Network Advantages Among Zoroastrian Small Scale Entrepreneur In Modern India

During the colonial times, Zoroastrians had taken full advantage of the British patronage and had shown high degrees of anglicization and leveraged competitive advantage of being in a ‘Zoroastrian Network’ .They were quick to adapt themselves to the changing political circumstances and had collaborated with the British. Today, however, the Zoroastrians have lost their entrepreneurial drive and are living off their past glory. The rise of Zoroastrian enterprises during the British rule and the role of Zoroastrian entrepreneurs in the development of India has been studied intensely. However, not much research has been done about entrepreneurship in Zoroastrians post-independence and in the 21st century. The purpose of this study is to examine the opportunities or challenges of being a Zoroastrian entrepreneur in India. The Zoroastrians had an entrepreneurial orientation and so, they explored local areas looking for opportunities. They created employment opportunities for the locals, leading to a co-evolutionary growth. Thus, a positive ecosystem was created, in which the Zoroastrians were the central actors. However, in modern times, firms are adopting the Indian identity and centrality is no longer valid, because of which, Zoroastrian entrepreneurs are losing their network advantage.This study also sheds light on how community media and the Internet are extensively being used to bring regain the network advantage that the Zoroastrians have lost. Key Words: Zoroastrian, Network Advantage, Small Scale Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Network Theory, Entrepreneurship, Identity Policy