Jugaad in organizational settings: exploring the Jugaad leadership competencies

The Hindi term 'jugaad' is closely linked to frugal innovation. In resource-scarce environments, organizations can thrive by developing jugaad-related leadership abilities. Previous research on jugaad has focused primarily on individual problem-solving and overlooked the leadership skills necessary to implement it in organizational settings. This study employs a theoretical lens of leadership competency models, interpretive phenomenology, purposive sampling, and an inductive data-driven coding approach to explore the jugaad leadership competencies of 28 Indian business leaders and managers. The study presents the Jugaad Leadership Competency (JLC) model, identifying ten competency clusters exhibited by jugaad leaders. This is the first study to develop a model for jugaad leadership in organizational settings. In environments characterized by scarcity and intense competition, the JLC model can aid individuals and organizations in acquiring the necessary competencies for frugal innovation. The study evaluates the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, their transferability, and limitations and offers suggestions for future research.