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Call for Submissions

Africa Academy of Management (AFAM)

2026 Affiliate Professional Development Workshop (PDW) Program: Call for Submissions

Division PDW Chair: Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim, American University in Cairo, Egypt.
Division Deputy PDW Chair: Natasha Winkler-Titus, Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa

The Africa Academy of Management (AFAM) invites submissions for Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) at the 2026 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, USA.

The workshops will take place Friday, 31 July through Sunday, 2 August 2026. 

AFAM provides a platform for building collaborative and supportive relationships for and with African and other scholars. We encourage members of all divisions, interest groups, and theme committees of the Academy to submit PDW proposals that explore African dimensions of management theory and practice. We look forward to proposals that advance rigorous, relevant, and contextually grounded scholarship on Africa and its global significance in management and organization studies. 

We welcome interactive formats which facilitate learning, collaboration, and community-building among scholars working in, on, or with Africa. We are particularly seeking interactive, inclusive, and innovative PDW proposals that are aligned with AFAM’s primary objective of enabling the Academy ‘to perform and support educational activities that contribute to intellectual and operational leadership in the field of management within the African context.’  

Though not exhaustive, indicative topics that PDW proposals could aim to address include: 

  • Methodological and epistemological challenges in conducting high-quality research in African contexts
  • Responsible management and governance practices across diverse African organizational settings
  • Entrepreneurship, informal economies, and pathways to poverty reduction
  • Digitalization, platform work, and implications for the African workforce
  • Sustainability, climate resilience, and environmental stewardship in African contexts
  • Human resource management, labour standards, and the evolving role of the ILO in Africa
  • Leadership development, behavioural dynamics, and cultural influences in African contexts
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in African organizations
  • Innovation capabilities, technology adoption, and competitiveness of African firms
  • Strengthening research–practice linkages and designing mutually beneficial academic–practitioner collaborations
  • Regional economic integration, trade facilitation, and the development of resilient African value chains
  • Geopolitics, International management, International collaboration as it intersect with Africa
  • Management education, pedagogical innovation, and curriculum development for Africa
The goals of our PDWs include: 
  • Helping to provide Academy members exposure to scholarship in the African context
  • Assisting Academy members in their research activities to facilitate the inclusion of research and comparative studies on Africa/African diaspora
  • Encouraging and facilitating an understanding of African management practices and cultural perspectives as they apply to management scholarship
  • Building collaborative networks and partnerships among Academy members and African scholars to enhance knowledge exchange, mentorship, and joint research opportunities focused on African contexts

Proposals must include a statement indicating that all PDW participants have consented to participate in the PDW. The AOM’s ‘Rule of Three’ for the PDW program is that ‘no one may submit or be associated with more than 3 PDW submissions or appear in more than 3 PDW sessions.’ Proposals that violate these rules may be rejected.  

Acceptance of AFAM PDW proposals will be based on the following criteria: (i) relevance to the AFAM mission; (ii) novelty and creativity; (iii) developmental orientation; (iv) interactive and inclusive, and (v) logical coherence. Although not a requirement, considering our focus on inter-disciplinarity, we welcome proposals of interest to other AOM divisions. Please indicate in the submission document what divisions and interest groups may be suitable as potential co-sponsors. 

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 17:00 ET (UTC-5/GMT-5). 

All submissions must be made online via the AOM Submission Center. If you have any questions regarding the AFAM PDW or would like to explore the appropriateness of your proposal, please contact the AFAM PDW Co-chairs, Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim ([email protected]) or Natasha Winkler-Titus ([email protected]) at your earliest but preferably no later than Friday, 9 January 2026. We look forward to receiving your proposals 

Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim 
Onsi Sawiris School of Business, American University in Cairo 

Natasha Winkler-Titus 
Stellenbosch Business School 

PDW Co-Chairs