This refers to Ajit Balakrishnan’s article “Core competence and other tales” (February 23). There have been many studies on conglomerates in India. In the industrial policy of the seventies, the “big houses” were allowed to invest in some critical areas under the joint sector. On this, H K Paranjpe, member of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission committee, had said there are businessmen with a trading attitude who concentrate on short gestation projects, diversifying into various businesses. A capitalist would have the long-term viewpoint to invest in long gestation projects and would have the commitment to develop that industry. The shift in policy was to promote B Sivaraman’s study on entrepreneurs of India, under the Planning Commission in the eighties, that showed that technocrats-turned-entrepreneurs were not so successful when compared to entrepreneurs with a trading background or those who have exposure to marketing techniques in multinational corporations. But since the nineties, technocrats started to be more successful as entrepreneurs. The process of democratisation in business has started and, today, more entrepreneurs without a business background are proving to be successful. Even in the West, technology has played a crucial role. Thus, management studies require a multi-disciplinary approach that combines the developments in social sciences, technology and other subjects.
T S Ramanarajan, Mumbai
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