Human resource development and spiritual intelligence: an investigation amongst management students in Delhi NCR

The study seeks to investigate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and its relative impact on students' academic performance. Several studies link SI with intellectual development. This study aims to analyse the phenomenon of spiritual intelligence (SI) within the framework of human resource development (HRD) research. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed. The study was conducted among management students residing in Delhi NCR. The findings confirm that spiritual quotient factors are applicable in the Indian context. In addition, the study reveals that the spiritual quotient is significantly correlated with academic performance. The study uses the scale developed by King (2008) to measure spiritual intelligence through spiritual intelligence self report inventory (SISRI) which includes 24 statements. From the available constructs of the spiritual quotient, the critical existential thinking (CET) and the personal meeting production (PMP) have a positive relationship with academic performance. The academic performance is explained by 19% using CET and PMP. Therefore, management institutions must also instil the culture of spiritualism within the institute to improve the performance of management students. The study tries to cover part of the gap in the HRM literature on the SI topic.