Author(ing) from post-colonial context: challenges and jugaad fixes

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the challenges authors from post-colonial contexts face in writing and doing research in management and organisation studies. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a self-reflection and also draws upon concepts from post and decolonial conceptual approaches. Findings It identifies three challenges namely, limitations or research question as what is feasible; translation and truth production; poor writing and weak theoretical contribution. It suggests three jugaad fixes to deal with these challenges namely, innovation and flexibility in method use with argumentation; translate, but late with theorising in the vernacular, and incorporating context into problematisation. Research limitations/implications It draws attention to the different needs of authors from post-colonial contexts. Practical implications It could possibly help authors from post-colonial contexts and reviewers better navigate academic publishing and research. Social implications It could help in authors from post-colonial contexts attempt more publishing. Originality/value This paper draws attention to the different constraints and limitations faced by authors from post-colonial contexts in pursuing academic writing.

Decolonizing Arab organizational Knowledge: “Fahlawa” as a Research Practice

“…While Fahlawa could echo other traditions of "border thinking" initiated by different decolonial research traditions (Faria, 2013;Jammulamadaka, 2020), it differs in its core dimension of survival inherent to the ongoing colonial context prevailing in Arab countries. In contrast with what Colombian intellectual Manuel Zapata Olivella (1989) once affirmed, "The chains are not on our feet, but on our minds."…”

“…When I explain, for example, the role of wasta (intermediary) in the Egyptian context and how this metaphor was used to give meaning and reappropriate reforms imposed by the World Bank, I was not only asked to prove my analysis by detailing the methodologies used but also frequently asked to confront my interpretations through the reviewing process as to what the academic gatekeepers already know about the region, regardless of its relevance. It was then difficult to cope with the temptation of homogenizing differences with conventional understandings of what constitutes "proper" theory, where it is precisely such differences that can provide the resources for critical reflection and decolonial knowledge (Al-Hardan, 2014;Jammulamadaka, 2020;Khan and Koshul, 2011).…”

“…However, as rightly pointed out by Faria (2013, p.283), "there is a virtual absence of accounts on the deployment of such methods in general and, in particular, on how individual border thinkers manage to change social relations across the colonial difference." The main challenge is to imagine how subaltern groups and scholars can have a stake in the knowledge they produce (Al-Hardan, 2014; Barros and Wanderley, 2020;Jammulamadaka, 2020;Murphy and Zhu, 2012).…”

“…"What it is for and whose end does it serve? "(Jackson, 2013: 27;Jammulamadaka, 2020; ÖzkazançPan, 2008), my experience forces me to add another question: "How should knowledge production/sharing be done, given all the power structures I have to deal with? "…”

Decolonising management and organisational knowledge (MOK): Praxistical theorising for potential worlds

“…Recent publishing and research in MOK conferences and journals seemed to indicate that decolonial was emerging as a strong area. Roughly 80% of decolonial MOS and 50% of postcolonial MOS was written between 2014 and 2019 (Jammulamadaka, 2020). It seemed like a right time for an SI.…”