Michael Porter describes economic development as a continuous process of upgradation of the competitive position of the country. During the economic development process the macroeconomic foundation of the economy and consequently the business environment of the firm experience paradigm shifts on a continuous basis. This results in newer challenges to the firm at every stage. This article attempts to capture the strategic shifts that firms are required to make in each of the stages to gain and sustain competitive advantage. After describing the stages of economic development—factor-driven economy, investment-driven economy, innovation-driven economy and wealth-driven economy—and classifying the firm in terms of its external linkages, the article explores the strategic response that a firm would need to make under different situations. The article argues that the strategic response would depend on the type of the firm, its resource endowments and the stage of the economy. The responses are mapped through four dimensions: ( i) Managing the Supply-side, ( ii) Managing the Demand-side, ( iii) Managing the Conversion Process and ( iv) Changing the Business Model. After describing each, the article analyses a set of cases to explore deeper insights about the relationships between the stages of economic development, pre-conditions and the choice of strategies.

The case is structured around the takeover of Mindtree Ltd (ML) by Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) in June 2019. ML was founded and nurtured by a group of software professionals. In two decades, it had blossomed into an enterprise with global presence, US$ 1 billion turnover and a unique organizational culture. In a strange sequence of events, more than 20% of ML’s shares landed in L&T’s lap. L&T grabbed this opportunity and ran a systematic campaign to acquire the company. In about 100 days, L&T achieved its objective and got into the driver’s seat. The case traces the evolution of ML from a start-up to a publicly held company with global standing. It examines the circumstances and events leading to L&T getting the initial stake in the company; it examines the acquisition campaign of L&T and the response of the top management of ML. Research Questions Was there a strategic fit between ML and L&T? Were the capital market processes just and fair to all the stakeholders involved in the acquisition? Was L&T fair, prudent and sensitive in the acquisition process? Was Siddhartha loyal and fair to the founders of ML? Link to Theory The theoretical concepts that would enable a better comprehension of the case are: Analysis of strategic fit in M&A situations Capital market: Theory and practice Strategy for corporate control of an enterprise Significance of culture and ecosystem in knowledge organizations Phenomenon Studied Leadership styles relevant at different stages of evolution of an enterprise are different. A leader, at a given point of time, is successful when he is able to match his aspirations with the leadership needs of the enterprise at that point of time. The case can be used to demonstrate this phenomenon. Case Context Context of the case is that of an emerging infotech enterprise, coming under corporate raid and the unfolding capital market processes. The case highlights the shortcomings of the co-founders, leading to their unseating as also the sensitivity of the incoming management in handling the transition. Findings The case demonstrates the ability of the capital market to be fair to all stakeholders ensuring reward for competence and punishment for sloppiness. The case emphasizes the need for co-founders to have an effective strategy for corporate control; only then they could hope to achieve the long-term objectives. The case also illustrates the significance of sensitivity in handling softer issues like people and ecosystem in ensuring long-term success. Discussions At the outset, the case may appear to be that of a big fish swallowing a small fish. But a closer scrutiny would reveal the multiple dimensions of the case. Consider the role of Siddhartha. He seeded the idea of the company; he was a financier to it; he remained an investor in the company longer than most of the founders; when he pulled out, the co-founders could not hold the company together. Neither Siddhartha nor the co-founders had the far-sightedness to consolidate their shareholdings for effective control of the company into the future. This would trigger discussions on the differing roles of technocrats, managers, leaders and founders. Another point worthy of discussion would be: How were the co-founders choosing their leaders? Was it by rotation among themselves, or did they engage a set of criteria to identify an incumbent capable of leading a global company?

The case is set around the acquisition of majority shares of Flipkart by Walmart. The case traces the evolution of Flipkart as a startup and explores the context of acquisition by Walmart as well as the strategic fit between the two firms. Technological changes—mainly the proliferation of internet, mobile technology and the consequent digitization—have irretrievable impacts on the retail segment in terms of convergence of on-line and off-line retail and globalization of the markets. The case explores the emerging digitization scenario and its impact on the retail segment as a trigger to the merger process. Flipkart as an Indian startup had to re-incorporate outside India due to policy restrictions on fundraising. The case points to the inadequacies in the Indian policy regime with respect to startup fundraising and differential voting rights. Based on international comparisons, the case triggers discussion on the directions to policy changes if India hopes to create a congenial start-up ecosystem and if the dream of Digital India is to be achieved.

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More and more Indian firms are becoming global in their operations - through exports and imports, by setting up manufacturing plants abroad and through joint-ventures and tie-ups. In this process most of them are dealing with multiple currencies. This has increased the overall exposure of Indian firms to foreign exchange-rate fluctuations. How have they been coping with the risk associated with the exchange-rate fluctuations? In order to explore this, the authors have engaged the case-research method. The authors studied 64 cases for this purpose. Of these 27, firms have been handling forex exposure and/or have had at least one near-crisis situation in the past. The remaining 37 cases are Indian firms from sectors like Textiles, IT, Gems and Jewelry, Pharma, Engineering, FMCG and Energy. The study focused on the context of these firms, their business model, the sources of forex exposure and the policies and practices of managing forex exposure risk. The authors have tried to identify the basic factors underlying the forex exposure and to identify patterns, if any, in the coping-strategy. They conclude that the insights would help formulate a generic strategy.