Professor Moses Kiggundu appointed as founding editor of Africa Journal of Management

Dr. Moses Kiggundu, Professor of Management and International Business, has been appointed as the founding editor of the Africa Journal of Management, published by the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM) in association with the U.S.-based Academy of Management (AOM).

As founding editor, Moses will establish an editorial board of leading African academics and professionals, as well as build management research and knowledge capacity at African institutions.

“Somebody told me that this would be a daunting task,” Moses said. “But what excites me is that not many academics get to do this kind of thing, to try and create a journal from nothing.”

Moses said the lack of management research in Africa comes from a supply and demand problem.

“Historically, African universities and post-secondary institutions did not establish graduate business schools or focus on management scholarship,” said Moses. “Consequently, very little quality management research comes out of African institutions, with the exception of South Africa, which has some leading universities and business schools.”

Moses added that while researchers from foreign universities, particularly those in Europe and the U.S., have done some management research in Africa, it has typically been one off and of limited benefit to African scholars or students.

Furthermore, governments and NGOs have not provided funding or other support for management education and research in Africa in comparison to other disciplines, such as macroeconomics and public administration.

Moses said the journal will provide a forum for the supply of quality management research publications by working with African business schools to build capacity, and then stimulate demand from business and public institutions for evidence-based management research.

“The typical editor waits for manuscripts to come and then they give them to the editorial board, who then decides on what is published,” Moses said. “I see my job differently. I see myself going to authors and working with them to develop their research.”

The journal’s association with the Academy of Management, one of the most respected management organizations in the world, means contributions will be held to a high academic standard, increasing the credibility and visibility of research in Africa.

Moses is an internationally recognized leader in both international business and management. For over 30 years, he has worked with multinational companies, the United Nations and international organizations, as well as Canadian and foreign governments, on a range of issues.

Moses has direct experience dealing with management issues in Africa through his time serving as an advisor to the African Capacity Building Foundation, which is responsible for developing human and institutional capacities on a regional basis, and through authoring numerous academic papers and two books on the subject: Managing Organizations in Developing Countries: An Operational and Strategic Approach (Kumerian Press, 1989) and Managing Globalization in Developing Countries and Transition Economies (Greenwood 2002). Moses is also cross-appointed to the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University.

At its inaugural conference in 2011, AFAM awarded Moses the Trailbrazer Award for his contributions in advancing management scholarship and practice in Africa.

“Your pioneering work on management issues in Africa blazed the trail and ventured into areas of scholarship that had long been neglected in the field of management,” wrote Stella Nkomo, president of AFAM.

The journal will officially launch at the 2nd biennial AFAM conference in January 2014, taking place in Gaborone, Botswana, before beginning publication in the first quarter of 2015.