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Framework for Analyzing and Addressing Methodological Challenges in OSCM Research on African Contexts
November 17 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Research in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) is shaped by widely recognized methodological conventions. Some of these conventions come from general scientific principles, while others have developed through disciplinary traditions. These conventions continue to be reinforced by the academic environments that have historically led the OSCM field.
However, research conducted in African contexts often encounters challenges when these conventions are applied without adjustment. Publication gatekeepers may evaluate African-based studies using the same expectations applied to research conducted in more represented contexts. As a result, researchers can face two main difficulties: conducting the research itself in environments that differ from assumed norms and demonstrating adherence to conventions that may not fully align with the realities of their context. In some cases, the unique features of African settings make adapting or departing from standard conventions both necessary and appropriate.
On November 17, Dr. Dominic Essuman, a lecturer from the University of Sheffield, will introduce a practical framework for understanding and addressing these methodological challenges. The framework draws from multi-sourced Africa-specific data and is designed to support scholars in navigating research design, execution, and publication in leading OSCM journals.
Dr. Essuman will discuss two major sets of methodological challenges: those associated with the researcher’s institutional environment and those shaped by the resource environment. The session will highlight how certain limitations can be transformed into opportunities that strengthen research quality and relevance in African contexts.
Participants will gain practical guidance on when to adopt existing methodological conventions, when to adapt them to fit context, and when to innovate entirely new approaches. The session will also emphasize how to clearly communicate methodological decisions and reasoning to publication gatekeepers while maintaining rigor and scholarly confidence.
About the Speaker
Dr. Dominic Essuman is an Editor of the Africa Initiative of the International Journal of Operations & Production Management and a Lecturer in Sustainable Management at the University of Sheffield. His research has been published in leading journals including the Journal of International Business Studies, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Production Economics, and Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
He holds a Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in the UK. Dr. Essuman is deeply committed to advancing OSCM scholarship across Africa and has collaborated with CARISCA to deliver multiple research capacity-building programs.