Dr William Kofi Darbi

Department

Business Management

William Phanuel Kofi Darbi is an academic with expertise in Strategic Management and Organization theory and cognate areas. He has over 15 years of experience in academia. He has a PhD in Management with specialization in Strategic Management from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He is a Strategy Research Foundation Dissertation Scholar. He also holds an MSc in International Strategic Management from Staffordshire University, UK. Before enrolling for his Master’s degree, he obtained a BSc in Natural Resources Management from KNUST and a Diploma in Electronic Commerce from the Brighton and Hove College, UK. As a believer in active learning, Dr. Darbi supports an interactive classroom place. He actively invite students to bring their own work, life and personal experiences to bear on discussions beyond the textbook. Consequently, he uses a wide of approaches, methodologies, and material such as case studies, relevant and current news items/affairs and short social media videos to cover the course content. This strategy further helps him revise course material by incorporating relevant examples and cases that students can readily relate to. He has published empirical, review, theoretical, and research methods papers in these areas in peer-reviewed academic journals including International Journal of Management Reviews, European Management Journal, Current Issues in Tourism, Africa Journal of Management, Journal of Strategy and Management, Business Strategy and Development and Sage Research Methods Cases.

PhD Management
MSc International Strategic Management
BSc Natural Resources Management

Strategic Management
Business Environment
Organisation theory

Practical and context-specific application of strategic management tools, theories and concepts
Strategy as practice
Strategising and organising in the informal economy/sector
Organisation theory
Managing across cultures

2014 Strategy Research Foundation Dissertation Scholar (awarded by the reputable Strategic Management Society)
2014 Highly Commended Paper Award by Emerald Group Publishing

BUS 720A: Strategic Management
BUS 713B: Business Environment
BUS 732B: Strategic Management & Governance
MGT 702B: Organisation theory
DGMT 902: Philosophy of Social Science Research
BUS 403B: Leadership and Corporate Governance
BUS 404B: Strategic Management & Business Policy

Peer reviewed journal articles

Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2023). Small business coopetition strategy as a naturalised practice in a cluster of informal businesses, International Small Business Journal, 41(1), 88-114. DOI: 10.1177/02662426221079728.
Darbi, W.P.K. and Agyei, C. (2022). Towards a Bourdieusian perspective on the tribe and organisations. Journal of African Business, 1-20, DOI: 10.1080/15228916.2022.2131031.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2021). The positive development role of informal economic activity: the case of informal printing firms in Ghana, Business Strategy and Development, 4(4), 449-464. DOI: 10.1002/bsd2.170.
Adobor, H., Darbi, W.P.K. and Damuah B.O. (2021). Strategy in the era of swans: strategic leadership and transformation under uncertainty, Journal of Strategy and Management. DOI 10.1108/JSMA-09-2020-0242.
Darbi, W.P.K. and Coffie, S. (2021): Using social practice approaches for strategic management research in Africa: an example, design considerations and potential contributions. Africa Journal of Management, 7(2), 240-262, DOI: 10.1080/23322373.2021.1902212.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2019). An organisational ethnography of strategic networking practice in an under-researched and potentially difficult to access setting: The roles of the researcher, the researched and context. SAGE Research Methods Cases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526466266.
Darbi, W.P.K, Hall, C.M and Knott, P. (2018). The informal sector: A review and agenda for management research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(2), 301–324. DOI: 10.1111/ijmr.12131
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2016). Strategising practices in an informal economy setting: A case of strategic networking. European Management Journal, 34 (4), pp. 400-413.
Darbi, W.P.K. and Hall, C.M (2014). Elite interviews: Critical practice and tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(9), pp. 832-848.
Atsu, F., Adjei, C. Darbi, W.P. and Adjei-Mensah, S. (2014). The impact of telecom revenue on economic growth: Evidence from Ghana. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 5(2), pp. 195-208.
Darbi, W.P.K., Agyei, C., Atsu, F. and Adjei-Mensah, S. (2013). The incidence of dysfunctional internet usage in Ghana: An exploratory study. European Journal of Business and Management, 5(2), pp. 223-236.
Darbi, W.P.K. (2012). How do high-performing organisations define their mission in Ghana? African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 3(2), pp. 184-204.
Darbi, W.P.K. (2012). The strategic human resource management discourse: A strategic management perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Business and Management, 3(2), pp. 22-34.
Darbi, W.P.K. (2012). Of mission and vision statements and their potential impact on employee behaviour and attitudes: The case of a public tertiary but profit-oriented institution. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(14), pp. 95-109.
Darbi, W. P.K. (2010). The concept of strategic product/service groups in competitor analysis: A reconceptualisation of the strategic group theory. GIMPA Journal of Leadership, Management and Administration, 6(2), pp.148-166.

Peer reviewed conference papers

Darbi, W.P.K. and Knott, P. (2014). A practice perspective on strategic networking in the informal economy: A case study. Paper presented at the INBAM Conference, Barcelona, Spain, June 23-27.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2015) Strategising practices in an informal economy setting: A case of strategic networking. Paper presented at the 2015 Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference, Denver, USA, October 3-6.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2016). Small business coopetition practices: Insights from an informal business field. Paper presented at the 2016 Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 17-20.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2017). The institutionalization of materiality of strategizing in a field of practice. Paper presented at the 2017 Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference, Houston, USA, October 29-31.
Darbi, W.P.K and Knott, P. (2018). Informal economic activities, regulatory institutions, and socio-economic outcomes: A case of an informal printing hub. Paper presented at the 2018 Strategic Management Society Annual International Conference, Paris, France, September 20-25.

Email: wdarbi@gimpa.edu.gh