Entry and Growth of Enterpreneurs in Export Businesses: A Study of Influences and Strategies

An inward looking strategy of industrialisation in India, based on import substitution, meant a neglect of exports and the foreign trade sector of the economy in general. By the mid-1980s however, there was a realization that such a strategy was not yielding the desired rates of economic growth. There was also a growing appreciation of the need to integrate trade policy with the overall strategy of development. The concept of self-reliance was re-defined to include the capacity to pay for essential imports through export earnings. An export thrust was to be part of a strategy to enhance the competitiveness of industry and improve the performance of India’s economy through a closer integration with the world economy. For reasons of political economy, however, across the board structural reforms had to wait till the 1990s. From the mid-1980s, the government initiated and augmented a number of policy measures and fiscal incentives to encourage exporters. Policy measures can induce entrepreneurs to turn export oriented. These inducements however, are mediated through the perception of the entrepreneur and the response capacities of the enterprise itself. Thus the attributes of (a) the entrepreneur; (b) the enterprise; (C) the environment – particularly the policy regime, together induce the entry and growth of firms in the export sector. Research literature on enterprise level influences and strategies for exports with regard to India, is however scanty. Through five case studies this paper tries to identify the issues which could be the basis for a more rigorous examination of the subject. By themselves the cases could serve as a useful pedagogic tool.