Description:
This paper reports the findings stemming from a review of 97 articles published
in the Business Management Review (BMR), a journal hosted by the University
of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) of the University of Dar es Salaam
(UDSM), Tanzania. The overall aim of the review is to present the status of the
published papers and their research implications in the context of emerging
economies. The papers were classified and analysed according to research
discipline, research settings, theoretical approach, nature of research,
methodological approach, research methods, research location, residency
(institutional affiliation), and number of authors. As part of corroborative
evidence, semi-structured interviews with the chief editors, members of the
editorial board, the journal administrator, and selected authors were conducted.
The findings show that papers from three disciplines—economics finance, and
entrepreneurship have higher representation in the journal than other
disciplines. Also, a sizeable number of the papers reviewed focus on Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, very few papers extensively discuss
theoretical issues underpinning a study under consideration. The review further
shows that most of the reviewed papers are quantitative in nature and used
questionnaires as the main data collection method. On the basis of these
findings, the paper suggests embracing and fostering paradigmatic research in
the context of emerging economies, using a broad set of theories, methodologies,
methods, and research topics. In terms of resource dependency theory, the
findings partly suggest that research and its dissemination in the emerging
economies is dependent upon the influence of international research funding
agencies. Thus, to enhance paradigmatic research in the emerging economies it
is equally important for local institutions to spearhead research initiatives.