Characteristics of Indian business leaders: The case of G.D. Birla

Abstract

The cultural and socio-economic context in which Indian Business leaders operate is very different from the comparable context in west. As a result the characteristics of Indian business leaders and their leadership styles also are different. This work attempts to understand the strand of Indian business leadership by analyzing the biography of a prominent Indian business leader, G. D. Birla, who represented the business community in India for several years. The method of analysis employed is biographical analysis. Through this analysis I have attempted to identify the characteristics exhibited by G D Birla as a leader, his evolution as a leader and reasons for his fall as a leader. As the evidence suggests that cultural context in which a leader evolves has a big role in shaping up the leader’s personality and leadership process, this work further delves into Birla’s life and his cultural lineage to understand the context in which this leader evolved.