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Africa'sindigenousmanagementintheageofsocialmedia

ComputerVillage,Lagos:generatesabout$2billiontotheeconomyannually(Ochelle,2014).

TheMajorityWorld

TheSearchforIndigenousManagement•  Searchfor‘indigenous’managementover15countriesand15yearshasproducedfewresults(AfrilandFirstBankinCameroonanexcepIon)

•  WrongconceptualizaIon,lookinginwrongplace

•  RelyingontheIM/IB/cross-culturalmanagementliterature

•  Despiteanincreaseininterest,indigenietyisunder-conceptualizedintheIB/IMliterature:

•  Dunning’s(1993:12)speaksof‘..analyzingthenetbenefitsofMNEacIvity,ascomparedwiththatofindigenousornon-MNEfirms…..’

•  Gooderhametal(1998:47)comparesUSHRMpracIces‘..withthoseofindigenousfirms..’

•  Cantwelletal(2004:59),inconnecIonwiththeinternaIonalizaIonofR&D,speaksof‘..indigenoustechnologicalcapabiliIes..’

•  HustedandAllen(2009:786)menIonthat‘IndigenousexpressionsofCSRhavealonghistoryinMexico…’

•  74arIclesinMIRfrom1985to2009:nodefini(on,explana(onordiscussion(Jackson2013)

Whatdoesthewidersocialscienceliteraturesay?

•  Amajorityview:notconfinedtoasmallminorityoftheEarth’spopulaIonbutalargeproporIonoftheMajorityWorldPeredoandMcLean(2010)esImate300-500millionworldwideoccupying20%ofworld’slandmass.

•  Juxtaposedtotheglobalandafunc(onofpowerandcoloniza(on,ratherthanpurelyafuncIonoflocalcontextindisIncIontotheglobal(Smith,1999)

•  Marginalized(Wiessner,1999)andunder-representedwithinthemainstreamofknowledgeandculture(Smith,1999)

•  Dynamic,ratherthanastaIcarIfact(commodity)(BriggsandSharp,2004),andconstantlyproducingnewknowledgeandsocialformswithinachangingculturalinterface(Jackson,2011)

•  Apoli(calconcept(Smith,1999):areasonwhyitisavoidedbymainstreaminternaIonalmanagementscholars(I’vesuggestedusingendogenousinstead:Jackson,2013).

Commonfeaturesofindigenousorganiza(on1.  AcollecIveorcommunalsocietalorientaIon;2.  Kin-basedformsofsocialorganizaIon;3.  Employingformsofexchangemoreforsocialandculturalpurposes

ratherthanpurelyforpersonalmaterialgain.(PeredoandMcLean,2010)

Theunder-representaIonofindigenousknowledgeinmanagementscholarshipleadstoalackofdiversityintermsof:–  Knowledgesources(whatdoweknowandhowdoweknowit?)

–  Idea-andconcept-generaIon(howdowethinkaboutwhatweknowandhowdoweformulatethisintotheoriesandknowledge?)

–  ConsequencesandimpactondiversecommuniIeswithinaglobalworld(areourtheoriesandsubsequentprac8cesappropriatetothediverseorganiza8onalandsocialcommuni8eswithwhichbusinessesandinterna8onalmanagerscomeintocontact?).

WhyisthisImportant?

What’schanging?Twoopposingtrends:

•  Tendencytowardsmoreeli(sminscholarlyknowledge.Scholarshipitself,increasingly,isconsiderthepreserveofacademicelites,mostlyinWesternEuropeandNorthAmerica,producedincreasinglyineliteuniversiIes,andpublishedinelitescholarlyjournalsthatappearfarremovedfromthediversityandchangingnatureofmanagementandorganizaIonalknowledgeofthemajorityworld.

•  Atrendtowardsthepropaga(onofunmediatedknowledgethroughdigitaltechnologyispullingintheoppositedirecIon.SocialmediamayhavethepotenIaltoprovidebeoerrepresentaIonofunder-representedandmarginalizedknowledge.TheArabSpringisamuchcitedexampleofthepowerofdigitalmediaincommunicaIngamessagethatotherwisemightnothavebeenheard(Klischewski,2014).

“…thereare100millionpeoplecomingtoFacebookeverymonthacrosstheAfricanconEnent,withover80%onmobile.”Facebook,June2014

TheMajorityWorld

•  Thereisanunder-representa(onofmajority-worldfirmsinempiricalstudiesininternaIonalmanagementscholarshipasasiteofindigenousmanagementknowledge

•  Firmswithintheinformaleconomyrepresentapproximatelyhalfofallnon-agriculturalemploymentindevelopingregions.

•  MuchhigherinSouthAsia(82%ofemployment)andsub-SaharanAfrica(65-72%ofemployment).

•  Insub-SaharanAfrica74%ofallwomennon-agriculturalworkersareemployedintheinformaleconomy.

•  ForSouthAsiathefigureis83%.(Vanek,Chen,Carré,Heintz&Hussmanns,2014)

•  ItislikelythattheinformaleconomyisanimportantsiteofindigenousmanagementandemploymentpracIces,asitdoesnotcomedirectlyundertheglobalizinginfluencesofwesternMNCs,westernmanagementeduca(onorinternaIonaldonoranddevelopmentorganizaIonsthat,forexample,haveaninfluenceondevelopingworldNGOs.

•  Yet,theinformaleconomyissubjecttogovernmentalpolicydecisions,oVeninopposi(ontothem:partofthedynamicthatshapesindigenouspracIcesandknowledgeonanongoingbasis,butwithliWlerepresenta(onandalackofagency

Theinformaleconomyrepresentsabout72%oftotalemploymentinsub-SaharanAfrica

TheInformalEconomy“..adynamicandenduringforcethathasshapedAfricanciIes”,represenIng“..analternaIvesociety,withparallelsocialandreligiousinsItuIonsalongsidetheofficialones”and“..anodeofresistanceanddefianceagainststatedominaIon”(Cheru,2002:48-49).

GivingVoicetoindigenousmanagementknowledge

•  TheMajorityWorld,informaleconomyisanimportantsiteofindigenousmanagementknowledgeandpracIce(e.g.tradiIonalapprenIceships,communitybasedentrepreneurship),andinAfricahasthepotenIalforappropriatetransformaIon

•  Butmarginalizedwithaweakvoice•  SocialmediahasthepotenIaltochangethingsbyprovidinggreatervoiceand

potenIallybeoerrepresentaIon.

•  Briggs,J.andSharpe,J.(2004)Indigenousknowledgeanddevelopment:apostcolonialcauIon,ThirdWorldQuarterly,25(4),661-76

•  Cheru,F.(2002)AfricanRenaissance:RoadmapstotheChallengeofGlobalizaEon,London:ZedBooks•  Dunning,J.H.(1993).InternaIonalizingPorter’sDiamond.ManagementInternaEonalReview,33(2),7.•  Cantwell,J.,Glac,K.,&Harding,R.(2004).TheInternaIonalizaIonofR&D-theSwissCase.Management

InternaEonalReview,44(3),57–82.•  Facebook(2014)hops://www.facebook.com/business/news/connecIng-100-million-people-in-africa,accessed4

April2016•  Gooderham,P.,Nordhaug,O.,&Ringdal,K.(1998).WheninRome,DoTheyDoastheRomans?HRMPracIcesof

USSubsidiariesinEurope.ManagementInternaEonalReview,38,47–64.•  Husted,B.W.,&Allen,D.B.(2009).StrategicCorporateSocialResponsibilityandValueCreaIon:AStudyof

MulInaIonalEnterprisesinMexico.ManagementInternaEonalReview,49(6),781–799•  Jackson,T.(2011).Fromculturalvaluestocross-culturalinterfaces:HofstedegoestoAfrica.Journalof

OrganizaEonalChangeManagement,24(4),532–558.•  Jackson,T.(2013).ReconstrucIngtheIndigenousinAfricanManagementResearch.ManagementInternaEonal

Review,53(1),13–38•  Klischewski,R.(2014).WhenvirtualrealitymeetsrealpoliIk:SocialmediashapingtheArabgovernment-ciIzen

relaIonship.GovernmentInformaEonQuarterly,31(3),358–364.•  Ochelle,F.(2014)Nigeria’slargestmarketshop://venturesafrica.com/nigerias-largest-markets/.Accessed5April

2016•  Peredo,A.M.,&McLean,M.(2010).IndigenousdevelopmentandtheculturalcapIvityofentrepreneurship.

Business&Society,52(4),592–620.•  Smith,L.T.(1999)DecolonizingMethodologies:ResearchandIndigenousPeoples,London:ZedBooks•  Vanek,J.,Chen,M.A.,Carré,F.,Heintz,J.,&Hussmanns,R.(2014).StaEsEcsontheInformalEconomy:DefiniEons,

RegionalEsEmates&Challenges,WIEGOWorkingPaper(StaIsIcs)No2April2014,WIEGOSecretariate:Cambridge,MA

•  Wiessner,S.(1999).“RightsandStatusofIndigenousPeoples:AGlobalandComparaIveandInternaIonalLegalAnalysis”HarvardHumanRightsJournal,Vol.12,Spring,57-128.

ForslidesandfurtherinformaIon:www.terencejackson.net

References