Inheriting the Mantle
D Sampath
Response Books
218 pages/Rs 195
This question must have engaged the minds of the patriarchs of many business houses since Independence. The answers were based mostly on personal predilections or, at best, the advice of an external counsel. The success or otherwise of these steps has been documented in financial journals and magazines.
To my mind, there has not been a formal study so far. In this context, the book under review deals with the management of succession and transition in Indian family business.
Most of the larger business houses have handled the succession and transition issues quite smoothly. They exposed the inheritors to management education in reputed schools in India and abroad. The increase in size and complexity of business led to the induction of professional managers and the inheritors were further able to hone their skills by their interaction with the professionals.
The problem, however, still remains to a large extent in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with comparatively limited resources. The SMEs received a tremendous fillip to their growth in the 1960s and 1970s through several policy measures by the government.
Many of the young entrepreneurs who had boldly set out then and achieved success and growth in the intervening years, would now be at a stage where they would be considering questions of succession and smooth transition. This book has, therefore, made a timely appearance to broaden their perspective.
The author, with his IIT and IIM background and several years
