Christian Harrison

Africa needs sustainable leadership to confront its unique challenges and capitalise on its potential. Thus, this chapter presents African leadership instances from diverse fields. This study aims to analyse the need for sustainable leadership in Africa using a systematic literature review. The PRISMA approach was adopted to perform the literature review. This was accomplished by looking through peer-reviewed databases, such as JSTOR, ProQuest and African Journals Online (AJOL), for manuscripts to find relevant data unique to the African context. After a thorough search, studies that did not meet the study’s objective were removed from consideration throughout the review phase. In light of this, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist was used to ensure that the publications chosen for this review were evaluated for quality assessment and bias minimisation. The systematic literature review identified grey areas from previous studies on socioeconomic development through infrastructure projects, inclusive governance, entrepreneurship, inequality reduction, human development and terms of employment for sustainable leadership in Africa.

This chapter provides an essential foundation for the volume. It introduces the overarching themes and constituent chapters, outlining the diverse methodological approaches used within the book. This chapter situates leadership development within the evolving field, examining its current challenges and the state of scholarship and practice today.
It offers a critical overview and outlook for future studies in leadership and leadership development, identifying emerging questions and research opportunities. This forward-looking perspective sets the stage for the volume's exploration of leadership as a dynamic and multifaceted field. It encourages readers to consider leadership development from critical perspectives that challenge traditional norms, inviting them to engage with new models and approaches to meet the demands of today's complex, diverse, and changing environment.

Entrepreneurial leadership (EL) is a growing research phenomenon. The recent expansion of EL research is attributed to competencies acquired by entrepreneurial leaders for identifying and exploiting business opportunities as well as navigating complex business challenges. Despite this growing attention, only a limited number of studies have addressed EL learning and development, with no prior exploration of how EL can be learned and developed in teams empirically. In response, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 entrepreneurial leaders (in 18 teams) selected through purposive sampling and examined learning experiences of entrepreneurial leaders associated with University Business Incubators (UBIs) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan. The empirical insights revealed that EL learning in teams is a complex and multifaceted process, and entrepreneurial leaders can enhance their knowledge, skills, and capabilities through various strategies, including classroom-based, project-based, social, and self-regulated learning. The evidence emerging from this study informs policy and practice while broadening the theoretical scope of EL by incorporating a team-based conceptualisation into EL development.

We live in uncertain times propelled by complex systems, climate change and the use of technology which possess various threats. Leaders are put to test, and people continue to look up to their leaders for solutions. Under this deep uncertainty conditions, timely, legitimate and effective response is expected from leaders.
Leadership during crisis is a distinct area from daily leadership activities. At times of crisis, leadership that permits quick reactions to the changing business environment becomes necessary. Leaders provide a series of actions to effect immediate change in peoples’ attitudes, beliefs, behaviour and in accomplishing a set outcome. They are expected to rapidly recognise the impending danger and put in place the required procedures and infrastructure to manage the crisis. However, there have been limited studies that provide a road map of leading during a crisis. What is required of leaders during a crisis? How can you develop the required leadership expertise during such turbulent periods? What are the challenges leaders will have to combat? Through this book, these questions will be answered.

In the face of recurring crisis and a rapidly changing business landscape, corporate leaders are looking for new ways to address their challenges and ensure long-term sustainability. The most effective leadership style and the critical competencies required for leaders to navigate the complexities of the business environment are yet to be identified. This chapter discusses the importance of effective leadership in today’s turbulent business environment. In addition, this chapter explores how an entrepreneurial leadership style can be effective in difficult situations and how organisations can learn to adopt an entrepreneurial leadership approach to remain competitive. This chapter examines case studies of successful entrepreneurial leadership, reviews relevant literature, and provides practical recommendations for organisations to develop entrepreneurial leadership competencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the vulnerability of organisations, institutions, and society, underscoring the need for new leadership approaches to develop them. This chapter examines authentic leadership, highlighting the complexity and problematic nature of the construct. Although scholars have acknowledged its significance and linked it to positive organisational outcomes, the construct has not progressed beyond its current conceptualisation. Consequently, the chapter explores the rise of authentic leadership and its limitations, accentuating the lack of a clear path for developing the construct. To contribute to the literature on authentic leadership theory, the chapter proposes the authentic leadership plumb line and discusses its role in facilitating its resurgence within organisations. The chapter concludes that authentic leadership should be embraced during crises as it enables the alignment of the leader and follower interaction.

There seems to be no controversy about Nigeria being an agricultural country with food sufficiency up till the late 1970s. However, in recent times the country is finding it very difficult to provide sufficient food for the teeming population which has resulted in the majority of the country’s citizens slipping into poverty. The ability of the country to provide sufficiently for the citizens was a result of a lack of reliable and effective developmental and transformational strategies in the agricultural sector of the country which is a major employer of labour in the rural community. To this end, this chapter mainly focuses on factors inhibiting the development of agricultural companies in Nigeria and how to overcome the developmental barriers in the agricultural sector in Nigeria. The findings from the review show that the bane of the agricultural sector in Nigeria is due to the lack of an agricultural regulatory framework and policy transmission mechanism and over-dependence on oil revenue amongst other things (Adams, 2016). It is therefore imperative for the country to embark on the development of a reliable agricultural framework and model that will aid food sufficiency in the country.

The study of Africa is inundated with inherent complexity. It has provoked a couple of questions. For example, how can we contextualise African studies, what are the best approaches to studying Africa, what are the challenges, and what does the future hold? Such questions remain prevalent and there is a clarion call to address them.

In the first book of the New Frontiers of African Business and Society Series titled African Context of Business and Society (Omeihe & Harrison, 2022a), we took stock of scholarly capital researched across the continent and focused on Business and Society. In this book, Contextualising African Studies: Challenges and the Way Forward, we go further to examine Africa in more detail and its challenges. Africa represents the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world. Its unparalleled eco-diversity and culture have made it a vital region with one of the fastest-growing economies across the globe. However, research within and about Africa is still limited compared to other continents. The preferable stance for scholars is to apply frameworks originating from the West which arguably may be ineffective within the African context. As a result, it is pertinent that more research in and about Africa is conducted to learn lessons rather than apply them. Through this book, we draw on empirical and conceptual evidence within Africa providing recommendations and ways forward, especially during such times of global uncertainty. The prevalent issues affecting the continent from the perspective of renowned authors in African research are discussed.

Entrepreneurship is a prominent area of inquiry which is enriched by an ample literature base and challenged by definitional deficiencies. Over the years, multiple perspectives of entrepreneurship have emerged and a holistic approach to entrepreneurship has been proposed.
This can facilitate the continued enlargement of the entrepreneurship field and allow for interdisciplinary research within the African region.
This chapter contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship in developing economies by providing an extensive review of the various approaches that entrepreneurship has been conceptualised. Nine themes are explored: the great person, economic perspective, psychological perspective, sociological perspective, behavioural perspective, management, intrapreneurship, cognitive perspective, and leadership perspective. This is followed by an examination of entrepreneurship as a process, as a new venture creation, and as an art of opportunity recognition and exploitation. In the last section of this chapter, a clarion call is made for more African scholarship and research in the field of entrepreneurship