Research on business in Africa often overlooks the unique institutional and socio-political complexities of its constituent nations. Libya presents a critical case due to its protracted post-conflict environment, oil-dependent economy, and underdeveloped private sector, creating a distinct but poorly understood landscape for scholarly inquiry. This perspective piece aims to develop a novel diagnostic framework to critically evaluate and guide future business research in Libya, identifying systemic gaps and proposing a structured agenda to enhance the field's rigour and relevance. The analysis synthesises a critical review of extant literature, grey literature, and institutional reports, applying a structured contextual analysis to map the evolution, themes, and methodological approaches of business studies conducted within the specified period. A dominant theme, constituting an estimated 60% of identified studies, is the macroeconomic impact of hydrocarbon volatility, while critical areas like SME finance, corporate governance, and consumer behaviour remain severely under-researched. The framework reveals a persistent disconnect between theoretical models and on-the-ground institutional realities. Business research in Libya has been fragmented and overly narrow, limiting its utility for policymakers and practitioners. The proposed diagnostic framework offers a necessary tool for structuring inquiry and generating contextually embedded knowledge. Future research must adopt multi-method designs that account for informal institutions and regional disparities. Capacity-building partnerships between local universities and international scholars are essential to develop longitudinal datasets and case studies. diagnostic framework, business research, post-conflict economy, institutional context, research methodology, North Africa This paper provides the first structured diagnostic framework specifically designed to evaluate and catalyse business research in Libya, demonstrating its application by mapping the field's thematic imbalances and methodological shortcomings.