When in India do as the…: An insight into an Italian automotive company's experiences in India

Abstract

Purpose

The emergence of India as an economic power over recent years has created a need to understand the way in which business is carried out in that part of the world. It is also important to realize how businesses are founded and structured in India. Many Indian companies are family‐run businesses just like their Italian counterparts. This research attempts to study a typical Italian company, its experiences in India, its aspirations, the challenges faced in the context of an emerging economy and the possible roadways to map the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The work is based on an interview with Pietro Valfre'di Bonzo, chief corporate representative of Fiat International in India, conducted under the aegis of the GLOBE project (Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Research Programme). The GLOBE study was conducted across 62 nations worldwide. It was initiated to study the leadership behaviours of top leaders across the globe and attempts to find out the key leader behaviours that are vital to the businesses. It also studies what leader behaviours are important in different countries and what might click in India may not click in France, and so on.

Findings

The automobile industry is a fast‐moving industry as far as India is concerned with global competitors present on Indian soil. Many authors observe that the industrial sector to which an organization belongs and the common kinds of pressures encountered by organizations, such as the rate of technological change and the general level of environmental turbulence, affect organizational cultural practices. Fiat too is trying to adapt with the changing dynamics of the Indian automobile industry.

Practical implications

Western companies like Fiat face stiff competition from Indian car makers like Tata, Mahindra, Maruti etc. Pricing will play an important factor because of the emergence of a huge middle‐class population in India, promptly tapped by Tata, which has recently launched Tata Nano, touted as a triumph of Indian ingenuity and the world's cheapest car, costing just 100,000 rupees ($1,979; £1,366).

Originality/value

This is an original piece of work.

Citation

Prabhakar, G.P. (2010), "When in India do as the…: An insight into an Italian automotive company's experiences in India", Management Decision, Vol. 48 No. 6, pp. 1010-1022. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741011053514