Skip to main content
Log in

Aesthetic Exploration of Organizational Theatrics: a Case of Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover Acquisition

  • Published:
Philosophy of Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper aims to critically analyze one of the most impactful events reported from the Indian corporate scenario in recent years, from the premise of its aesthetic underpinnings. Our focus is on the ambitious 2008 all cash cross-border acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover businesses by Tata Motors Limited from Ford Motor Company, US. This move not only added stature to the already reputed brand but was also instrumental in positioning India in the global automotive arena. Using the Natyasastra, an ancient Sanskrit scripture on Indian dramaturgy, as an aesthetic tool, we attempt to unravel the emotional performance depicted by various stakeholders partaking in the theatrics of the Jaguar Land Rover acquisition event. In the backdrop of theatrical performance, we examine the dialogical exchange between three distinct sets of actors, the firm, media, and equity market, to identify and elucidate the emotions they predominantly depict in the Jaguar Land Rover acquisition. This paper’s over-arching goal is to shift the preoccupation with metrics of organizational performance to focus instead on the emotional performance manifested through organizational activities, using an aesthetic and essentially Indian performative perspective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Available upon request.

References

  • Badham, Richard J., W. Richard Carter, Linda J. Matula, Sharon K. Parker, and Paul L. Nesbit. 2016. Beyond Hope and Fear: The Effects of Organizational Theatre on Empowerment and Control. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 52: 124–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, Suparna. 2018. Performing the uncanny: Psychoanalysis, Aesthetics and the Digital Double. In Digital Echoes, ed. Sarah Whatley, Rosamaria K. Cisneros, and Amalia Sabiescu, 31–55. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bathurst, Ralph. 2009. Enlivening management practice through aesthetic engagement: Vico, Baumgarten and Kant. Philosophy of Management 7: 61–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batra, Bhavika S., and Dharmendra B. Khairajani. 2012. An Understanding of TATA-JLR deal with the concepts of Downsizing, Corporate Culture and Leveraged Buyout. Management 2: 101–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker-Ritterspach, Florian, and Gert Bruche. 2012. Capability creation and internationalization with business group embeddedness–the case of Tata Motors in passenger cars. European Management Journal 30: 232–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann. 1967. The social construction of reality. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beyes, Timon, and Chris Steyaert. 2006. Justifying theatre in organisational analysis: A carnivalesque alternative? Consumption, Markets and Culture 9: 101–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, Peter. 2017. Dramaturgical Methods. In The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Business and Management Research Methods: Methods and Challenges, ed. Catherine Cassell, Ann L. Cunliffe, and Gina Grandy, 170–186. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruche, Gert. 2010. Tata Motor’s transformational resource acquisition path: A case study of latecomer catch-up in a business group context (No. 55). Working papers of the institute of management Berlin at the Berlin school of economics and law. HWR Berlin.

  • Christensen, Julia F., Anna Lambrechts, and Manos Tsakiris. 2019. The Warburg Dance Movement Library—The WADAMO Library: A Validation Study. Perception 48: 26–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coetzee, Melinde, and Nisha Harry. 2014. Emotional intelligence as a predictor of employees’ career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior 84: 90–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coopey, John. 1998. Learning to trust and trusting to learn: A role for radical theatre. Management Learning 29: 365–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Czarniawska-Joerges, Barbara. 1995. Rhetoric and modern organizations. Culture and Organization 1: 147–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, Norman. 2013. Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Oxon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fendt, Jacqueline. 2007. CEO discourse in mergers and acquisitions: Toward a theory of the promise–realities gap. Research in Organizational Change and Development 16: 105–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fineman, Stephen. 2006. On being positive: Concerns and counterpoints. Academy of Management Review 31: 270–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fouweather, Ian. 2017. The management consultant. In Management Consultancy Insights and Real Consultancy Projects, ed. Graham Manville, Olga Matthias, and Julian Campbell, 21–34. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, Manmohan. 1961. The Natyasastra: A Treatise on Hindu Dramaturgy and Histrionics Ascribed to Bharat-Muni. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, Erving. 1978. The presentation of self in everyday life: Selections. In Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life Readings, ed. David Newman and Jodi O’Brien, 120–129. California: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, David, Tom W. Keenoy, and Cliff Oswick. 1998. Discourse and organization. London: Sage Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Guillet de Monthoux, Pierre. 1996. The theatre of war: art, organization and the aesthetics of strategy. Studies in Cultures, Organizations and Societies 2: 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gwinn, Robert P. 1990. The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hareli, Shlomo, Konstantinos Kafetsios, and Ursula Hess. 2015. A cross-cultural study on emotion expression and the learning of social norms. Frontiers in Psychology 6: 1501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, Kathleen M. 2007. An alchemy of emotion: Rasa and aesthetic breakthroughs. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 65: 43–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, Dan. 2009. The rhetoric and reality of successful change management. Ivey Business Journal 73: 6–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingvarsdottir, Eydis, and Sigridur Halldorsdottir. 2018. Enhancing patient safety in the operating theatre: from the perspective of experienced operating theatre nurses. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 32: 951–960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jayaweera, Almut. 2004. Vannama: A classical dance form and its musical structure. The world of music 46: 49–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kononova, T.M., L.N. Zakharova, O.P. Lazareva, and O.N. Goreva. 2019. Intercultural Communication and Personality Enculturation in the Context of Humanities. Humanities and Social Sciences: Novations, Problems, Prospects. https://doi.org/10.2991/hssnpp-19.2019.88.

  • Koschut, Simon. 2018. Speaking from the heart: Emotion discourse analysis in international relations. In Researching Emotions in International Relations, ed. Maeva Clement and Eric Sangar, 277–301. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Koschut, Simon, Todd H. Hall, Reinhard Wolf, Ty Solomon, Emma Hutchison, and Roland Bleiker. 2017. Discourse and emotions in international relations. International Studies Review 19: 481–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lempa, Fabian, and Kamila Lewandowska. 2016. The aesthetics of applied theatre: An interview. Organizational Aesthetics 5: 25–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, Nangyeon. 2016. Cultural differences in emotion: Differences in emotional arousal level between the East and the West. Integrative Medicine Research 5: 105–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luechauer, David L. 1999. Applying appreciative inquiry instead of problem-solving techniques to facilitate change. Management 2: 99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, Patricia Y. 2019. Celebrating Joan Acker: Sociologist, fearless feminist, friend. Gender, Work and Organization 26: 1679–1687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marukawa, Tomoo. 2011. Technology Acquisition by Indigenous Firms: The Case of the Chinese and Indian Automobile Industries. In Industrial Dynamics in China and India, ed. Ohara Moriki, M. Vijayabaskar, and Hong Lin, 63–79. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McRae, Talleri A. 2018. The Aesthetics of Inclusion. In Theatre, Performance and Change, ed. Stephani E. Woodson and Tamara Underiner, 247–252. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, Rahul. 2011. Framing the corporate responsibility-reputation linkage: The case of Tata Motors in India. Public Relations Review 37: 392–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moriceau, Jean-Luc, and Isabela Paes. 2016. An apprenticeship to pleasure: aesthetics dynamics in organizational learning. Society and Business Review 11: 80–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee, Deepraj. 2016. Case analysis: Tata Motors’ acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover. The Business & Management Review 8: 48–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mumby, Dennis K., and Robin P. Clair. 1997. Organizational discourse. In Discourse as Social Interaction: Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, ed. Teun A. Van Dijk, 181–205. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswick, Cliff, Tom W. Keenoy, and David Grant. 2000. Discourse, organizations and organizing: Concepts, objects and subjects. Human Relations 53: 1115–1123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pramod, Kale. 1974. The Theatric Universe: A Study of the Natyasastra. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, Bruce. 2001. An exploration of role. London: Grubb Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riad, Sally, Eero Vaara, and Nathan Zhang. 2012. The intertextual production of international relations in mergers and acquisitions. Organization Studies 33: 121–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saarinen, Esa. 2008. Philosophy for managers: Reflections of a practitioner. Philosophy of Management 7: 3–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schreyägg, Georg, and Heather Häpfl. 2004. Theatre and organization: Editorial introduction. Organization Studies 25: 691–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schreyögg, Georg. 2001. Organizational theatre and organizational change. 60th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Washington.

  • Schwartz, Susan L. 2004. Rasa: Performing the divine in India. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, John M., and Malcolm Coulthard. 1975. Towards an analysis of discourse: The English used by teachers and pupils. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivas, Chandra S. 2014. Significance of Rasa and Abhinaya Techniques in Bharata’s Natyasastra. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science 19: 25–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strati, Antonio. 1995. Aesthetics and organizations without walls. Studies in Cultures, Organizations and Societies 1: 83–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strati, Antonio. 1996. Organizations viewed through the lens of aesthetics. Organization 2: 209–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strati, Antonio. 2020. Beauty of responsible management: The lens and methodology of organizational aesthetics. In Research Handbook of Responsible Management, ed. Oliver Laasch, Suddaby Roy, R.E. Freeman, and Dima Jamali, 410–419. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, Steven S., and Hans Hansen. 2005. Finding form: Looking at the field of organizational aesthetics. Journal of Management Studies 42: 1211–1231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, Teun A. 1997. Discourse as structure and process. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaz, Pedro, and Nicholas Clarke. 2019. Applied Theatre: A Novel Technique for Helping Organizations to Manage Change. In Evidence-Based Initiatives for Organizational Change and Development, ed. Robert G. Hamlin, Andrea D. Ellinger, and Jenni Jones, 283–298. Pennsylvania: IGI Global.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wall, Tony, Jayne Russell, and Neil Moore. 2017. Positive emotion in workplace impact: The case of a work-based learning project utilizing appreciative inquiry. Journal of Work-Applied Management 9: 129–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Koel Nath.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Code Availability

‘Not applicable’.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nath, K., Dwivedi, R. Aesthetic Exploration of Organizational Theatrics: a Case of Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover Acquisition. Philosophy of Management 20, 369–386 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40926-020-00160-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40926-020-00160-y

Keywords

Navigation