Reimagining Research Through Diaspora Perspectives

• Scholars known as diaspora theoretical contributors work at institutions in the Global North but maintain deep intellectual and cultural ties with their home countries in the Global South.
• The work of diaspora scholars is often undervalued in academia, even though their research bridges different cultural systems, generates new theoretical insights, and challenges dominant paradigms. 
• Business schools that support and recognize the rich, cross-cultural work of diaspora scholars will foster more meaningful, wide-reaching, and globally relevant thought leadership.

 
As business schools continue to evolve, AACSB’s call to reimagine research beyond traditional journal publications is both timely and necessary. Our global challenges—such as social inequality, climate crisis, and economic exclusion—demand knowledge that is not only rigorous but also responsive, inclusive, and impactful.

This reflection comes from a very personal place.

I’m originally from Nigeria, and I now am based in the United Kingdom. My doctoral research focused on bank advertising in the U.K., but my current academic work continues to draw me back to Nigeria. Directing my scholarship toward my home country stems not from nostalgia, but from the fact that I believe in the transformative power of cross-border, context-aware scholarship.

This is where I see myself not just as a researcher, but as a diaspora theoretical contributor (DTC).

Who Are Diaspora Theoretical Contributors?

As I explain in my research, DTCs are scholars from the Global South who, despite being based in the Global North, maintain deep intellectual, cultural, and academic ties with their countries of origin. These scholars have several attributes in common:

• They are positioned between multiple knowledge systems.
• They can generate new theoretical insights grounded in underrepresented realities.
• They are motivated by the need to address epistemological injustices in academia.

Given these attributes, their research often engages with questions that are locally resonant but globally relevant. Their work also challenges dominant paradigms and brings fresh lenses to entrenched issues in business and management. 

AACSB’s standards now emphasize societal impact, global engagement, and inclusive excellence. In this light, DTCs provide:

• Epistemic diversity. They bring theories and frameworks rooted in lived experience from outside traditional Western contexts.
• Contextual intelligence. They understand the socioeconomic, political, and cultural intricacies of multiple regions.
• Bridges of impact. They often translate research into tools, practices, or advocacy that benefit both home and host societies.

Yet many business schools have not fully recognized or leveraged this capacity. 

Reimagining Research With Purpose

One of the biggest opportunities for business schools is to move beyond the journal paper as the sole measure of meaningful research. While peer-reviewed outputs remain essential, they are no longer sufficient in the complex, interdependent world we now live in.

As a DTC, I’ve embraced multiple forms of research dissemination and engagement. These include:

Community-centered research. My work on transport inclusion for people with disabilities in Nigeria draws from ethnographic and participatory methods. This research doesn’t just sit on library shelves. Instead, practitioners are applying my findings in the field. So far, my research has been been applied in several real-world settings. For example, my findings have been used to develop a mobile app to map inaccessible transport zones and to engage grassroots communities through storytelling and WhatsApp groups. My research also has provided evidence for NGO advocacy and policymaker dialogue.

I deliberately publish, speak, and collaborate in ways that center African voices and knowledge within global conversations.

Social enterprise and innovation. Through the Transformative Transport Service Design Initiative, I am working with communities to convert research insights into locally driven social enterprise models. These models include Dial-a-Ride services for disabled commuters and volunteer driver programs supported by corporate funding.

Narrative disruption and global dialogue. I deliberately publish, speak, and collaborate in ways that center African voices and knowledge within global conversations. My goal isn’t just inclusion—it’s intellectual elevation of overlooked contexts.

The Challenges We Must Confront

Despite these possibilities, diaspora scholars often face structural and cultural barriers in academia that limit their impact on theory and practice. Three barriers are the most insidious:

Location bias. This bias negatively impacts how—and whether—research is recognized as valid and relevant. For example, work that focuses on developing countries—especially if it’s not framed within Western theoretical models—is often considered “applied,” “niche,” or “nongeneralizable,” while work on similar topics in Western contexts is presented as having broader significance. Yet the irony is clear: The very schools that claim to seek global relevance may discount research unless it fits within Euro-American norms.

Narrowly focused evaluation systems. Traditional performance metrics still prioritize journal rankings over social reach or practical influence. As a result, these metrics regularly undervalue contextual work. Research that involves community collaboration, policy relevance, or grassroots engagement may be seen as less valuable.

Tokenism. Hiring initiatives often focus on increasing representation of different demographic groups, but not necessarily on recognizing intellectual contributions that come from different knowledge traditions. In other words, diaspora scholars may be valued for who they are, but not for what they bring.

What Can Business Schools Do?

If business schools are serious about responding to AACSB’s call for meaningful thought leadership, they must rethink how they support, evaluate, and reward diverse forms of scholarship. Here’s how they can start pursuing this goal in their research cultures:

Acknowledge diaspora perspectives as theoretical assets. Diaspora scholars should be seen not as bridges to diversity, but as architects of new knowledge. Business schools should actively support the efforts of DTCs to develop alternative theories, design more culturally inclusive curricula, and redefine global relevance.

Broaden metrics of research excellence. Encourage research outputs such as community toolkits, policy briefs, content on digital platforms, social enterprise models, and public education campaigns. These are outputs that matter, especially when schools are tackling global societal challenges.

DTC scholarship often lives at the intersection of complementary opposites: local relevance and global importance, institutional critique and social innovation, theoretical exploration and community transformation.

Create incentives for engagement in the Global South. Offer dedicated funding, research sabbaticals, or fellowships that enable diaspora scholars to reconnect with their regions of origin. These opportunities should encourage DTCs not only to collect data, but to co-create knowledge and nurture future scholars.

Support multilingual and cross-cultural scholarship. Language and cultural nuance often shape how knowledge is constructed and conveyed. Support for publishing in other languages or integrating Indigenous knowledge systems can expand our collective intellectual horizons.

Representation Is Not Enough

If we are to define quality in research not just by where it is published but by what it changes, then DTCs must be central to the conversation. Their scholarship often lives at the intersection of complementary opposites: local relevance and global importance, institutional critique and social innovation, theoretical exploration and community transformation.

This is the kind of research that meets the moment—complex, contextual, and connected.

As a Nigerian scholar working in a U.K. institution, I often ask myself, “Whose knowledge are we advancing? Whose questions are we asking? Whose realities are we centering?” In the end, true thought leadership isn’t just about ensuring that a wide range of scholars have a seat at the table—it’s about reshaping the table itself.

Here are three discussion questions that I urge leaders and educators at AACSB-member schools to explore:

1. How is your business school incentivizing diaspora faculty to conduct meaningful, globally engaged research?
2. Are your research evaluation systems flexible enough to recognize impact beyond journal rankings?
3. How can your school reimagine its research culture to support alternative ways of knowing and theorizing?

Let us use this moment to move beyond representation toward recognition, and from journal impact to real-world transformation. Let’s start conversations about developing new standards for the nature and focus of thought leadership.

In doing so, we will open up the possibilities for what research in business education can truly become.