India and South Asia Business Centre

At the India and South Asia Business Centre, our high quality research and training programmes fall into four distinct objectives.

Knowledge generation

The James E. Lynch India and South Asia Business Centre can address the problems, issues and opportunities faced by India-based and UK/EU-based firms, in relation to the emergence and opening of India, such as the globalisation of competition, and its implication in terms of foreign market servicing strategies for Indian and UK/European firms.

Issues of particular importance include:

• Foreign market servicing strategies of Indian firms within India itself and abroad, and non-Indian firms in India and South Asia
• Inward and outward foreign direct investment into/from India, its trends and characteristics, its impact on firm performance
• The rise of “Third World Multinationals” and challenges posed by the internationalisation of Indian firms; contrasts with the experience of other emerging country multinationals
• The specificities of Indian management practices, and their contribution to the process of globalisation; the implications of internationalisation by Indian firms on structures, culture and management; the link between ownership structure, internationalisation and performance in an Indian context
• The Indian outsourcing industry and the challenges posed by its expansion to Indian firms, non-Indian firms and governments
• The impact of liberalisation on selected industries, such as retail, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and information technology
• Comparative research on India versus China

Knowledge dissemination and training

The Centre disseminates the findings of its research through publication and by conducting in-house business seminars, on- and off-site trainings programs.

• In-house seminars of ‘work in progress’ for researchers and academics
• Management Development Programmes and short courses, both in the UK and India
• More formal public seminars and webinars targeted at academics, business and financial analysts and commentators
• Research publications related to projects identified above, and published in top international business and management journals, with a strong focus on policy and business implications
• Training and seminars for SMEs on topics, such as Doing business in India, in partnership with external organisations such as the UK Trade and Investment, UK India Business Council, and Yorkshire Asia Business Association, targeted at first-time UK investor / exporter in India based in the Yorkshire regions
• More specialist seminars on comparative Indian versus Chinese business issues
• A web site acting as a gateway to existing research in the area of Indian business, with specific sections targeted at academics, firms, and policy-makers
• Database dissemination to an audience of business and financial analysts, researchers, business users

A contribution to enhancing India’s educational standards in the area of international business and management, which can be achieved by leveraging our partnership with the Indian Institute of Managements and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade while developing further alliances with other Indian top B-schools. This leads to the delivery of seminars for research students and courses in international business at partner educational and research institutions.

Every winter, a variable number of exchange students studying an MBA at Indian Institutes of Management attend Leeds University Business School for a semester.

Forums and networking opportunities

The Centre acts as a forum where companies and managers with an interest in India can meet, and exchange information both with one another and with the researchers based in the Centre.

India and Indian MNEs are under-researched. However, the business opportunities are big, it is hoped that the mutual exchange of information, ideas and experience, will be perceived to be profitable to all the parties concerned.

The Centre is also associated with the Knowledge Transfer activities of the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds (CIBUL) and Leeds University Business School, which include a number of events that provide selected individuals and organisations with opportunities to network with firms based in the region.

Our regular events include:

• Annual Khusro Memorial Lecture
• Doing Business in India Series
• Corporate Wisdom - Inspiring Yorkshire’s Leaders
• Seminars and training for West and South Yorkshire firms