Network for Practice and Process Management Studies Drawing on African Empirical Settings
Network for Practice and Process
Management Studies Drawing on
African Empirical Settings
Our Network
The Network for Practice and Process Management Studies Drawing on the African Empirical Setting, is a joint initiative led by Warwick Business School (WBS) and the University of Stellenbosch Business School (SBS). Our aim is to scope out current knowledge about African management practices, to develop relevant theoretical perspectives, to enable networking among scholars seeking to carry out practice-based studies on the African continent and to strengthen capacity towards qualitative empirical research in Africa. We contend that such enabling activities are critical to unlocking future actionable opportunities for fruitful collaborations between qualitative researchers from the global North and South who are interested in understanding how management phenomena unfold in Africa.
Research Themes
Five decentralised working groups will have as their core tasks
developing systematic reviews – with practice-based sensitivity –
of existing empirical knowledge about African management phenomena.
Reframing existing knowledge about African management practices
within a practice-based sensitivity will offer foundational
understandings for the development of future empirical contributions.
Groups are led by scholars based in Africa and meet
online to explore the following topical areas:
Organisation and
work practices
The literature on organizational practices reveals that everyday interactions, shaped by local cultures and social norms in Africa, significantly influence work performance and provide an understanding of organizational change, leadership and inclusion contexts.
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Strategy-As-
Practice
The strategy-as-practice literature focuses on the micro-level activities that shape strategy development and execution, particularly in Africa, where local practices and community engagement influence strategic management in complex environments.
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Innovation
The practice-based literature on innovation examines how new ideas are developed and implemented, highlighting digital and frugal innovation as key strategies used by African entrepreneurs to create cost-effective solutions in healthcare, education & financial inclusion.
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Entrepreneurship
The practice literature on entrepreneurship focuses on the daily activities that sustain ventures, emphasizing how African entrepreneurs adapt to resource constraints and weak institutions while prioritizing social impact and community in their initiatives.
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Sustainability
The literature on sustainability practices highlights how African organizations adapt sustainability strategies using indigenous knowledge and community approaches, emphasizing the need for contextually relevant practices to promote sustainable development.
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Questions?
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or feedback about the research themes or working groups.
Or just sign up to Our Network below.
Contact us
Telephone: +44 (0)24 7652 430
Email: ikon@wbs.ac.uk
Become part of our
Research Network
Get involved & sign up to the
Research Themes Working Groups.
Watch SBS x WBS Network Launch 2024 Webinar
Vision for the Network & Collaboration between Stellenbosch Business School & Warwick Business School partnership 2024.
Associate Professor Mira Slavova.
Stratigic Partnership Lead (WBS)
Professor Sibusiso Moyo
Deputy Vice Chancellor: Stellenbosch University
Research, Innovation & Postgraduate Studies
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Past Events
Data-driven dynamic capabilities in emerging markets
Speakers: Thomas Anning-Dorson, Faeeza Baba, Melissa Zulu, George Acheampong
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
This study develops a process model of Data-Driven Dynamic Capabilities (DDDC) in African retail banking, addressing critical gaps in our understanding of how organizations develop and deploy data capabilities in data-rich, resource-constrained environments.
TBC 2025 12.00pm GMT
Excavating Cosmotechnics: Disrupting the Silicon Valley metaphor
Speaker: Dr. Eric Orlowski
Research Fellow in AI Governance, National University of Singapore.
Framing Yuk Hui's cosmotechnics through an ethnographic analysis of historical narrative, this work-in-progress aims to uncover strategies to challenge the notion of a singular, homogenising technological future.
Wednesday 10 September 2025 12.30pm GMT
How to review and problematize fragmented literatures?
Practice-Based Management Studies Drawing on African Empirical Settings: How to review and problematize fragmented literatures?
This PDW at AoM 2025 in Copenhagen brought together co-leads of the working groups of NetprosAfrica, participants, facilitators and the discussant Dr Hamid Foroughi.
Friday 25 July 2025 13.00 GMT
Solid intentions: An archival ethnography of corporate architecture and organizational remembering
Solid intentions: An archival ethnography of corporate architecture and organizational remembering.
Decker, S. (2014).
Organization, 21(4), 514–542.
Tuesday 10 June 2025 13.00 GMT
‘That’s Witchcraft’: Community entrepreneuring as a process of navigating intra-community tensions through spiritual practices.
‘That’s Witchcraft’: Community entrepreneuring as a process of navigating intra-community tensions through spiritual practices.
Cucchi, C., Lubberink, R., Dentoni, D., & Gartner, W. B. (2022).
Organization Studies, 43(2), 179–201.
Monday 12 May 2025 15.15 GMT
To profit or not to profit: Founder identity at the intersection of religion and entrepreneurship.
To profit or not to profit: Founder identity at the intersection of religion and entrepreneurship.
Delichte, J., Powell, E. E., Hamann, R., & Baker, T. (2024).
Journal of Business Venturing, 39(4), 106403.
Network for Practice and Process
Thursday 3 April 2025 12.15 GMT
Launch Event - Netprosafrica
Launch Event for The Network for Practice and Process Management Studies Drawing on African Empirical Settings, hosted in collaboration with Stellenbosch Business School.
We were delighted that Distinguished Professor Ann Langley, Warwick Business School and HEC Montreal, shared her insights on “Learning from Practice Studies in the African Context”.
Wednesday 13 November 2024 13.15 GMT
Teaching Events
Journal Submissions Invite:
Journal of Management Education Special Issue - Management Education in Africa.
We invite submissions that engage, explore, and problematize issues related to management education in Africa.
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Launch Event
The Network for Practice and Process Management Studies Drawing on African Empirical Settings.
Hosted in collaboration with Stellenbosch Business School launched on Wednesday 13 November 2024.
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JME at Lagos Business School
Journal of Management Education at Lagos Business School.
Page features slides from the JME Special Issue Management Education in Africa presentation.
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JME at AFAM 2024:
We attended the AFAM 7th Biennial Conference at Stellenbosch Business School in Cape Town SA 2024.
The theme of this conference was: Transforming Organizations in the Digital Era: Dignity, Justice, and Prosperity in Africa
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Sponsorship to attend 2024 Warwick Summer School on Process & Practice Studies
In 2024, Dr Nobulali Dangazele (Lecturer, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria) kindly sponsored the attendance of two individuals at the Warwick Summer School on Process and Practice Studies.
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North-South Dialogue on Practice-Based Approaches to Management Studies in Africa
Document to accompany the Series of Events in Cape Town, SA including:
North South Dialogue on Practice Based Approaches to Management Studies in Africa
All day event on 11 Jan 2024 at Durbanville Hills, Cape Town.
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