Introduction

There is a new and exciting interest in Africa and management in African countries. For a long time, Africa seemed from a management perspective to be, indeed, the ‘dark continent’. This is changing, and there is substantial new research dealing with business and management in Africa. Of particular relevance is the newly formed African Academy of Management (AFAM), an affiliate of the Academy of Management (AOM). The AOM is the premier association of management scholars and AFAM has held two meetings (2010, 2011) in conjunction with the Academy of Management, and highlighted new research that focuses on African management issues. The AOM Africa Initiative includes support for faculty development workshops, sponsorship for African scholars to participate in the annual meeting of the AOM, support for the inaugural conference of the Africa Academy of Management, a global academic conference in South Africa (2013) and continued scholarly exchange through a dedicated mentoring program. The International Academy of African Business and Development also actively promotes and disseminates research with African content. Other scholarly organizations such as the Academy of International Business and the Eastern Academy of Management have also shown a special interest in Africa, hosting sessions devoted to African issues at recent meetings.