Routledge Handbook of Organizational Change in Africa

by Franca Ovadje (Editor), Samuel Aryee (Editor)

Although change management and therefore effective adaptation to environmental complexity is considered a uniquely human cultural activity, the extensive change management literature is largely based on the experiences of organizations in the advanced economies of the West. As the economies of African countries become increasingly open, African organizations will need to be agile in order to adapt and grow in a dynamic, global environment. Currently, there is a dearth of contextualized knowledge on change management within Africa, but this handbook aims to address this by bringing together a wide range of experts to explore organizational change and change management from an African context.

The handbook adopts a multidisciplinary (historical, philosophical, processual, and strategic) perspective as well as empirical accounts of change management. It addresses such issues as: What are the external and internal pressures for change? What is the content and process of change management? What are the essentials of effective change management? How can change management be theorized from an African perspective? What sort of leadership can best align with change management demands in an African context? How do organizations build internal change management capability? It is hoped that answers to these questions contained in the handbook will provide a contextualized understanding of change management which African organizations and scholars can leverage to respond to the threats and opportunities inherent in their increasingly dynamic environment.

The handbook should constitute an essential reference for academics, researchers, and advanced students of change management, development studies, and African studies, as well as practitioners

Review
"A key strength of this handbook derives from a creative blend of Western-dominated knowledge on change management with innovative approaches that are inspired by a deep understanding of African cultural norms and orientations. The handbook has an obvious appeal to international and comparative management scholars and students. African managers and managers in international organizations wishing to expand their activities will find it an invaluable source of knowledge on the dynamics of organizational change in Africa." – Emmanuel Ogbonna, Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour, Cardiff Business School, UK

"This volume is an important tool for both scholars and managers. The handbook covers a very broad range of topics, ranging from institutions and political instability as drivers of change to the roles of leadership, culture, and human resource management in effective management of change. The editors have assembled a broad array of diverse, high-quality contributions from an all-star cast of global scholars, where each chapter is clearly rooted in the distinctive features of the African context. The editors also add value beyond their own contributions with their insightful integration of a broad range of topics presented throughout the volume. This handbook should be required reading for scholars interested in understanding organizational change and executives who must manage the change in their organizations in Africa." – Bruce T. Lamont, Senior Associate Editor of the Africa Journal of Management, and Jim Moran Eminent Scholar of Business Administration, Florida State University, USA

"Africa presents a novel and poignant context for understanding the multiple influences on organizational change and its leadership. Ovadje and Aryee have assembled an excellent group of contributors who offer excellent theoretical and practical insights about change management in various African contexts. The volume is an excellent resource for libraries, students, practicing managers and scholars. The handbook is not only for management scholars pursuing research on organizational change in Africa, however. It is also a must read for change management scholars seeking to expand their understanding of how the macro context shapes the nature of change as well as responses to change." – Stella M. Nkomo, University of Pretoria, South Africa and inaugural President, Africa Academy of Management

About the Author
Franca Ovadje is a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and the Founder of the Danne Institute for Research, Lagos, Nigeria. She is also a visiting Professor of the Strathmore Business School in Kenya.

Samuel Aryee is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management in Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK