Do Indian management practices drive global research agenda?

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to analyze how Indian management practices have influenced the international management research agenda. International interest in India as a business destination has been growing since the Indian policy-makers began opening up the economy in 1991. India’s continuing economic development and integration with global economy has led to a reassessment of its political, social and commercial relevance by the international community. Design/methodology/approach – The authors choose four management disciplines and examine 40 peer-reviewed international journals for research related to India over the period 1991-2014. From the sample of 217 papers, the authors identify the trends, themes and motivations, and discuss the potential for future research. Findings – The authors find that research on India remains flat for the 1991-2000 decade, and starts growing from 2005 onwards. Organizational behavior remains non-participative in the overall growth of research. The authors find very low levels of qualitative research, and none on endogenous phenomena that have been tested for applicability in non-Indian contexts. Marketing research remains mainly peripheral to Indian contexts. Review of highly cited papers reveals that management research on India is at an early stage, and offers fairly significant opportunities for future researchers. Research limitations/implications – Normal limitations of sample-based literature review apply. Further, the literature search is limited to a select set of highly ranked journals. Originality/value – Studies analyzing themes related to Indian contexts in international publications are sparse. To the best of authors’ knowledge, no study of this nature exists in literature. This study makes a primary contribution for future management researchers across the four areas by informing on the research trends, journal outlets, and the characteristics of the research agenda.