The persistent gap between academic business research and public policy formulation in African contexts is well-documented, yet frameworks for effective knowledge translation remain underdeveloped. This is particularly salient for small island developing states, where economic resilience is a critical policy concern. This study aimed to develop a contextualised framework for translating business research into policy within a Lusophone African setting. It sought to identify the key actors, mechanisms, and barriers influencing this process. A qualitative, multi-case study design was employed. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior researchers, policymakers, and intermediary stakeholders. Documentary analysis of policy texts and research outputs supplemented the interview data, which were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Analysis identified a dominant theme of 'relational brokerage', where trusted individuals, not formal institutions, were the primary conduits for research uptake. A significant barrier was a perceived misalignment in temporal horizons; approximately 70% of researcher participants cited policymakers' demand for immediate solutions as incompatible with rigorous academic inquiry. The research-policy nexus is fundamentally a social system reliant on interpersonal trust and negotiated timelines, rather than a linear pipeline for evidence. Effective translation requires navigating these social and temporal dimensions. We recommend that research institutions establish dedicated knowledge broker roles and that funding calls mandate the co-creation of research questions with policy partners from the outset. Policymakers should formalise advisory channels that accommodate longer-term strategic evidence. knowledge translation, research utilisation, policy impact, business research, small island states, qualitative case study This paper provides a novel, empirically-grounded framework that delineates the social and temporal mechanisms of knowledge translation, moving beyond normative models to offer practical guidance for researchers and policymakers in comparable economies.
Andrade et al. (2021) studied this question.