Ajit Nayak

The reflexive consumer

Drawing on a detailed reading of the work of Peppers and Rogers (1993, 1997, 2004, 2005), this paper argues that their work offers an emblematic problematization of traditional mass marketing, which articulates a new mentality of marketing — collaborative marketing. Collaborative marketing, implemented through the practices of CRM, reframes the role and identity of the individual consumer within producer—consumer relationships, transforming them from sovereign chooser to active collaborator, or as they are termed here, reflexive consumers. Using Foucaults concept of governmentality the paper articulates the achievement of this transformation and the central role of reflexivity in this transformation of the consumer. We conclude that in redefining the nature of marketing, RM and CRM form new relays of power linking producer and consumer and that these relays re-interpret the antagonism between freedom and subjugation that lie at the heart of producer—consumer relationships.

Thinking becoming and emergence: process philosophy and organization studies

Process is an ambivalent term. Its use in organizational research and theorizing is widespread. Yet, there are important subtle differences in how the term is understood and employed in the study of organizing/organization. In this chapter, we show that thinking in terms of ceaseless change, emergence and the immanent becoming of things, entities and events are central to a proper appreciation of what it means to truly understand process in genuinely processual terms. From this process philosophical perspective, social entities such as individuals and organizations are construed as temporarily stabilized event clusters abstracted from a sea of constant flux and change. Such an approach to the understanding of organizational phenomena draws its inspiration from a tradition of thinkers from Heraclitus to twentieth-century process philosophers such as William James, Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead and beyond all of who, in one way or another, viewed reality in terms of ceaseless process, flux and transformation rather than as a stable world of unchanging entities. In what follows, we outline the key principles and axioms of process philosophy. We show that from a process philosophical outlook, primacy is accorded to becoming over being, difference over self-identity, and time and temporality over simple spatial location. We then examine the implications of process thinking for understanding organization as an ongoing ‘world-making’ phenomenon and show that the current interest in organizational sensemaking, organizational identity and entrepreneurial logic provides good illustrations of how and when process and emergence are taken seriously, our understanding of organizational situations can be vastly enriched.

Co-evolution, opportunity seeking and institutional change: Entrepreneurship and the Indian telecommunications industry, 1923--2009

This paper demonstrates the importance for entrepreneurship of historical contexts and processes, and the co-evolution of institutions, practices, discourses and cultural norms. Drawing on discourse and institutional theories, it develops a model of the entrepreneurial field, and applies this in analysing the rise to global prominence of the Indian telecommunications industry. The article uses entrepreneurial life histories to show how various discourses and discursive processes ultimately worked to generate change and the creation of new business opportunities. It suggests that entrepreneurship involves more than individual acts of business creation, but also implies collective endeavours to shape the future direction of the entrepreneurial field.

Entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and Indian business elites

Despite the rhetoric of borderless transnational corporations driven by the homogenising trends in globalisation, nation states and national identities continue to play an important role in structuring national managerial mentalities and dispositions. In this paper, we examine the entrepreneurial spirit of Indian industrialists and the emerging importance of corporate governance for globalising Indian businesses. We argue that corporate governance regimes and the entrepreneurialism exhibited within a national context are, to a considerable degree, self referring, being supported and informed by pre-existing social structures, norms and practices. We explore the corporate lives and careers of the directors of the SENSEX (top 30) companies from a practice perspective, and show that corporate governance and entrepreneurialism emerge as mediating symbolic forms embedding national values, institutional practices, and individual dispositions. The data and arguments presented in this paper stem from a larger, ongoing study into entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and Indian business elites; our preliminary analysis suggests a complex web of connections between these social elements.

Internationalisation of the Indian telecommunication industry (1947–2004): A firm-level perspective

Abstract While the importance of the telecom revolution in India has been recognised, little attention has been paid to the diverse international influences at the firm level. This article addresses this gap by developing a firm-level framework, drawing on the resource-based view, institution-based view and the knowledge-based view of the firm, and by drawing on data related to the various foreign firms’ entry strategies during the pre-liberalisation period (1980–1991) and the liberalisation period (1991–). The article demonstrates that the two periods required foreign firms to have different capabilities to enter the Indian telecom industry. The article also sheds light on the international knowledge-transfer process in the Indian telecommunications industry with a specific focus on the differences between different foreign-country firms.