Rabat – Researchers from the Global South need better access to academic publishing opportunities, stronger research foundations, and greater engagement with international academic networks, experts said Wednesday at a workshop at Rabat Business School (RBS).
The workshop, organized in partnership with the Academy of Management (AOM) and its Community Accelerator Program (CAP), brought together editors and academics to help researchers, faculty members, and doctoral students improve their chances of publishing in leading management journals.
The workshop aimed to help researchers and PhD students strengthen their research, understand the requirements of leading management journals, and overcome barriers to publishing in international academic publications.
Speakers also discussed several challenges facing researchers in Africa and other parts of the Global South, including limited access to publishing networks, a lack of familiarity with journal expectations, and difficulties presenting the value of research conducted in local contexts.
They also stressed the importance of making academic knowledge accessible to a wider audience, particularly through open-access publishing.
Ikram Jebabli, associate dean for research at Rabat Business School, said the workshop was part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the institution and the Academy of Management to support researchers in their academic work and help them target leading journals.
“The workshop is aligned with our research strategy, where excellence and international collaboration are among the main pillars,” Jebabli told Morocco World News.
Addressing publishing gaps
Diego M. Coraiola, a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria in Canada and incoming editor-in-chief of Academy of Management Learning and Education, said leading management journals have historically published fewer contributions from scholars in the Global South than from those in North America and Europe.
He said this gap was partly linked to researchers’ perceptions of their chances of being published in internationally recognized journals.
Some scholars may decide not to submit their work because they believe it will not be accepted, which limits their opportunities before the review process even begins.
“If you don’t submit your paper to our journal, it will never be considered,” Coraiola told MWN.
He explained that the Academy of Management and its journals were working to encourage more researchers from underrepresented regions to submit their work and participate in the academic community.
However, he added that access to publishing opportunities also depends on understanding what journals expect from authors.
Editorial priorities can change as editors take on new roles, while research papers may take two or three years to appear in print. This can make it difficult for researchers to keep up with changing expectations, particularly if they have limited contact with journal editors.
Coraiola said workshops and international partnerships could help address this gap by giving researchers more opportunities to learn about publishing standards and build relationships with academics around the world.
He also encouraged researchers to become involved in journals as reviewers, explaining that this can help them understand editorial processes and potentially lead to positions on editorial boards.
Such involvement, he said, can give researchers a better understanding of the discussions and expectations shaping a journal.
Making African research stand out
Anastacia Mamabolo, professor at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science, told MWN that researchers need to do more than simply explain that their work examines a subject that has not previously been studied in their country.
Instead, they should show how the context in which their research takes place can contribute to wider academic knowledge. “It’s important to think about the uniqueness of the context and how it contributes to knowledge and building future insights,” Mamabolo said.
She added that researchers sometimes fail to explain what their countries and regions can teach the wider academic community. This can weaken submissions, even when the research addresses important questions.
For African researchers, local histories, cultures and social conditions can offer valuable perspectives on management and organizational practices. The challenge is to explain why these perspectives matter beyond the immediate setting of a study.
Mamabolo also emphasized the importance of collecting high-quality data and using robust research methods, noting that competition for publication in leading journals is intense.
She encouraged doctoral students and early-career researchers to create groups where they can discuss ideas, develop research questions, and receive feedback before launching projects. Seeking advice from mentors and other experienced researchers can also help strengthen a study from the beginning.
Mamabolo acknowledged that publishing in leading journals can be particularly difficult for academics at under-resourced universities, where teaching and other responsibilities leave limited time for research.
She advised researchers to plan their publication strategies carefully, balancing ambitious projects that may take several years with smaller studies that can be completed and published sooner.
Publishing in a leading journal, she said, requires a long-term commitment rather than an expectation of immediate results.
Expanding access to academic knowledge
Beyond the challenges researchers face when submitting papers, speakers also discussed the importance of making published research available to readers outside academic institutions.
Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah, a professor at HEC Montréal and BI Norwegian Business School, highlighted the role of open-access publishing in expanding access to research. Adarkwah is an associate editor of Academy of Management Organizations and the Environment, a new journal that will publish its papers through an open-access model.
Under this model, readers can access published research without paying subscription fees, making it easier for students, researchers, policymakers and business leaders to use academic findings.
“What’s the value of knowledge if it’s not used and implemented by others?” Adarkwah said.
He explained that the journal aims to make high-quality management research available to a wider audience, allowing its findings to reach people who can apply them in different professional and social contexts.
Open access can therefore help reduce barriers to academic knowledge, particularly for readers whose institutions cannot afford subscriptions to expensive journals. The approach also reflects a broader effort to connect academic research with practical needs beyond universities.
Building a more inclusive academic community
Elizabeth Rose, co-editor of Academy of Management Collections, said the Community Accelerator Program was an important step toward making the Academy of Management more accessible to researchers around the world.
Rose said the organization had traditionally focused heavily on North America and Western Europe, despite the wealth of research opportunities in other regions.
She said bringing academic workshops to places such as Morocco and strengthening engagement with researchers in Africa and India could help broaden participation.
The size and international reach of the Academy of Management can make it “intimidating” for researchers who are unfamiliar with its networks and activities, Rose added.
The CAP initiative seeks to make the organization more accessible and encourage researchers from different backgrounds to consider it their academic home.
Greater participation would benefit researchers and students in emerging academic communities while also bringing new perspectives and research contexts to the organization.
For Morocco, the workshop offered an opportunity to connect local researchers with international scholars and learn more about the expectations of leading management journals.
The discussions also highlighted that improving representation requires action on several fronts, including encouraging more submissions from the Global South, helping researchers strengthen their work, expanding access to editorial networks, and making published findings available to wider audiences.
Together, these efforts could help researchers from Africa and other underrepresented regions contribute more fully to international academic debates.
