Title: Exploring the virtue of simplicity in organisations: the case of Mumbai Dabbawalas

Authors: Olga Ivanova Ruffo; Bertrand Agostini

Addresses: Audencia Business School, No. 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, 518060 Shenzhen, China ' Association Dé-Coïncidences 23, rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris, France

Abstract: Today, there is an increased interest towards virtues in organisations. In the environmental virtues literature, which explores the (character) traits that can help us treat nature the right way, virtues, such as attentiveness, love and respect to nature have been examined. Our study adds to this literature by exploring an understudied virtue, namely organisational simplicity. Our empirical setting is the organisation of the Mumbai Dabbawalas - tiffin lunch box carries - who deliver food from home to office with an amazingly low error rate. Our findings show that simplicity manifests itself in the dabbawalas' spiritual beliefs, organisational culture, structure and process as well as their strategic focus. In addition, the results of our study demonstrate that by adopting simplicity as a virtue, the dabbawalas unknowingly contribute to environmental sustainability since they do not use motorised vehicles, modern technology and they minimise their waste.

Keywords: organisational simplicity; Eastern philosophy; Western philosophy; virtues; sustainable practices; Mumbai Dabbawalas.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2024.139331

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2024 Vol.17 No.3, pp.277 - 304

Received: 15 Apr 2023
Accepted: 19 Apr 2023
Published online: 01 Jul 2024 *

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