The operational excellence research landscape in Africa: a scoping review

Purpose This paper aims to be a catalyst for operational excellence (OpEx) implementation and research on the African continent by reviewing the proliferation of ten integrated OpEx approaches. The analysis and review of the literature can aid both researchers and practitioners in identifying research and implementation gaps as well as studies complementary to their fields of interest. Design/methodology/approach A systematic eight-step process was followed to screen 353 publications on OpEx in Africa, of which 101 Scopus and Web of Science cataloged articles were descriptively analyzed. The PRISMA-SCR checklist was used to ensure rigor in the presentation of the scoping review. Findings Total quality management (20.8%), business process reengineering (12.9%) and Lean Six Sigma (12.9%) were the most prevalent approaches in the literature sample, and Six Sigma and total productive maintenance were the least prevalent. The sample consisted mostly of case studies, but in 15 different host industries, with manufacturing making up 35.6% of the sample. South Africa was the most active country in OpEx research, contributing 54.5% of the sample, and along with Nigeria (15.8%), Ghana (5.9%), Zimbabwe and Ethiopia (4.0% each) made up 84.2% of the sample. More than two-thirds (68.4%) of the 57 African countries had no detectable presence in the literature sample. Originality/value No scoping reviews on OpEx in Africa were identified among the initial literature search results of 1,100 articles, meaning that an overview of OpEx research in Africa is either non-existent or rare, and that this scoping review presents a unique and/or rare synthesis on OpEx in Africa.