South Asian Journal of Management

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An Assessment of the Impact of Karma Yoga on Performance in Teams


Affiliations
1 Standard Chartered Bank India, and Doctoral Research Scholar, School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), #701, Sunrise CHS, Plot 247, Waterfield Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400063, India
2 Operations and Decision Sciences Area, School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), V. L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400056, India
3 School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), V. L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400056, India
     

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Karma Yoga (KY) is an important Indian philosophical concept that teaches the technique of working selflessly for a higher purpose without the desire for personal reward. The message of karma yoga is very relevant for today’s working professionals. However, there are limited empirical studies demonstrating benefits of belief in karma yoga at the workplace for individuals and teams. The present study addresses this gap by using behavioral games to measure the effect of belief in karma yoga on individuals and teams in a controlled environment. A sample size of 167 respondents was used that included undergraduate and postgraduate students, working and retired professionals and home-makers. The study uses a variant of the multiplayer public goods game and concludes that a higher belief in karma yoga is positively correlated with stronger individual performance in a group. A belief in karma yoga could help drive individual performance in teams and lower instances of employee corruption. The study adds to the scanty literature on the applicability of Indian philosophical concepts in business.

Keywords

Experimental game, Indian philosophy, Karma Yoga, Performance theory, Public Good.
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  • An Assessment of the Impact of Karma Yoga on Performance in Teams

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Authors

Aditya Bali
Standard Chartered Bank India, and Doctoral Research Scholar, School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), #701, Sunrise CHS, Plot 247, Waterfield Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400063, India
Tohid Kachwala
Operations and Decision Sciences Area, School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), V. L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400056, India
Sreeram Sivaramakrishnan
School of Business Management, SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), (Deemed-to-be-University), V. L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400056, India

Abstract


Karma Yoga (KY) is an important Indian philosophical concept that teaches the technique of working selflessly for a higher purpose without the desire for personal reward. The message of karma yoga is very relevant for today’s working professionals. However, there are limited empirical studies demonstrating benefits of belief in karma yoga at the workplace for individuals and teams. The present study addresses this gap by using behavioral games to measure the effect of belief in karma yoga on individuals and teams in a controlled environment. A sample size of 167 respondents was used that included undergraduate and postgraduate students, working and retired professionals and home-makers. The study uses a variant of the multiplayer public goods game and concludes that a higher belief in karma yoga is positively correlated with stronger individual performance in a group. A belief in karma yoga could help drive individual performance in teams and lower instances of employee corruption. The study adds to the scanty literature on the applicability of Indian philosophical concepts in business.

Keywords


Experimental game, Indian philosophy, Karma Yoga, Performance theory, Public Good.

References