IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/asiapa/v38y2021i1d10.1007_s10490-018-9633-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Who controls the Indian economy: The role of families and communities in the Indian economy

Author

Listed:
  • Dalhia Mani

    (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore)

Abstract

Research on the concentration of corporate control frequently highlights the role of a few families, who control large swaths of their economies. The prominent role of certain communities is also evoked in these discussions, but the extent of their influence is unclear. Public and scholarly debate is also divided on the meaning of this kinship-based control; whether it reflects entrenchment or entrepreneurship. This paper examines questions about the extent and meaning of family and community control in the context of India. The results show that three trading communities (the Marwaris, Gujaratis and Parsis) play a disproportionate role in the control and ownership of Indian publicly traded firms. However, their role is skewed towards smaller, younger, and lower market share firms, and there is significant turnover in the identity of the largest firm over time. The results are similar for family control and ownership. Overall, the results do not support the entrenchment perspective, and instead supports the view that these social groups are the primary vehicle for raising funds among smaller, younger, and low market share firms. However, neither do the results support the view that Indian firms are rapidly embracing a managerial model with diffuse shareholdings.

Suggested Citation

  • Dalhia Mani, 2021. "Who controls the Indian economy: The role of families and communities in the Indian economy," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 121-149, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:38:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10490-018-9633-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-018-9633-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10490-018-9633-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10490-018-9633-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2000. "Is Group Affiliation Profitable in Emerging Markets? An Analysis of Diversified Indian Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 867-891, April.
    2. Durand, Rodolphe & Mani, Dalhia, 2018. "Family Firms in the Ownership Network: Clustering, Bridging, and Embeddedness," HEC Research Papers Series 1275, HEC Paris, revised 30 May 2018.
    3. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    4. Jordan Siegel & Prithwiraj Choudhury, 2012. "A Reexamination of Tunneling and Business Groups: New Data and New Methods," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(6), pages 1763-1798.
    5. Randall K. Morck, 2005. "A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morc05-1.
    6. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    7. Jaya Prakash Pradhan, "undated". "Growth of Indian Multinationals in the World Economy: Implications for Development," Working Papers 0704, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID).
    8. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    9. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua & Pramodita Sharma, 2005. "Trends and Directions in the Development of a Strategic Management Theory of the Family Firm," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(5), pages 555-575, September.
    11. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    12. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 2005. "The Evolution of Concentrated Ownership in India: Broad Patterns and a History of the Indian Software Industry," NBER Chapters, in: A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers, pages 283-324, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Luis R. Gomez‐Mejia & Marianna Makri & Martin Larraza Kintana, 2010. "Diversification Decisions in Family‐Controlled Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 223-252, March.
    14. Black, Bernard S. & Gilson, Ronald J., 1998. "Venture capital and the structure of capital markets: banks versus stock markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 243-277, March.
    15. Arora, Ashish & Arunachalam, V. S. & Asundi, Jai & Fernandes, Ronald, 2001. "The Indian software services industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 1267-1287, October.
    16. Marianne Bertrand & Paras Mehta & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "Ferreting out Tunneling: An Application to Indian Business Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 121-148.
    17. Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu, 1999. "Policy Shocks, Market Intermediaries, and Corporate Strategy: The Evolution of Business Groups in Chile and India," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 271-310, June.
    18. Tarun Khanna & Krishna G Palepu, 2004. "Globalization and convergence in corporate governance: evidence from Infosys and the Indian software industry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(6), pages 484-507, November.
    19. Bertrand, Marianne & Johnson, Simon & Samphantharak, Krislert & Schoar, Antoinette, 2008. "Mixing family with business: A study of Thai business groups and the families behind them," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 466-498, June.
    20. Carney, Richard W. & Child, Travers Barclay, 2013. "Changes to the ownership and control of East Asian corporations between 1996 and 2008: The primacy of politics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 494-513.
    21. Belén Villalonga & Raphael Amit, 2010. "Family Control of Firms and Industries," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 863-904, September.
    22. Claessens, Stijn & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin, 2013. "Corporate governance in emerging markets: A survey," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-33.
    23. Lang, Larry H P & Stulz, Rene M, 1994. "Tobin's q, Corporate Diversification, and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1248-1280, December.
    24. Willard, Gary E. & Krueger, David A. & Feeser, Henry R., 1992. "In order to grow, must the founder go: A comparison of performance between founder and non-founder managed high-growth manufacturing firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 181-194, May.
    25. repec:elg:eebook:14347 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Barak D. Richman, 2006. "How Community Institutions Create Economic Advantage: Jewish Diamond Merchants in New York," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Roman Grynberg & Letsema Mbayi (ed.), The Global Diamond Industry, chapter 2, pages 44-86, Palgrave Macmillan.
    27. K. S. Manikandan & J. Ramachandran, 2015. "Beyond institutional voids: Business groups, incomplete markets, and organizational form," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 598-617, April.
    28. Noam Wasserman, 2003. "Founder-CEO Succession and the Paradox of Entrepreneurial Success," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 149-172, April.
    29. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    30. Arturs Kalnins & Wilbur Chung, 2006. "Social Capital, Geography, and Survival: Gujarati Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the U.S. Lodging Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 233-247, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hari Bapuji & Snehanjali Chrispal & Balagopal Vissa & Gokhan Ertug, 2023. "Local, yet global: Implications of caste for MNEs and international business," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(2), pages 201-234, June.
    2. Orlyansky E. A., 2021. "Traditional market economy and its anti-cyclical potential in the assessments of researchers of the 19th and 20th centuries," Russian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Omsk Humanitarian Academy, vol. 15(2), pages 238-248, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dalhia Mani & Rodolphe Durand, 2019. "Family Firms in the Ownership Network: Clustering, Bridging, and Embeddedness," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(2), pages 330-351, March.
    2. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    3. Vikas Mehrotra & Randall Morck & Jungwook Shim & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2010. "Must Love Kill the Family Firm?," NBER Working Papers 16340, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Morck, Randall & Deniz Yavuz, M. & Yeung, Bernard, 2011. "Banking system control, capital allocation, and economy performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 264-283, May.
    5. Vikas Mehrotra & Randall Morck & Jungwook Shim & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2011. "Must Love Kill the Family Firm? Some Exploratory Evidence," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(6), pages 1121-1148, November.
    6. Heitor Almeida & Sang Yong Park & Marti Subrahmanyam & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2009. "The Structure and Formation of Business Groups: Evidence from Korean Chaebols," NBER Working Papers 14983, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Banerjee, Pradip & Dhole, Sandip & Mishra, Sagarika, 2023. "Operating performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: Is there a business group advantage?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Weiping Liu & Haibin Yang & Guangxi Zhang, 2012. "Does family business excel in firm performance? An institution-based view," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 965-987, December.
    9. Ann Terlaak & Seonghoon Kim & Taewoo Roh, 2018. "Not Good, Not Bad: The Effect of Family Control on Environmental Performance Disclosure by Business Group Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 977-996, December.
    10. Almeida, Heitor & Park, Sang Yong & Subrahmanyam, Marti G. & Wolfenzon, Daniel, 2011. "The structure and formation of business groups: Evidence from Korean chaebols," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 447-475, February.
    11. Chi, Yung-Ling, 2023. "The agency costs of family ownership: Evidence from innovation performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    12. Christopher Hansen & Joern Block & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2020. "Family Firm Performance Over The Business Cycle: A Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 476-511, July.
    13. Ansari, Iram Fatima & Goergen, Marc & Mira, Svetlana, 2014. "The determinants of the CEO successor choice in family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 6-25.
    14. Martínez-García, Irma & Basco, Rodrigo & Gómez-Ansón, Silvia, 2021. "Dancing with giants: Contextualizing state and family ownership effects on firm performance in the Gulf Cooperation Council," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    15. Chou, Shu-Ching & Shih, Chia-Jung, 2020. "Like father, like son? Diversification decision and related performance of family firm successors – Evidence from Taiwan," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 209-220.
    16. Bansal, Shashank & Thenmozhi, M., 2020. "Does Concentrated Founder Ownership Affect Related Party Transactions? Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    17. Randall Morck, 2011. "Finance and Governance in Developing Economies," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 375-406, December.
    18. Richardson, Grant & Wang, Bei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2016. "Ownership structure and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from publicly listed private firms in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-158.
    19. Jang, Hasung & Kang, Hyung-cheol & Park, Kyung Suh, 2005. "Determinants of Family Ownership: The Choice between Control and Performance," CEI Working Paper Series 2005-5, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    20. Heitor Almeida & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2005. "A Theory of Pyramidal Ownership and Family Business Groups," NBER Working Papers 11368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:38:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10490-018-9633-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.