Schlagwort-Archive: Globalization

„Indo German Etiquette: Explicitness of communication in Germany“

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Source: http://www.indiadayshannover.com/?page_id=177

The advice of the week 7 / 2012

Explicitness of communication in Germany

With intensifying Indo-German economic relations there is an increasing number of Indian visitors to Germany and while there is considerable literature preparing Germans to visit India, there is some lack of socio-cultural information to prepare Indian professionals visiting Germany.

Rajnish Tiwari GIRT Hamburg

One of the foremost important things, apart from punctuality of time, which I would recommend to take into account while visiting Germany, is to make use of explicit communication as far as possible. For example, in India it is sometimes considered superficial to say by words “thank you” and “sorry” for small things. The reason is mostly not arrogance. Rather, many Indians believe that emotions such as gratefulness are best conveyed by one’s gestures and not by mere words. On the other hand, in a society like Germany, where people are traditionally used to explicit communication, saying “thank you” and “sorry” is considered polite and even necessary as unequivocal recognition of the other person’s efforts or the (inadvertent) trouble caused to him.

Explicit communication is also useful in culinary matters as your German hosts would generally assume that your “no” to more food is really meant as a “no” and would refrain from what they think would be unwarranted insistence. In short, don’t be overformal and convey your feelings, wherever feasible, in a direct manner.

The Hindu Business Line recommends reading „GIRT“ article

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In an article titled „The horizon vocabulary“ journalist D. Murali of The Hindu Business Line, a renowned newspaper from India, recommends reading an article („Investment Destination Germany: Chances & Challenges for Indian Firms„) written by Rajnish Tiwari, Head of German-Indian Round Table in Hamburg:

Investment opportunities in Germany

In a significant contrast to their Chinese counterparts, Indian firms have so far tended to prefer developed Western countries for their investments, notes Rajnish Tiwari, Head of the German-Indian Round Table (GIRT) in Hamburg. Germany, along with the US and the UK, has emerged as a primary target for Indian FDI, he adds, in Investment destination Germany: Chances & challenges for Indian firms (www.ssrn.com). “With its established technological prowess, high-quality infrastructure and reliable institutional set-up, Germany is regarded as an excellent investment target by many Indian firms in their pursuit of newest technologies and commercially viable cutting-edge innovations,” Tiwari reasons.

The paper concedes that, since many Indian companies prefer to channelise their FDI projects to Germany through their existing domestic subsidiaries or through their daughter concerns in other European countries, the official data fail to capture the true extent of Indian engagement in Germany.

Tiwari urges Indian firms, therefore, to take advantage of Germany’s excellent physical infrastructure and technological know-how, including in the eastern part, while combining it with their own strengths in production, marketing, low-cost engineering, and business model innovations. Provides pointers that you may like to explore in detail.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, 11.02.2012

Direct link to the paper in question:
http://www.global-innovation.net/team/tiwari/PDF/Tiwari_BusinessGuide_2011.pdf

Book Review: The Rise of Indian Multinationals: Perspective of Indian Outward Foreign Direct Investment

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In its publication „Reserve Bank of India Occasional Papers“ (Vol. 32. No. 1, Summer 2011) India’s central bank has published a review of the book „The Rise of Indian multinationals: Perspective of Indian Outward Foreign Direct Investment“, edited by Karl P. Sauvant and Jaya Prakash Pradhan with Ayesha Chatterjee and Brian Harley (Palgrave MacMillan: New York), 2010; pp 284, £90.

The review also includes a chapter on Indian investments in Germany. The reviewer Arvind K. Jha (Assistant Adviser, Department of Economic and Policy Research, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai) writes:

„Chapter 8 on ‘The Emergence of Indian Multinationals: An Empirical Study of Motives, Current Status, and Trends of Indian Investment in Germany’, by Rajnish Tiwari and Cornelius Herstatt, presents the results of a empirical survey conducted among Indian subsidiaries operating in Germany. Survey brings out the fact that the majority of Indian companies investing in Germany are from service sectors like software and IT industry (more than half of Indian companies), pharmaceuticals and the automotive industry. Important factors behind the Indian OFDI to Germany are long tradition of economic relations between these two countries, proximity to their customers and suppliers, large access to German market and availability of skilled labour. Another interesting finding of this survey study is that Indian MNEs are net job creators in the Germany. The study also finds that Indian subsidiaries have generally performed well and look forward to strengthen their operational presence in Germany, including research and development activities. However, the survey also highlights the challenges, including cross-cultural issues, being faced by Indian MNEs in Germany.“

Source: Reserve Bank of India
http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2490

„Indian IT cos in US paid $15 bn taxes in last 5 years“

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„The Indian IT industry in the US has contributed $15 billion in taxes alone in the last five years“, according to India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

According to a report appearing in the Economic Times (Feb. 8, 2012):

NASSCOM estimates that Indian industry employs over 100,000 in the US up from 20,000 six years ago, he said adding it supports 200,000 other jobs, including indirect ones, apart from enhancing the competitiveness of some the US industries.

„Most Indian companies are setting up development centres. Indian IT industry contributed $15 billion in taxes over the last five years. This success story should not be set back by stringent visa regulations which act as a non-tariff barrier,“ he said.

„According to a back of envelope calculation – Indians paid over $200 million in visa fees. Perhaps $30-50 million has been taken from young aspiring Indians working in businesses whose US visas were rejected. The pink slip has become a greenback!“ Mathai said.

Source: The Economic Times, online, 08.02.2012

“India – A Lead Market for Frugal Innovations? Extending the Lead Market Theory to Emerging Economies”

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The Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) publishes a new working paper on the topic: “India – A Lead Market for Frugal Innovations? Extending the Lead Market Theory to Emerging Economies“. The paper is authored by Rajnish Tiwari and Cornelius Herstatt (Working Paper 67, January 27th, 2012).

Abstract
India has emerged as a vibrant and versatile source for cost effective, “disruptive innovations” of various varieties. Price-sensitive consumers in a large and growing market keep inducing firms to apply “frugal engineering” for creating affordable products and services without compromising excessively on quality. Because, as The Economist asserts: “Frugal does not mean second-rate”. Such innovations are characterized by high affordability, robustness, and “good enough” quality in a volume-driven market. Resource constraints motivate firms and entrepreneurs to think out-of-the-box. The trick lies in creating solutions that are able to circumvent given environmental constraints in a cost effective way. India’s large and enormously young population faced with limited budgets, but well-endowed with high aspirations, provides an ideal experiment ground for many firms. Solutions created for the Indian market are often suitable for other developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America that frequently face similar socio-economic conditions. In some instances they succeed even in developed country markets by enabling significant cost reductions. This emergence as a hub for “frugal innovations” possibly suggests a “lead market” role for India.
On the other hand, lead markets, as understood today, are characterized by high per capita income, great customer sophistication and high quality infrastructure. Such assumptions imply that lead markets, almost by default, can only exist in economically developed countries because only they can finance the development effort. Using two anchor-cases of product innovations aimed at price-sensitive segments in India we generate preliminary evidence to challenge some of the core assumptions of the “lead market” theory and propose that lead markets can emerge in developing countries too because market attractiveness (e.g. volume of demand, export possibilities) and technological capabilities are able to offset many other deficiencies. The supposed absence of customer sophistication is channelized into a challenge for supplier-side sophistication to design cost effective, “good enough” solutions (“low-cost, thin-margin”) that can meet the aspirations of consumers in a highly competitive market. In order to master this challenge companies need access to a competent and sufficiently large technical base with first-hand knowledge of the ground situation of targeted customer groups (“social capital”).
Keywords: Lead Markets; India; Frugal Innovations; Frugal Engineering; Disruptive Innovations; National Innovation System; Sectoral Innovation System.