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Global Transfer and Indian Management

A Historical Hybridity Perspective

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Abstract

  • The goal of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of Indian management and to challenge more generally ahistorical and essentialist notions of indigenous management perspectives.

  • Drawing selectively on postcolonial theory, we suggest that a historical hybridity perspective serves as a crucial heuristic device to understand the nature of Indian management and its globalization related transition.

  • Discussing the example of the local mismatch and transfer outcome related to a global transfer initiative in a German subsidiary in India, we illustrate the analytical value of a historical hybridity perspective.

  • Our paper concludes that the postcolonial notions of ‘hybridity’ or ‘inbetweenness’, are crucial to understand the nature of management in India and in emerging markets more generally as they move us beyond reductionist Eastern vs. Western or indigenous vs. global dichotomies.

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Notes

  1. Interestingly, the family model and the work role of the ‘father’, shows some resemblance to the concept of the paternalistic ‘nuturant task leader’ a model of effective leadership style in India (Sinha 1980). The model specifies that “a nurturant task leader takes care of his subordinates’ needs, shows affections, allows them to depend on him and cultivate personalized relationships, gives directions and guidance, but makes all these contingent on their hard and sincere work. Thus, he nurtures them to grow, mature, gain experience and expertise, and assume responsibility to perform well on their own” (Sinha 1980, p. 55).

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  1. Department of International Business, German University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

    Florian Becker-Ritterspach

  2. Department Global Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Tico Raaijman

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Becker-Ritterspach, F., Raaijman, T. Global Transfer and Indian Management. Manag Int Rev 53, 141–166 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-012-0166-8

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