ABSTRACT

Although the world's poorest inhabited continent, Africa has recently shown signs of being a source of economic growth in the coming decades, with increased foreign investment - notably from China - and huge growth in GDP from a number of African states. In contrast to the heaving weight of books focusing on business opportunities in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, Africa has been poorly served by academic publishing.

This compendium of scholarship offers cutting-edge knowledge relating to business in Africa. The objectives of this collection include:

  • To shed new light on the socio-cultural and historical underpinnings of business practice in Africa and their implications for promoting entrepreneurship and business behaviour in the region
  • To consider the important constraints on business activities in Africa, and the emerging 'best practice' for redressing their real and potential impacts
  • To facilitate a better understanding of contemporary business practice in Africa through the application of relevant theories and models, including emergent ones.

The Routledge Companion to Business in Africa is a comprehensive reference resource that provides the perfect platform for embarking on research and study into Africa from the business perspective.

chapter 1|6 pages

Introduction

part 1|325 pages

Part 1

chapter 2|23 pages

Africa-to-Africa internationalization

Rhetoric, reality and risks of intra-African regional expansion

chapter 4|17 pages

Africa's retailing environment

The online shopping perspective

chapter 5|15 pages

Understanding Africa's business environment

The case of the airline industry

chapter 6|15 pages

Africa's third sector

Assessing the impact of Africa's social enterprises

chapter 7|10 pages

African consumers and country-of-origin influence

Evidence from Morocco

chapter 8|19 pages

Pro-foreign consumption phenomenon in Africa

Insights from Nigeria

chapter 9|14 pages

Family consumption systems in Africa

A focus on children

chapter 10|15 pages

African entrepreneurs' performance

An ethnicity perspective

chapter 11|23 pages

Women entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa

A case-based approach

chapter 12|20 pages

Informal economy entrepreneurs from sub-Saharan Africa

Observations from Kenya

chapter 14|18 pages

Diaspora Africans and entrepreneurial characteristics

A focus on Nigerians in the UK

chapter 15|7 pages

Ethical and moral philosophies of business

North Africa versus North America

chapter 16|12 pages

Doing business in Africa

Some challenges

chapter 17|27 pages

Business development in sub-Saharan Africa

Obstacles, myths and realities

chapter 18|17 pages

FDI in Africa

Chinese enterprises and their business strategies

chapter 19|17 pages

Emerging global firms

Insights of Chinese multinationals in Africa

chapter 20|9 pages

FDI and labor productivity growth in SSA countries

Theory and evidence

part 2|239 pages

Part II

chapter 25|17 pages

Strategic human resources management, labour market efficiency and competitiveness in Africa

Contemporary issues and prospects for the future

chapter 27|21 pages

Rethinking formal prudential regulation of the financial sector in Africa

An institutional analysis

chapter 29|21 pages

Corporate social responsibility and employee relations in Africa

Evidence from the Nigerian banking sector

chapter 30|22 pages

Investment in infrastructure development in Africa

Identifying the gaps and opportunities