Dear administrator, 

 

Kindly distribute the following Special Issue call for papers. Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Richard Glavee-Geo

NTNU-University of Science and Technology

Postbox 1517 Ålesund Norway.

 

 

SI Title: Strategic Sourcing in Africa: integrating African firms in global supply chains.

 

 

1. Guest editors

GODFREY MUGURUSI, Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

INTAHER MARCUS AMBE, Professor at the University of South Africa, South Africa

RICHARD GLAVEE-GEO, Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

 

2. Aim and Scope

Away from her colonial past, Africa is increasingly catching the eye of many global players. Sourcing from Africa for strategic reasons such as – low cost labor, market, access to cheap materials, free-trade agreements, a higher rate of return on FDI etc – is becoming even more important as African economies rapidly present themselves as key actors in the global economy (Gibbon & Ponte, 2005; Oke,  Maltz, & Erik Christiansen,2009; Gereffi & Lee, 2012). Donaldson (2014) glowingly describes the African market as “the next hot sourcing locale”. Yet the literature on the development of supply chains in Africa is largely dominated by professional and industry reports from consulting firms (McKinsey, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte etc). Only a handful of empirical literature, which is as recent as 2018 is available (for example, Kauppi, Salmi, & You, 2018; You, Salmi, & Kauppi, 2018). To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first special issue (SI) on the subject, and should attract significant interest from the mainstream academia, researchers and practitioners owing to the increasing political and economic interests by China and the Western economies in Africa.

 

This SI is a vital starting point to recast the “sourcing from Africa” debate away from the economic (trade) perspective to the firm-behavior perspective by focusing on developing a better understanding of how global companies can manage and develop supply chains in Africa. Or even more specifically how African suppliers, who currently play a minor role in the global supply chain space, can position themselves as strategic suppliers and compete effectively within global supply chains.

 

The broad aim of this SI is to provide an in-depth understanding of: (a) the sourcing practices of foreign firms with supply bases in Africa, (b) the idiosyncrasies and perhaps challenges that inhibit African firms’ participation in global supply chains, (c) what motivates foreign firms to invest in developing supply sources on the African continent, and (d) ways that African suppliers can strategically position themselves and compete in global supply networks.

 

The Guest editors encourage submissions of empirical, research and conceptual articles from scholars all over the world that will significantly contribute to the evolution of new thought in research and practice of the under-researched areas that are discussed in this call for papers.

Suggested themes may include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Theories and strategic sourcing frameworks to explain the African sourcing environment
2. Structural and operational complexities of sourcing from and within Africa
3. Supplier centered financing models to support global supply chain participation
4. Supplier selection decisions and practices within an African sourcing environment
5. Supplier resource mobilization in African context
6. Developing purchasing and supply capabilities adapted to the African market
7. Integration of local business processes in global supply networks
8. Innovation, knowledge and information needs for sourcing within Africa
9. Cultural, transparency and ethical issues of sourcing in Africa
10. Impact sourcing and sustainability practices in Africa 
11. Role of business networks and business relationships in supply network development.
12. In/outsourcing and location (offshore-outsourcing, near and far offshoring) behavior and practices among foreign and local firms in Africa
13. Deployment of IT tools and technology to develop global, regional or international supply capabilities among African firms
14. Emerging themes within the global production domain relevant for African sourcing practices.

 

3. Submissions

Papers should be submitted via the journal’s online submission system available through the journal homepage http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jgoss

 

When submitting please choose the special issue: “Strategic Sourcing in Africa: integrating African firms in global supply chains” as the article type from the drop down menu.

 

All papers must follow the guidelines outlined by the journal for submission, available at: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=jgoss#1

 

For any questions, interested authors can contact the corresponding guest editor Dr. Godfrey Mugurusi ([log in to unmask])

 

Submission deadline: 4th January, 2020

 

4. References and bibliographic sources

Donaldson (2014). The Pros and Cons of Sourcing in Africa. Sourcing Journal, https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/trade/pros-cons-sourcing-africa-td-16758/

Gereffi, G., & Lee, J. (2012). Why the world suddenly cares about global supply chains. Journal of supply chain management, 48(3), 24-32.

Gibbon, P., & Ponte, S. (2005). Trading down: Africa, value chains, and the global economy. Temple University Press.

Kauppi, K., Salmi, A., & You, W. (2018). Sourcing from Africa: a systematic review and a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(2), 627-650.

Oke, A., Maltz, A., & Erik Christiansen, P. (2009). Criteria for sourcing from developing countries. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 2(2), 145-164.

You, W., Salmi, A., & Kauppi, K. (2018). Integration of African firms into global value chains: A comparison of Finnish and Chinese firms’ sourcing from Africa. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 14(2/3), 252-281.