Rethinking African business elites as change agents

Literature on elites and economic development suggests that business elites play an increasingly important role as agents of change. However, this literature is concerned predominantly with the harmful effects of elite power and generally considers business elites as a homogenous group. We provide an alternative understanding of business elites as pro-social change agents by exploring how a growing fraction of elites are attempting to directly stimulate economic development. Focusing on the African context in particular, we present a typology of business elites as change agents by distinguishing between the level of change they engage in (systemic vs. small-scale) and the extent to which they utilise their own business ventures to drive change (integrated vs. separated). Depending on these two dimensions, we suggest a conceptual framework that identifies four change agent types: Visionaries, Philanthropists, Corporates, and Change Leaders. We provide several propositions in terms of how African business elites may potentially evolve into Change Leaders, and discuss implications for organisational change management. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Franca Ovadje and Samuel Aryee.