Natasha Winkler-Titus, Stellenbosch University

Emamdeen Fohim, University of Bern

Rebecca Namatovu-Dawa, Copenhagen Business School

Thomas Anning-Dorson, University of the Witwatersrand

Renate E. Meyer, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Joel Gehman, George Washington University

This special issue seeks manuscripts exploring how technological transformation can support African futures aligned with the concept of Afrotopia—a vision for African modernization rooted in the continent's diverse histories, epistemologies, and cultures rather than Western models. The issue bridges research on future-making practices and pluriversal perspectives in management and organization studies with critical examination of Africa's rapid technological change, considering both opportunities and risks.

The special issue invites scholars to examine conditions under which digital and technological change can genuinely serve African communities and address threats such as data extraction, algorithmic colonialism, and Western-designed technological solutions unsuited to local contexts. Contributions may employ any methodology, with particular welcome for approaches grounded in African and indigenous epistemologies.

Appel publié par Africa Journal of Management. Lire l'appel complet sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Conceptualizing alternative African modernities in the context of technological transformation
• How pluriversal approaches to technological transformation can be inspired by African philosophies and organizing practices such as Ubuntu, Sankofa, and Harambee
• Reasons why technological transformation may create utopia for some African communities and dystopia for others
• How platform economies and data extraction practices by foreign technology companies reproduce colonial relationships in African markets
• AI-driven transformations and their potential to undermine African modernities through cybersecurity risks, dehumanization, labor displacement, and surveillance
• Empirical cases and organizational experiments supporting Afrotopia amid technological transformation
• Governance structures and digital ecosystems in African countries established to support alternative African futures
• Overcoming digital divides, digital literacy challenges, and unequal technological affordances in African organizations
• Technological leapfrogging while remaining attentive to local contexts and indigenous knowledge systems
• Geopolitical circumstances reshaping technological transformation across African governments, firms, and civil society
• Africa's role in extraction of rare earth minerals and critical resources within global technological value chains
• African states and firms navigating competing technological dependencies and strategic technological autonomy
• Future-making practices in technologically transforming African organizations informed by African traditions and conceptions of time
• Role of Africa's young population in innovating alternative futures through digital entrepreneurship, creative industries, and technological innovation
• Gen Z digital and social media movements reshaping political participation and governance in African societies

Timeline

• September 10, 2026: Online information session (2 PM Central Africa Time)
• March 1, 2027: Pre-submission online paper development workshop (exact date and time TBA)
• July 30, 2027: Pre-submission paper development workshop at Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Vienna, Austria
• November 1, 2027: Manuscript submission deadline
• January 1, 2028: Post-submission paper development workshop at Biennial Conference of the Africa Academy of Management