is Associate Professor of Management at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He earned the PhD at the Ohio State University. His research has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management Learning and Education; Journal of Business Ethics, Human Resources Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Global Strategy Journal, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, Journal of Occupational and Industrial Psychology, International Journal of Human Resources Management, Journal of Knowledge Management, and Africa Journal of Management. He has authored two books on strategic followership, edited a book on research methodology that focuses on Africa, and co-authored Managing Organizational Behavior in the African Context. His fifth book, Ethnos Oblige: Theory and Evidence, is currently in production. He is currently the President of the Africa Academy of Management.

Notes

1 Somewhat relatedly, as we write this Introduction, travellers from seven African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique – have hastily been banned by Western countries immediately following South Africa's identification of the OMICRON COVID-19 variant. The bias and discriminatory behavior of the West is evident in this action because, prior to South Africa identifying and isolating OMICRON, the variant was observed in France, Israel, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, England, Brazil, New Zealand, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, and the Czech Republic. Will South Africa inform the world in future if they identify an OMEGA or THETA variant? As the co-chair of the African Union's Covid-19 Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance indicated recently, the developed countries ignore the logistical issues. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrllN4bBMHg)

2 Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2008) uses the word “nation” to mean what we term the “state.” We have edited this phrase in the text to reflect the terminology used in this article.