Prerpints.org logo
Preprint
Article

This version is not peer-reviewed.

Yoga and Mindfulness: Enhancing Executive Skills in Transitional Economies

Submitted:

29 August 2024

Posted:

30 August 2024

You are already at the latest version

Abstract
This study explores the potential of yoga in developing crucial executive competencies within the context of transitional economies in Eastern Europe. As public sector enterprises face increasing competition, both domestically and internationally, there is a growing need for executives to acquire new skills. Through the lens of mindfulness, this research investigates the impact of yoga on the helping behavior and cultural intelligence of business leaders in a transitional economy. The findings reveal that yoga practices significantly enhanced participants' helping behavior and cultural intelligence. The study demonstrates that approximately two-thirds of the impact on helping behavior can be attributed to increased mindfulness, with the remaining one-third stemming directly from yoga practice. In terms of cultural intelligence, the results indicate that 88% of the improvement is due to heightened mindfulness, while 12% is directly attributable to yoga practices.
Keywords: 
Transitional economies
;  
Executive development
;  
Mindfulness-based interventions
;  
Cross-cultural competence
;  
Prosocial behavior
Subject: 
Social Sciences  -   Psychology

Introduction

Transition economies represent a subset of emerging market economies that are moving from centrally planned systems to market-based economies. This shift involves wide-ranging structural changes, including the removal of trade barriers, price liberalization, and economic reforms to promote macroeconomic stability and private capital flows. A key aspect of the transition process is the transformation of existing institutions and the creation of new ones, particularly independent financial entities. The role of the state undergoes a dramatic shift, transitioning from that of a provider to an enabler through functional reorganization of state institutions.
Countries that have completed this economic transition include Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Current transition economies encompass nations like Botswana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. In these evolving economies, the mechanisms for adjusting supply and demand are shifting from national-level planning to free market transactions. Income distribution is also changing, moving away from contributions to the workforce and towards profits and wages.
As formerly planned economies have undertaken this fundamental transition since the 1980s, understanding the behavior of public enterprise executives in these countries has become increasingly important. These nations provide fertile ground for researchers in organizational behavior and human resource management to test existing theories and develop new ones. Many managers of state-owned enterprises in these countries were originally selected based on political loyalty rather than market expertise. Consequently, they often lack the knowledge, skills and experience needed to operate effectively in a market environment. Studies indicate that firms in transition economies that offer executive training programs are more likely to drive innovation compared to those that do not.
With assistance from Western nations, massive training initiatives are underway in transitioning economies to upgrade the managerial capabilities of executives. However, much of this Western management expertise may not translate directly into immediate improvements, given the different context in which it was developed The skills required for business executives in centrally planned versus free market economies differ significantly. In socialist systems with controlled prices and chronic shortages, customers were often treated as supplicants. Now, public enterprise executives must build customer trust and loyalty while offering personalized service. Additionally, as formerly closed economies open up, executives must now navigate the complexities of cross-cultural business interactions. This research examines whether the ancient practice of yoga can support the development of helping behavior and cultural intelligence among mid-level business executives in a transitional economy. These competencies are crucial for success in the new market-oriented environment these leaders face.
Helping behaviour is not a generalized love for humankind. It is not just a feeling but involves action. An example of helping behaviour that would not be considered PSB is a manager who goes extra lengths to help a customer, because in this behaviour the act is motivated by professional obligations. The term Altruism is reserved for cases where the helper tries to improve the welfare of another person as an end in itself. While altruism is entirely selfless, prosocial behaviour and helping behaviour is often based on a mixture of selfless and selfish motivations. The aim of prosocial behaviour and helping behaviour could be reducing one’s own distress when witnessing another person’s condition or it could be to receive social approval. While altruism usually involves self-sacrifice, prosocial behaviour and helping behaviour include win-win situations also. Thus, cultivation of helping behaviour will be of benefit to the society as also the employer even if the motivation of the business executive is not purely selfless.
Helping behaviour overlaps with organisational citizenship behaviour but the two concepts are significantly different in terms of temporal focus, beneficiaries and motivation. Organisational citizenship behaviour mainly aims at going the extra mile and doing something good for fellow workers and the organisation. Helping behaviour can lead to doing something good for society not only at the expense of one’s free time but also breaking work-related rules.

CQ and Yoga

Intelligence is what separates humans from animals and higher levels of intelligence is required for success in various aspects of life including business. Scholars have been trying to classify people into intelligence groups by examining their behaviour in everyday life for ages. In 1850’s an English polymath Herbert Spencer tried to create a theory of intelligence but did not get very far. Sir Francis Galton, another English polymath, was the first to attempt to develop a standardised test for assessing a person's IQ, but he abandoned the project in the mid-1880s. Much later the Binet-Simon test released in 1905 by French psychologists Alfred Binet, Victor Henri, and Théodore Simon received wide recognition. The psychologist William Stern coined the abbreviation IQ for the German term Intelligenzquotient, which he used to describe a scoring technique for intelligence tests.
Over a century a number of meta-analytic evaluations have proved that general intelligence tests are reliable indicators of work performance across a wide range of occupations. However, intelligence being complex, enigmatic and arguably even indescribable, the business scholars have always been sceptical with the idea of IQ measurement being conclusive when even laypersons would recognise that, intelligence is perhaps the most intricate function of the human mind.
For the past half century or so, advances in neuroscience seem to indicate that different parts of the brain relate to different types of intelligences. In his famous book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner divided intelligence into various modalities of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. The theory has been subject of criticism by mainstream psychologists due to reliance on subjective judgement and insufficient empirical evidence. Psychometric studies have consistently discovered high correlations between different elements of intelligence undermining Gardner’s theory over multiple intelligences. Gardner has been defending his theory through sequels to his book, rebuttals to criticisms in academic journals and video interviews. Gardner and other experts have been adding other types of intelligences and there is a continuing debate as to whether a particular type of intelligence actually exists.
Few years later in the best-selling social science book of all time, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ the author Daniel Goleman took a dim view of the entire psychometric tradition, as indicated by the book’s subtitle. The author argued that group of skills and abilities — those dealing with people and emotions – has been largely overlooked in mainstream psychology. Goleman emphasised the significance of recognising one's own emotional life, regulating one's feelings, understanding other people's emotions, working with others, and having empathy for others. Yet another key contribution of research on multiple intelligences was the identification of social intelligence, a notion that dates back to Edward Lee Thorndike's study, which defined it as the ability to comprehend people and act and behave wisely in relationships with them. Social intelligence (SQ) as a concept had sporadic development and turned out to be a late bloomer. Some authors define SQ as the capacity to get along with others, social knowledge, ease with others, empathy for others, and insight into others. The term SQ refers to a broad category of social interaction abilities. In essence, high SQ symbolises a person's ability to act, such as collaborating and problem-solving with others.
The concept of cultural intelligence (CQ) has evolved relatively recently with its roots in Gardner’s concept of interpersonal intelligence. It takes self-awareness and other-awareness further ahead referring to one's ability to adapt to new cultural environments depending on a variety of factors such as cognitive, motivational, and behavioural characteristics. Intending to expand understanding of intercultural interactions, P. Christopher Earley introduced CQ as an intellectual construct that represents adaption to various cultural situations. Along with Soon Ang, he refined it further in the book Cultural Intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures providing a conceptual framework for exploring the relationship between human intelligence and culture and organisational behaviour. Earley and Ang posit that the differing levels of CQ are responsible for different levels of success when people engage cross-culturally. During the same period David Thomas and Kerr Inkson worked on a complementary framework of (CQ) presented in their book Cultural Intelligence: People skills for global business. The authors prescribe a three-stage process for enhancing one’s CQ. The steps entail learning the important principles of cross-cultural interactions, such as what cultures are, how cultures differ, and how cultures influence behaviour; practising mindfulness and paying attention to cues in a reflective and creative manner; and developing a repertoire of behavioural skills that can be adapted to various situations.
CQ is not an adaptation of EQ or SQ. EQ research does not provide a comprehensive understanding of cross-cultural context or how the notion could be expanded to encompass it. The formulations of SQ are relatively void of cultural richness. SQ demonstrates an ability to assess and manage others presuming universality of content and processes. SQ takes a universalist stance without considering the ecological and social forces that impact thought process. While not all psychological processes are culture-bound, etic aspects of CQ reflect general cognitive abilities that can be used in a variety of situations. CQ refers to one’s competence for effective adaptation to new cultural settings and to deal with people with different cultural background.
Yoga is a discipline whose history extends back thousands of years. The practice originated in India and has been adapted in other countries in various ways. The ancient Indian book Gita was composed sometime in the second half of the first millennium BC and has been translated from Sanskrit to several languages. Of late yoga as explained by Gita has been a subject for western management scholars as well. Yoga has a wide range of meanings due to its use in a wide variety of contexts. Gita gives a number of definitions describing yoga as “evenness of mind” (Chapter 2; verse 48); “skill in action” (v 50); “renunciation of selfish purpose” (Chap 6; v 2); “harmony in all that we do” (v 16); and “unlinking of the link with pain” (v 23). Sometime between third century BC and third century AD, sage Patanjali complied the ‘Yoga Sutras’, the original textbook of classical yoga. This is a secular text that has become preeminent in teaching yoga.
Modern yoga, which bridges, the realms of Indian spirituality and European physical culture has been moulded in conformity with contemporary aspirations and inclinations that are the common heritage of a cosmopolitan culture. Of the eight limbs of yoga, three - physical postures, breathing practices and meditation - are popular in the West. It is generally accepted that the primary goal of yoga is to maintain physical fitness and to cultivate balance, calm, harmony and awareness. In 2014 in recognition of the worldwide appeal of yoga, the UN proclaimed 21 June as the International Day of Yoga. Many top businesspersons have attributed their business success to regular yogic practice. Most of these eminent businesspersons practise yoga seven days a week - Ariana Huffington of Huffington Post, Sergey Brin of Google, Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn, Ratan Tata of Tata Sons, Beyoncé of Parkwood Entertainment and William Clay Ford Jr. of Ford Motor Company to name a few. As a student backpacker, Steve Jobs learnt yoga in India and was influenced by a book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ that reformed his wayward life at the time. This was the only book that he had downloaded on his personal iPad 2. During the Covid-19 epidemic, research on yogic practices accelerated.
Scholars believe that health, peace and joy are not the main goals of yoga practice; the ultimate objective of yoga is to unleash dormant powers within the human body and mind, which leads to care for the well-being of others. In the West, yoga is most recognised for its postures. Several studies indicate practice of yoga leading to increase in Helping behaviour. In an experiment for studying the effects of a 10-week yoga course as an alternative for traditional school sports in in German secondary schools, Michael Jeitler and colleagues found increase in helping behaviour among those opting for yoga. The results of this quantitative analysis agree with qualitative studies.
This principle has influenced the texts that followed and is quoted in texts of 1000 BC to 500 BC as “loftiest thought”. This adage had an impact on other Asian cultures and has been called an illustration of "dynamics of boundarylessness of a Himalaya Sphere phenomenon, viz. Chinese culture with Indian input”. Yoga being an intrinsic part of Indian culture is inward looking only in the sense that it considers inwards as real as outwards.
Numerous empirical studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of yoga practices on a wide range of physical and mental health indices. The growing interest in yoga and its possible applications in health, psychology, and other fields is noteworthy as it symbolises a unique interaction between two branches of human knowledge: modern practical science and age-old contemplative practices. Yet, the research on the effect of yoga on intelligence is not even a trickle as compared to the flood of studies on therapeutic effects of yoga. Yogic practice is likely to have a positive effect on CQ because yoga’s “approach is from outward to the inwards depths and vice versa, all forming a continuity”; but the empirical evidence has been lacking as yet.

Mindfulness Mediation

Businesses operate by its executives making decisions, usually based on incomplete information and often rapidly. Decision making in business settings remains an important component in any executive training programme. Awareness of the feeling that drive one’s reaction can help prevent bad decision making. Historical roots of this awareness lie in the ancient Buddhist tradition called mindfulness. The concept was introduced to psychology and management literature by Ellen Langer. Western scholars, however, subtract mindfulness from its spiritual roots and consider it a cognitive process. As a result of its disassociation from any specific religious system, modern mindfulness practices are fundamentally appealing to a wide range of people in secular societies. Empirical research finds mindfulness related to environmental consciousness. Reviewing Yuval Noah Harari’s bestseller 21 Lessons for the twenty-first Century, Bill Gates states that an important message of the book is that “life in the 21st century demands mindfulness — getting to know ourselves better”. Research on mindfulness is gaining steam in Psychology and Management Science. This research examines whether yogic practice enhances mindfulness and examine whether mindfulness − a discriminating awareness of and heightened attention to present reality − mediates between yoga and helping behaviour and between yoga and CQ.
Yoga entails focus is on mind-body awareness, not on the alignment details of the physical posture. Another characteristic of yoga is its emphasis on observing rather than reacting. It is to be expected that practicing yoga will improve mindfulness − an enhanced attention to and receptive awareness of the present that includes acceptance and non-judgement. Several empirical studies have confirmed this hypothesis. In a study of 46 staff and students of two New York colleges it was found that yoga intervention is a viable method for increasing levels of mindfulness. Recently, similar results were found in studies on students in Germany.
Buddhist religious leaders like the Dalai Lama are convinced that mindfulness enhances helping behaviour. There are several mechanisms through which mindfulness might increase helping behaviour. Research has revealed that mindfulness leads to rise in sustained attention. In a social setting, greater attentional capacities could increase the probability of a person observing the needs of others and responding to them. Mindfulness is associated with higher level of awareness of bodily sensations, or what the psychologists call interoceptive awareness, i.e., identifying, accessing, understanding and responding appropriately to the patterns of internal signals. Neuroscientific research shows that a region of the brain, the insula, is impacted by interoceptive awareness. The insula processes others’ emotional experiences as well. It follows that the greater interoceptive awareness is likely to increase individuals’ awareness of the others’ needs and encourage appropriate response.
Mindfulness may improve an individual’s affective experience, that is, experience that will present its objects in a more positive and less negative ways. Moreover, mindfulness may improve affect regulation. When confronted with the suffering of others, a mindful person is less likely to turn away to avoid her own personal distress inhibiting helping behaviour. This change in affect may also result in increased helping behaviour. Mindfulness reduces biases of all types and this reduction could also induce helping behaviour. Buddhist scholars as also psychologists believe that mindfulness alters one’s view of self from a firm unit to a flexible non-attached entity. With lesser attachment to the self an individual is more likely to help others, including ‘outgroup others’.
Theorising in the field of mindfulness has moved ahead of empirical research. While it is not clear the exact mechanism or mechanisms through which mindfulness affects helping behaviour, there is little doubt that the effect of mindfulness on helping behaviour is positive. An examination of the effect of mindfulness on 313 participants in the US and found significant positive effect on helping behaviour. The authors conclude that when we decide to help others, present focused attention and nonjudgment “both sustain our intention and reap the richest emotional consequences”.
Over the last quarter of a century, mindfulness has been successfully applied to cross-cultural communication and international management. The way mindfulness works is by giving people the chance to explore a variety of behavioural choices based on information of how different cultures differ and how culture influences behaviour. Mindfulness is a universal practice “because awareness itself could be seen as the final common pathway of our humanity, across all cultures”. To be successful in cross-cultural encounters, one must exercise metacognitive approach of mindfulness − paying attention in a reflective manner while keeping track of one's own feelings, thoughts, and actions. It removes a rigid or fixed worldview, allowing one to make meaning of cultural contexts, events, and actions within their own frame of reference. Effective managers mindfully work through this sense-making process on a daily basis.
There are several possible mechanisms through which mindfulness could impact CQ. Empathy is a facet of mindfulness that processes others’ perspectives and positions. It is reasonable to assume that a critical relationship between empathy and CQ would exist. Another facet of mindfulness is open-mindedness. The personality trait of openness to experience is called ‘intellectance’. Individuals who are high on intellectance are likely to be more knowledgeable about other cultures. This ability would enable adjustment to new surroundings that require attention to signals and cues of the new environment. There is likely to be positive relationship between openness to experience and CQ. Yet another facet of mindfulness, the use of all senses, includes reflecting upon one’s doing and the milieu, thus managing one’s consciousness. This facet helps in developing a suitable mental map for a specific cultural interaction. Mindfulness, therefore, is likely to impact CQ positively; but since CQ is a relatively new concept, not much empirical evidence is available as yet. In a study of Canadian professors teaching in China, Cray, McKay and Mittelman found a positive correlation between mindfulness and cultural intelligence.

Hypotheses

Based on the review of literature cited in the previous sections, we propose the following hypotheses:
H1 
Yoga will be positively related to helping behaviour.
H2 
Yoga will be positively related to cultural intelligence.
H3 
Yoga will be positively related to Mindfulness.
H4 
Mindfulness will mediate the relation between yoga and helping behaviour.
H5 
Mindfulness will mediate the relation between yoga and cultural intelligence.

Methods

Design and Sampling

A quantitative rather than a qualitative technique because the purpose of this research is to evaluate the hypotheses described above deductively and to quantify the direct effects and the mediation effects. The effects of yoga practise on business executives in Montenegro were studied using a Randomized Controlled Experiment. This was not a clinical trial as no specific pathologies were being treated. No measurements were made by clinical instruments. All the participants of Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) programmes the country's business schools were requested to take part. Because an EMBA programme requires an undergraduate degree with good grades as also no less than three years of managerial experience, all of the students had prior management experience and were well-educated. Average age was 35 years 10 months and average work experience prior to joining EMBA programme was 5 years and 9 months.
Of those who expressed interest, a computer programme selected 260 students, 224 turned up to fill out the background information and initial evaluation questionnaire. The personal information of the participants was encrypted using a secure key code. Individuals could request a personal report with their results after the tests were completed. Faculty and administrators were not given access to questionnaires or study data. Following baseline measures, the participants were assigned randomly to either the first batch (intervention group) or the next batch (control group) using a computer-generated randomisation sequence, and the participants were notified via automated emails. Five of the 112 individuals in the intervention group lost interest and did not complete the yoga course, and two of those who did complete the course did not come to the final test, bringing the number in the treatment group down to 105. Four students from the control group did not come to the final test, thus reducing the number in the control group to 101.

Measurements

Yoga classes were scheduled every day for 90 minutes, seven days a week for twenty weeks. Classes included 5 minutes of warm-up, 45 minutes of asanas (physical poses), 20 minutes of pranayama (breathing exercises), and 20 minutes of meditation. Those who could not spare that much time on a particular day, were advised to do a shorter version at home and report at the next time they participants came to the class. The average yoga training per participant was 8069 minutes for the entire programme which comes to 0.96 hours per day.
This research uses ‘Helping Attitudes Scale’ which has been a popular scale for the last two decades. It is a measure of respondents’ feelings, beliefs, and behaviours related to helping. Each of the 20 items is responded on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Some of the items are reverse scored. The scores for the items (some of which are scored in reverse with 5 points for strongly agree to 1 point for strongly agree) are added up to get an overall score. The score has been normalised (ranging between minimum 20 and maximum 100) by dividing by 20.
The pioneers in the field of CQ Christopher Earley and his wife Elaine Mosakowsky have designed “a self-scored diagnostic tool for measuring cultural intelligence that consists of three components: cognitive, physical and emotional”. At the time this tool was considered “rather primitive and lacking empirical validity tests”. The scale has since been improved by including many items for psychometric refinement and validated by a team of international business executives. An abridged version is also available which has been used by us. CQ was measured using a 9-item abridged CQ scale but with peer group evaluation instead of self-evaluation. MBA education lays emphasis on group work and the class is usually divided into groups of 3 or 4 students. This makes peer-evaluation simple and removes the same-source bias as well. Responses were recorded on a 7-point Likert rating scale (1 = completely disagree, 7 = completely agree). On the basis of the 9-item scores, an average score for cultural intelligence has been calculated. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), a psychometrically sound instrument has been used for measuring mindfulness. The reason for choosing this scale was that it is the most widely used of the measures currently in use. MAAS has been validated in investigations in various types of populations and has established an acceptable level of reliability.

Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the means, standard deviations, correlations, and dependability statistics. The correlations are significant and positive, as predicted. Notably, Yoga is linked to Mindfulness; and Mindfulness is also positively linked to helping behaviour and cultural intelligence.
The next step was to examine whether mindfulness (enhanced through yoga) plays a mediating role or is it merely a side benefit. For this purpose, the PROCESS macro for regression, as described by Andrew Hayes was used. Table 2 shows the regression findings of the mediation model. The results show partial mediation, which means significance of the mediation as also the direct effects.
The total effect of yoga on helping behaviour is significant (b=0.41, p<0.01; bias corrected lower bound, BCLB=0.15; bias corrected upper bound, BCUB=0.67), which supports the hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 2 predicts that yoga would be linked to a higher level of cultural intelligence. The total effect of mindfulness for cultural intelligence is significant (b=0.25, p<0.01; BCLB=0.05; BCUB=0.47), which supports the hypothesis. The association between yoga and mindfulness is positive and significant (b=0.24, p<0.001), which was predicted by Hypothesis 3.
The indirect effect of yoga (through mindfulness) on helping behaviour was also significant (b=0.27, p<0.01; BCLB=0.02, BCUB=0.42), in accord with the mediation Hypothesis 4. Yoga had a substantial direct influence on helping behaviour (b=0.14, p<0.01; BCLB=0.04, BCUB=0.24). The indirect effect of yoga (through mindfulness) on cultural intelligence is shown to be significant (b=0.22, p<0.01; BCLB=0.02, BCUB=0.42) when the mediation Hypothesis 5 was examined. Yoga also has a small direct influence on cultural intelligence (b=0.03, p<0.01; BCLB=0.01, BCUB=0.05). Thus, yoga had a direct and indirect effect on the participants' helping behaviour as well as their cultural intelligence.
Hypothesis 1 predicts that yoga would be linked to improved helpful behaviour. The total effect of yoga for helpful behaviour is significant and positive which supports the hypothesis. Hypothesis 2 predicts that yoga would be linked to cultural intelligence. The total effect of yoga on cultural intelligence is significant and positive which supports the hypothesis. Hypothesis 3 predicted that yoga would be positively linked to mindfulness. The effect of yoga on mindfulness is significant which supports the hypothesis 3. This is in line with previous studies free market countries.
The indirect effect of yoga (through mindfulness) on helping behaviour is shown to be significant when the mediation hypothesis 4 was examined. Yoga also has a significant direct influence on helping behaviour. Thus, yoga has a direct effect as also an indirect effect through enhanced mindfulness on helping behaviour. The indirect effect of yoga (through mindfulness) on cultural intelligence is shown to be significant when the mediation hypothesis 4 was examined. This is in line with previous research by Cray, McKay and Mittelman wherein they found positive effect of mindfulness on cultural intelligence. Yoga also has a significant direct influence on cultural intelligence. Thus, yoga has a direct effect as also an indirect effect through enhanced mindfulness on cultural intelligence.
This research, for the first time estimates that the effect of yoga on skills required for business executives in transitional economies – helping behaviour and cultural intelligence. It finds partial mediation by mindfulness. In case of helping behaviour, the effect of yoga through mindfulness is 66 per cent of the total effect whereas the remaining 34 percent comes directly from yoga. In case of cultural intelligence, the effect of yoga through mindfulness is 88 per cent of the total effect whereas the remaining smaller but still significant 12 per cent comes directly from yoga.
Despite the increasing uptake within diverse organisations and endorsement by companies operating in emerging markets the pressure of time within MBA curriculum is such that introduction of yoga in a meaningful manner is difficult. It will be fair to say that few individuals join an expensive EMBA program to cultivate their helping behaviour and cultural intelligence. Rather, they enter an MBA program for career advancement. and to prepare themselves for managerial responsibilities.

Directions for Future Research

A bit of caution is advised in application of conclusions from this study to other situations. Utmost care has been taken to check internal validity but in most randomised experiments external validity is a concern. Due to cultural factors, the applicability of average results (obtained in an Orthodox Christian country) to other translon countries may be hampered. Further research may be required to confirm the results in other transition economies.
In Europe, yoga’s rich intellectual history is not widely known. In the gymnasiums, often yoga is confined to a physical practice for stretching. According to the yoga guru Iyengar who is widely credited as the person who brought yoga to the West, postures without being preceded by yama and niyama are just acrobatics. Western academics prefer to subtract spirituality from yoga and mindfulness. Accordingly, in this research a secular approach to yoga and mindfulness has been taken. However, some academics consider such an approach a Eurocentric parochial prejudice. These scholars believe that the world is now in a post-secular age and argue that in order to get the full educational benefits of Eastern contemplative practices, These practices must be connected to their spiritual roots. Disregard of religious traditions that go beyond narrow practical ideas negate the benefits and a denaturised practice detached from its soteriological setting is of no consequence. Future research could look into these concerns.
Substantial further research may be able to move us beyond the crucial but insufficient organisational wellbeing models of yoga and mindfulness. Using sophisticated statistical analysis techniques in this and subsequent studies may not result in a complete knowledge of yoga-based practices. Yoga is not a stress ball for executives to play with that can be perfected through theoretical and empirical research. Ongoing research in helping behaviour and cultural intelligence includes a deeper conceptualisation of their dimensions, complementary measures of and a richer nomological network. There could be modes of mind the working of which may only be accessible through far more advanced research capacities yet to be developed.

Conclusion

Prior to the dissolution of the USSR, Moldova was a member of that country. Hard skills are still necessary for management in both the public and private sectors, and Moldovan executives possess them in abundance. Now that the monopolistic public sector is subject to international competition, companies are realising that they must alter their behaviour. Our findings demonstrate how yoga can greatly enhance company executives' helpful behaviours and cultural intelligence. Regarding beneficial behaviour, the impact of yoga via mindfulness accounts for 66% of the overall effect, with yoga accounting for 34% of the remaining benefit. Yoga's mindfulness-based impact on cultural intelligence makes for 88% of the entire effect; yoga's direct contribution is smaller but still significant at 12%. The most recent neuroscience research demonstrates that training can improve skills. While non-cognitive skills are flexible until later in life, IQ is likely to become fixed at puberty. Executives in emerging economies can cultivate helpful behaviour and cultural intelligence at any age for which Yoga is a useful tool.

References

  1. Akram, T. & Asthana, A. N. (1993). The Green Revolution and Economic Development – The process and its impact in Bangladesh – Allauddin, M., Tisdell, C.
  2. Abdelkhalek, T., Biscione, A., Boccanfuso, D., and De Felice, A. (2022). Simultaneity of innovation activities in Transition countries. Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique.
  3. Alon, I. and Higgins, J. M. (2005). Global leadership success through emotional and cultural intelligences. Business Horizons, 48(6), 501–512. [CrossRef]
  4. Arslan, Z., Kausar, S., Kannaiah, D., Shabbir, M. S., Khan, G. Y. and Zamir, A. (2022). The mediating role of green creativity and the moderating role of green mindfulness in the relationship among clean environment, clean production, and sustainable growth. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(9), 13238-13252. [CrossRef]
  5. Asthana, A. N. (1997). Household choice of water supply systems, in Water and Sanitation for All: Proceedings of the 23rd WEDC Conference, edited by J. Pickford, pp. 259–262, Water, Eng. and Dev. Cent., Loughborough Univ., Loughboro, UK.
  6. Asthana, A. N. (2004). Corruption and Decentralisation: Evidence from India’s Water Sector. Paper Presented at 30th WEDC International Conference, PeopleCentred Approaches to Water and Environmental Sanitation, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
  7. Asthana, A. N. (2010). Descentralización y necesidades básicas. Politai, 1(1), 13-22.
  8. Asthana, A. N. (2012). Human rights and corruption: Evidence from a natural experiment. Journal of Human Rights, 11(4), 526-536.
  9. Asthana, A. N. (2022). Contribution of Yoga to Business Ethics Education. Journal of Business Ethics Education, 19, 93-108.
  10. Asthana, A. N. (2022). Impact of mindfulness on irrigation water consumption. Frontiers in Water, 4. [CrossRef]
  11. Asthana, A. N. (2022). Increasing production efficiency of irrigation systems through stakeholder participation. Water Policy, 24(6), 1061-1072.
  12. Asthana, A., & Asthana, A. N. (2012). Yogic science for human Resource management in business. World Applied Sciences Journal, 19(1), 120–130. [CrossRef]
  13. Asthana, A. N., Mohan, S., & Khorana, S. (2012). Physics Envy and Natural Experiments in Business and Economics. World Applied Sciences Journal, 20(3), 464-469.
  14. Bartos, L. J., Funes, M. J., Ouellet, M., Posadas, M. P. and Krägeloh, C. (2021) ‘Developing resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Yoga and mindfulness for the well-being of student musicians in Spain’, Frontiers in psychology, Vol. 12, 642992.
  15. Baum, J. A. C., & Wally, S. (2003). Strategic decision speed and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 24(11), 1107-1129. [CrossRef]
  16. Benos, T., Burkert, M., Hüttl-Maack, V. and Petropoulou, E. (2022). When mindful consumption meets short food supply chains: Empirical evidence on how higher-level motivations influence consumers. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 33, 520-530. [CrossRef]
  17. Bird, A., & Osland, J. S. (2006) Making sense of intercultural collaboration. International Studies of Management and Organization, 35(4), 115–132. [CrossRef]
  18. Bou, V. C. M. P. (2022). Measuring Energy efficiency in public enterprise: The case of Agribusiness. Public Enterprise, 26(1), 53-59. [CrossRef]
  19. Boyacigiller. N..& Adler. N. J. (1991). The parochial dinosaur: Organizational science in a global context. Academy of Management Review, 16(2): 262-290. [CrossRef]
  20. Boyatzis, R. E., & Cavanagh, K. V. (2018). Leading change: Developing emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies in managers during an MBA program. In K. V. Keefer, J. D. A. Parker, & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), Handbook of Emotional Intelligence in Education (pp. 403-426). Springer.
  21. Brown, K. W. & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. [CrossRef]
  22. Büssing, A., Bretz, S. V. & Beerenbrock, Y. (2021). Ethical principles of yoga philosophy in western yoga practitioners: validation of the yama/niyama questionnaire. Complementary Medicine Research, 28(4), 325–335. [CrossRef]
  23. Büssing, A., Michalsen, A., Khalsa, S. B. S., Telles, S. and Sherman, K. J. (2012). Effects of yoga on mental and physical health: a short summary of reviews. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012, 165410. [CrossRef]
  24. Butzer, B., LoRusso, A. M., Windsor, R., Riley, F., Frame, K., Khalsa, S. B. S. and Conboy, L. (2017). A qualitative examination of yoga for middle school adolescents. Advances in school mental health promotion, 10(3), 195-219. [CrossRef]
  25. Carlson, L. E. & Brown, K. W. (2005). Validation of the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale in a cancer population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58(1), 29-33. [CrossRef]
  26. Chiesa, A., Calati, R., & Serretti, A. (2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 449–464. [CrossRef]
  27. Conboy, L. A., Noggle, J. J., Frey, J. L., Kudesia, R. S. & Khalsa, S. B. S. (2013). Qualitative evaluation of a high school yoga program: feasibility and perceived benefits. Explore, 9(3), 171-180. [CrossRef]
  28. Cray, D., McKay, R. & Mittelman, R. (2018). Cultural intelligence and mindfulness: Teaching MBAs in Iran. Journal of International Education in Business, 11(2), 220-240. [CrossRef]
  29. Dalai Lama, T. G. (2002). Ethics, Mindfulness and Compassion. Full Circle.
  30. Daryl Cameron, C., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2015). Mindfulness facets predict helping behavior and distinct helping-related emotions. Mindfulness, 6(9), 1211–1218. [CrossRef]
  31. Donald, J. N., Sahdra, B. K., Van Zanden, B., Duineveld, J. J., Atkins, P. W., Marshall, S. L., & Ciarrochi, J. (2019). Does your mindfulness benefit others? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the link between mindfulness and prosocial behaviour. British Journal of Psychology, 110(1), 101-125. [CrossRef]
  32. Earley, P. C. (2002). Redefining interactions across cultures and organizations: Moving forward with cultural intelligence. Research in Organizational Behavior, 24,.271-279. [CrossRef]
  33. Earley, P. C. and Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: Individual interactions across Cultures. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  34. Epe, J., Stark, R. & Ott, U. (2021). Different Effects of Four Yogic Breathing Techniques on Mindfulness, Stress, and Well-being. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 6(3), 2103031. [CrossRef]
  35. Erkin, Ö. & Şenuzun Aykar, F. (2021). The effect of the yoga course on mindfulness and self-compassion among nursing students. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 57(2), 875-882.
  36. Feuerstein, G. (2011) The Encyclopaedia of yoga and tantra. Shambhala.
  37. Foxen, A. P. (2017). Biography of a Yogi: Paramahansa Yogananda and the Origins of Modern Yoga. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  38. Galton, F. (1869). Hereditary Genuis: An inquiry into its laws and consequences. McMillan.
  39. Gardner, H. E. (1983). Frames of Mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
  40. Gardner, H. E. (1993). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice.: Basic Books.
  41. Gardner, H. E. (2000). Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. Basic Books.
  42. Gardner, H. E. and Moran, S. (2006). The science of multiple intelligences theory: A response to Lynn Waterhouse. Educational psychologist, 41, (4), 227-232. [CrossRef]
  43. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.
  44. Gonzales, C. (2023). Privatisation of water: New perspectives and future challenges, Public Enterprise, 27(1), 26-38. [CrossRef]
  45. Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach (3rd revised ed.). Guilford.
  46. Hemingway, C. A. (2013). Corporate social entrepreneurship: Integrity within. Cambridge University Press.
  47. Iwasaki, I. (2020). The economics of transition. In I. Iwasaki, (Ed.). The economics of transition: Developing and reforming emerging economies (pp.1-24). Routledge.
  48. Iyengar, B. K. S. (1966) Light on Yoga. George Allen and Unwin,.
  49. Jeitler, M., Kessler, C. S., Zillgen, H., Högl, M., Stöckigt, B., Peters, A., Schumann, D., Stritter, W., Seifert, G., Michalsen, A. and Steckhan, N. (2020). Yoga in school sport – A non-randomized controlled pilot study in Germany. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 48, 102243. [CrossRef]
  50. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2021). The Liberative Potential of Mindfulness. Mindfulness, 12(6), 1555–1563. [CrossRef]
  51. Kautz, T., Heckman, J. J., Diris, R., Ter Weel, B., & Borghans, L. (2014) Fostering and measuring skills: Improving cognitive and non-cognitive skills to promote lifetime success. OECD.
  52. Kornai, J. (1980). Economics of shortage. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
  53. Kornai. J. (1992). The socialist system: The political economy of communism. Princeton University Press.
  54. Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Perseus Books,.
  55. Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning. Addison-Wesley.
  56. Lewin, D. (2017). Educational Philosophy for a Post-Secular Age. Routledge.
  57. Lutz, A., Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Johnstone, T., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Regulation of the neural circuitry of emotion by compassion meditation: Effects of meditative expertise. PLoS ONE, 3, e1897.
  58. Mizobata, S. & Iwasaki, I. (2023). ‘Comparative economic studies in transition: Four lessons from analytical reviews of literature’, in B. Dallago, & S. Casagrande (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Economic Systems. Taylor & Francis. pp: 280-301.
  59. Mohan, S. (2021). Traditional and contemporary mindfulness: Finding the middle path in the tangle of concerns. Public Enterprise, 25(1-2), 1-17. [CrossRef]
  60. Moses, J. (2002). Oneness (2nd ed.). Random House.
  61. Nagel, T. (1970). The Possibility of Altruism. Princeton University Press.
  62. Nickell, G. S. (1998). The helping attitude scale. 106th annual convention of the American Psychological Association at San Francisco, pp.1-10.
  63. Peng, M. W., & Heath, P. S. (1996). The growth of the firm in planned economies in transition: Institutions, organizations, and strategic choice. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 492-528. [CrossRef]
  64. Raju, P. T. (1985). Structural depths of Indian Thought. SUNY Press,.
  65. Richardson, K. (2022). Understanding intelligence. Cambridge University Press.
  66. Richardson, K. and Norgate, S. H. (2015). Does IQ really predict job performance?, Applied Developmental Science, 19(1), 153-169. [CrossRef]
  67. Roland, G. (2004). Transition and economics: Politics, markets, and firms. MIT press.
  68. Sanyal, C. and Rigg, C. (2021). Integrating Mindfulness Into Leadership Development. Journal of Management Education, 45(2), 243–264. [CrossRef]
  69. Sarbacker, S. R. (2021). The Path of Yoga. Albany NY: SUNY Press.
  70. Saxena, N. C. (2021). Yogic Science for Human Resource Management in Public Enterprises. Public Enterprises 25(1-2), 27-38. [CrossRef]
  71. Saxena, N. C. (2023). Using Machine Learning to improve the performance of Public Enterprises, Public Enterprise, 27(1), 39-51. [CrossRef]
  72. Saxena, N.C. (2022). Profitability prediction in Public Enterprise contracts. Public Enterprise, 26(1), 25-42. [CrossRef]
  73. Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A. and Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373–386. [CrossRef]
  74. Sharma, A. (1993). Management under fire: The transformation of managers in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 22-35.
  75. Shelov, D. V., Suchday, S. & Friedberg, J. P. (2009). A pilot study measuring the impact of yoga on the trait of mindfulness. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37(5) 595–598. [CrossRef]
  76. Singer, T., Critchley, H. D., & Preuschoff, K. (2009) A common role of insula in feelings, empathy and uncertainty. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(9), 334–340. [CrossRef]
  77. Singh, S. S. (2022). Mergers and Acquisitions: Implications for public enterprises in developing countries. Public Enterprise, 26(1), 43-52. [CrossRef]
  78. Singh, S. S. (2023). Using Natural Experiments in Public Enterprise Management, Public Enterprise, 27(1), 52-63. [CrossRef]
  79. Smith, M. C. (2023). Enhancing food security through Public Enterprise, 27(1), 64-77. [CrossRef]
  80. Stern, W. (1912). Die psychologischen Methoden der Intelligenzpruefung [The psychological methods of intelligence testing]. Johann Ambrosius Barth.
  81. Stiles, M. (2021). Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Weiser Press.
  82. Thich, N. H. (1999). The miracle of mindfulness. Beacon.
  83. Thomas, D. C. (2002). Essentials of international management: A cross-cultural perspective. Sage.
  84. Thomas, D. C. (2006). Domain and development of cultural intelligence: The importance of mindfulness. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 78-99. [CrossRef]
  85. Thomas, D. C., & Inkson, K. (2004). Cultural Intelligence: People skills for global business. Berrett Koehler.
  86. Thorndike, E. L. (1920). Intelligence and its uses. Harper’s Magazine, 140, 227-235.
  87. Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2018). Communicating across cultures (2nd revised and enlarged ed.). Guilford Publications.
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, correlations, and reliabilities.
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, correlations, and reliabilities.
M SD 1 2 3
1 Yoga 0.96 0.25
2 Mindfulness 4.19 0.85 0.35** (0.87)
3 Helping behaviour 3.28 0.53 0.34** 0.43*** (0.90)
4 Cultural intelligence 4.72 0.70 0.33** 0.39*** 0.28* (0.91)
N = 105; Reliabilities (Cronbach alphas) are in parentheses on the diagonal. *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05.
Table 2. Regression results for mediation model.
Table 2. Regression results for mediation model.
Mindfulness Helping behaviour Cultural intelligence
b SE t b SE t b SE t
Constant 3.38 0.57 6.81*** 2.88 0.95 3.03*** 4.48 1.27 3.52***
Yoga 0.24 0.07 3.43*** 0.14 0.05 2.80** 0.03 0.01 3.00**
Mindfulness 0.64 0.22 2.86** 0.50 0.17 2.94**
Indirect effect 0.27 0.13 2.08** 0.22 0.10 2.20**
(Confidence Interval) (BCLB=0.02, BCUB=0.42) (BCLB=0.02, BCUB=0.42)
Direct effect 0.14 0.05 2.80** 0.03 0.01 3.00**
(Confidence Interval) (BCLB=0.04, BCUB=0.24) (BCLB=0.01, BCUB=0.05)
Total effect 0.41 0.13 3.15** 0.25 0.10 2.50**
(Confidence Interval) (BCLB=0.15, BCUB=0.67) (BCLB=0.05, BCUB=0.45)
F 9.97*** 9.08*** 9.19***
R2 0.32 0.44 0.43
Unstandardised coefficients are reported. BCLB refers to lower limit of 95% confidence interval and BCUB refers to upper limit of the 95% bootstrapped confidence interval. *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
Prerpints.org logo

Preprints.org is a free preprint server supported by MDPI in Basel, Switzerland.

facebook logotwitter logolinkedin logo
bsky
MDPI Initiatives
Important Links
Subscribe

Disclaimer

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Privacy Settings

© 2026 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated