Involving Dharma in Leadership: An Empirical Multi-Case Study of Udyoga Parva Principles Across Contemporary Music Institutions and Business Organizations

Abstract

Sustainable leadership models are prompting scholars to revisit traditional knowledge systems that incorporate ethics, strategic thinking, and human values in organizational decisions. The Mahabharata, one of India’s classical texts, offers a thorough understanding of leadership as it deals with governance, conflict, negotiations, responsibilities, and duties. Although Bhagavad Gita has already received a lot of scholarly attention in management literature, Udyoga Parva which covers the preparatory stage preceding the Kurukshetra war still remains less explored although it provides a lot of valuable insights into strategic and organizational issues.

This paper is focused on examining the value of leadership and management practices derived from Udyoga Parva in modern organizations. The researchers used qualitative multi-case study with textual analysis of Mahabharata and empirical methods including interviews, observations, and analysis of organizational cases. As a result, eight organizations of different field (education, culture, manufacturing, healthcare, and corporative) were investigated to sfind manifestations of ethical leadership, strategic preparedness, teamwork, conflict management, and organizational responsibility in contemporary life.

The results of the thematic analysis evidence that the organizations which possess higher levels of engagement in ethical governance, consultative leadership, organized planning, defined roles, and social responsibility can demonstrate a higher level of organizational stability and sustainability in the long run. On the contrary, the organizations that show fragmented leadership, weak alignment strategy, and poor resource planning have the organizational patterns resembling less successful decisions made by leaders in Udyoga Parva. The cross-case comparison affirmed that the ancient principles of management are still relevant when considered in contemporary organizations rather than just religious/philosophical concepts.

The contribution of the research to the indigenous management literature is that the relevance of the Udyoga Parva has been verified empirically in different organizational cases. The study suggests that to become sustainable, organizations should consider the combination between ethical responsibility and strategic planning in their leadership practices.