AN EXPLORATORY STUDY TO UNDERSTAND THE

MARWARI BUSINESS COMMUNITY’S APPROACH TO

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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Nihar Amoncar
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A submission presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the

University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy

November 2017

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 ProQuest Number: 28136215

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Acknowledgement

This thesis is dedicated to my family, without whom my journey to this point would not
have been possible. I would like to thank my father Krishnanath Amoncar and mother
Preeti Amoncar who never ceased to believe in my capabilities, despite my best efforts
to prove otherwise. Their only goal in life was to help their kids succeed and they left
no stone unturned to provide me with the best of education and comfort while
sacrificing their own. Their efforts in making me succeed in life are deeply ingrained
in my brain and were a major driving force in my pursuit of a Doctorate. I can only
humbly hope to achieve what they think I am capable of achieving. This thesis is also
dedicated to my greatest support through this journey – my wife, Paridhi Amoncar. This

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all started in 2012 and I never had to look back, I am fortunate to have her with me. Her
patience with me as I devoted more time to my work than family, her ability to motivate
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me when I felt lost and her pure love towards me kept me going, you did not nor ever
will let me give up and with you as an example I shall always give my best efforts in
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everything I do. Your sacrifices are equal if not more than mine. This is just the start;
the best is yet to come!!
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I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and thanks to my Director of Studies, my

mentor and my role model, Prof. Jonathan Deacon. It was 8pm on a cold winter night
of 2012 when I first met Prof. Deacon as a student of Strategic Entrepreneurial
Marketing and little I knew how my life would change. Prof. Deacon was responsible
for triggering a passion for Entrepreneurship as a subject within me. So much that I quit
my business in India and moved to Wales to read my PhD under him. My association
with Prof. Deacon has been one that I will always cherish and I will be forever grateful
to his support and guidance in making an average person like me, an above average
person. Prof. Deacons methodological training has set the tone for my philosophical
position in this study and I hope to be a partner in collaboration as we jointly explore
Ethnic entrepreneurial constructs globally in the future. I thank Dr. Paula Stephens, also
my mentor, who ensured I stick to my task and remain focussed, our methodological
debates were very important. I hope to partner with you and adapt your methodological
expertise to extract meaningful insights of Ethnic business communities in the future.
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Last but certainly not the least, this study would not be possible without the support and
guidance of my brother-in-law cum intellectual buddy Mr. Nityanand Sonthalia. Our
lengthy, thought provoking discussion laid the foundation stone of this study. Thanks
for being there always, despite your very busy schedule you devoted ample time in the
field of study as we pursued participants around Kolkata. I would also like to express
my sincere thanks to all the participants within this study. I am forever grateful to you
all for taking interest in this study and making it so interesting with your insights. Thank
you all for making me a part of this wonderful business fraternity.

Pursuit of knowledge is the purpose of life…..

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List of Publications

Amoncar, N., Deacon, J. and Stephens, P. (2017). The pursuit of Economic prosperity
– Exploring the Entrepreneurial philosophy and approach of the Marwari Business
community in India. In 50th Academy of Marketing conference. Hull, 03 July 2017.
Academy of Marketing.

(AWARDED Best Paper in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Marketing track at the
50th Academy of Marketing conference at Hull University – 2017)

Amoncar, N., Deacon, J. and Stephens, P. (2016). Defining Contextual Advantage:

Exploring the Contextual Relation between Effectuation and Entrepreneurial Marketing

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for creating New Markets Effectually. Asia Pacific Journal of Advanced Business and
Social Studies. 2 (1), pp.29-42.
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(AWARDED- Best Paper in Business track at the Asia Pacific Conference on
Contemporary Research, KL, Malaysia in 2015)
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Deacon, J. and Amoncar, N. (2016). The notion of growth: a research agenda for SMEs
and Entrepreneurs. e-Organisations and People. 23 (2), 12-21.

Amoncar, N., Deacon, J. and Stephens, P. (2016). Role of Culture in Effectuation:

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exploring the Marwari Cultural Philosophy and Entrepreneurial approach. In Institute

of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference 2016: Institutional voids. 28
October 2016. Paris: ISBE.

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Table of contents
List of figures and tables 9 - 13
Abstract 14
1.0 Chapter 1 – Introduction 16
1.1 Introduction 16
1.2 Methodological issues 23
1.3 Method of approach 25
1.4 Limitations 26
2.0 Chapter 2 – Literature review 27
2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 Aspects of Entrepreneurship theory 30
2.3 Aspects of Culture and Ethnic Entrepreneurship theory 37
2.3.1 Research issues relevant to this study 46
2.4 Effectuation 49
2.4.1 Research issues relevant to this study 56

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2.5 Indian context – Historical Perspectives 60
2.6 Empirical research framework - approach 75
3.0 Chapter 3 – research methodology 80
3.1 Introduction 80
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3.2 Nature of research 82
3.2.1 Research ontology 83
3.2.2 Research epistemology 85
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3.2.3 Research philosophy 88

3.2.4 Theory building 92
3.3 Research design 93
3.3.1 Research method 95
3.3.1.1 Case research – justification 96
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3.3.1.2 Linkages between case research and 98

action research
3.3.2 Type of case: Inquiry from the inside 101
3.3.3 Unit of analysis 104
3.3.4 Selection of cases 105
3.3.5 Number of cases 107
3.3.6 Number of interviews and observations 109
3.4 Data generation 112
3.4.1 Data generation method 113
3.4.1.1 Response interviewing 114
3.4.1.2 Participant – observation 116
3.4.2 Interview protocol 117
3.4.2.1 Phase 1 118
3.4.2.2 Phase 2 120
3.5 Analysis of generated data 123
3.5.1 Criteria for analysis 124
3.5.2 Analysis process 127
3.5.3 The criteria for analysis 128
3.5.3.1 Entrepreneurial history 134

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 3.5.3.2 Entrepreneurial approach 135
3.5.3.3 Role of Ethnic socio-cultural system 136
3.6 Limitations of the research and methodological issues 137
3.7 Ethical considerations 139
4.0 Chapter 4 – Findings, analysis and discussion 140
4.1 Introduction 140
4.2 Case findings, analysis and discussion 142
4.2.1 Detailed analysis of Case 1 142
4.2.1.1 Case history: Rahul (P1) 142
4.2.1.2 The entrepreneurial approach 143
categories and dimensions in context
4.2.1.3 Summary of analysis for Rahul (P1) 151
4.2.2 Detail analysis of Case 2 154
4.2.2.1 Case history: Rachit (P2) 154
4.2.2.2 The entrepreneurial approach 155
categories and dimensions in context
4.2.2.3 Summary of analysis for Rachit (P2) 164
4.2.3 Detail analysis of Case 3 167

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4.2.3.1 Case history: Ajay (P3) 167
4.2.3.2 The entrepreneurial approach 168
categories and dimensions in context
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4.2.3.3 Summary of analysis for Ajay (P3) 177
4.2.4 Detail analysis of Case 4 180
4.2.4.1 Case history: Rohan (P4) 180
4.2.4.2 The entrepreneurial approach 181
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categories and dimensions in context

4.2.4.3 Summary of analysis for Rohan (P4) 190
4.2.5 Detail analysis of Case 5 194
4.2.5.1 Case history: Vinay (P5) 194
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4.2.5.2 The entrepreneurial approach 195

categories and dimensions in context
4.2.5.3 Summary of analysis for Vinay (Case 204
5)
4.2.6 Detail analysis of Case 6 207
4.2.6.1 Case history: Narnolia (P6) 207
4.2.6.2 The entrepreneurial approach 208
categories and dimensions in context
4.2.6.3 Summary of analysis for Narnolia 217
(Case 6)
4.2.7 Detail analysis of Case 7 221
4.2.7.1 Case History: Nityanand (P7) 221
4.2.7.2 The entrepreneurial approach 222
categories and dimensions in context
4.2.7.3 Summary of analysis for Nityanand 230
(Case 7)
4.2.8 Detail analysis of Case 8 233
4.2.8.1 Case history: Pradeep (P8) 233
4.2.8.2 The entrepreneurial approach 234
categories and dimensions in context
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 4.2.8.3 Summary of analysis for Pradeep (Case 241
8)
4.3 Conclusion 244
4.3.1 the individual categorisation 245
4.3.2 the family-community categorisation 247
4.3.3 the effectual categorisation 249
4.3.4 the predictive categorisation 251
4.3.5 A composite multi-dimensional positioning map 252
5.0 Chapter 5 – Cross-case analysis 253
5.1 Introduction 253
5.2 The cross-case entrepreneurial approach meanings 254
5.2.1 The cross-case individual categorisation 254
5.2.1.1 Fear of failure 255
5.2.1.2 Negative perception of the community 257
5.2.1.3 High individual need to achieve 259
5.2.1.4 The variant 261
5.2.1.5 Summary 262
5.2.2 The cross-case family-community categorisation 263

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5.2.2.1 Reputation 264
5.2.2.2 Legacy 267
5.2.2.3 the Marwari identity 268
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5.2.2.4 The variant 274
5.2.2.5 Summary 276
5.2.2.6 Discussion 277
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5.2.3 the cross-case effectual categorisation 279

5.2.3.1 Marwari identity driven principles of 280
logic of control
5.2.3.2 Affordable loss and Means oriented 284
approach
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5.2.3.3 Discussion 286

5.2.3.4 The variant 288
5.2.3.5 Summary 290
5.2.4 the cross-case prediction categorisation 291
5.2.4.1 Summary 294
5.5 Conclusion 295
6.0 Conclusions and Implications 298
6.1 Introduction 298
6.2 Thesis flow and focus 299
6.2.1 The nature of research problem and its 300
justification
6.2.2 Literature and conceptual models 302
6.2.3 The nature of research inquiry and insights 304
gained
6.2.4 Empirical research design 305
6.3 Conclusions from research 306
6.3.1 The key insights 307
6.3.1.1 The individual categorisation 307
6.3.1.2 The family-community categorisation 308

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 6.3.1.3 The effectual categorisation 309
6.3.1.4 The predictive categorisation 310
6.4 Development of a descriptive model and relevant 311
definitions
6.5 Implications of the descriptive model for theory 317
6.6 Implication of the descriptive model for Policy makers 319
6.7 Implication of the descriptive model for Practitioners 321
6.8 Implications of the descriptive model for further research 324
6.9 Conclusion 327
7.0 References 331
8.0 Appendices 358

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List of Figures and Tables

Figure no. Description Page

no.
Figure 1.1 Area of focus within this study 16
Figure 2.1 Structure of Chapter two 28
Figure 2.2 Levels of Entrepreneurship Research 33
Figure 2.3 Venn diagram positioning the individual within the society 54
Figure 2.4 Effectuation model of Entrepreneurship 61
Figure 2.5 Conceptualization of research issues derived from a review 63
of extant literature thought to lie within the scope of the
study aim
Figure 2.6
Figure 3.1
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Conceptualization of research issues
The oscillation and turbulence of data used in this study
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94
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Figure 3.2 Continuum of Action research/Case research and the 99
positioning of this study
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Figure 3.3 The research position of this study 103

Figure 3.4 The hermeneutic interpretive approach adopted within this 121
study, highlighting the oscillation between the known and
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the unknown
Figure 3.5 Multi-dimensional positioning map for comparing 136
entrepreneurial approach
Figure 4.1 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 1 153
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.2 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 2 166
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.3 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 2 179
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis

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Figure 4.4 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 4 192
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.5 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 5 206
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.6 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 6 220
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.7 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 7 232
mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
Figure 4.8 The multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for Case 8 243

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mapped against the four categories and three dimensions
discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for analysis
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Figure 4.9 The composite multi-dimensional positioning ‘footprint’ for 252
the discussed cases mapped against the four categories and
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three dimensions discussed in Section 3.5.3 the criteria for

analysis
Figure 5.1 The individual category of all cases within the study shown 262
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by strength of individualism
Figure 5.2 The family-community category of all cases within the study 276
shown by strength of family-community influence
Figure 5.3 The Marwari socio-cultural system elements and their 277
relationship
Figure 5.4 The Marwari entrepreneurial approach – a balance of 286
Effectuation and Prediction
Figure 5.5 The effectual category of all cases within the study shown 290
by strength of Effectuation
Figure 5.6 The predictive category of all cases within the study shown 294
by strength of Prediction
Figure 5.7 the agglomerated process view of the ‘Dynamic’ Marwari 295
entrepreneurial approach

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Figure 6.1 The flow and focus of the thesis 299
Figure 6.2 Conceptualization of research issues derived from a review 302
of extant literature thought to lie within the scope of the
study aim
Figure 6.3 Descriptive model – part one 311

Figure 6.4 Descriptive model – part two, the agglomerated process 312
view of the ‘Dynamic’ Marwari approach to
Entrepreneurship

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Table no. Description Page
no.
Table 2.1 Principles of Effectuation 50
Table 2.2 Predictive v/s Effectual logic differentiation 52
Table 2.3 Framework identifying criteria required to be considered to 76
understand Marwari entrepreneurial approach
Table 3.1 Differences between Positivist and ‘Interpretivist’ research 88
paradigms
Table 3.2 Details concerning the participants included within this study 107
Table 3.3 Range of qualitative interviews – focus of this study 114
highlighted
Table 3.4 The individual/family-community and Effectual/predictive 128
continua
Table 3.5
Table 4.1 Case1. Key findings/insights
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Entrepreneurial approach continuum meanings 130
151
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Table 4.2 Case 2. Key findings/insights 164
Table 4.3 Case 3. Key findings/insights 177
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Table 4.4 Case 4. Key findings/insights 190

Table 4.5 Case 5. Key findings/insights 204
Table 4.6 Case 6. Key findings/insights 217
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Table 4.7 Case 7. Key findings/insights 230

Table 4.8 Case 8. Key findings/insights 241
Table 4.9 Composite of individual categorisation of entrepreneurial 246
approach
Table 4.10 Composite of family-community categorisation of 248
entrepreneurial approach
Table 4.11 Composite of effectual categorisation of entrepreneurial 250
approach
Table 4.12 Composite of predictive categorisation of entrepreneurial 251
approach
Table 5.1 Composite of individual categorisation of entrepreneurial 254
approach

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Table 5.2 Composite of family-community categorisation of 263
entrepreneurial approach
Table 5.3 Composite of effectual categorisation of linguistic usage 279
continuum
Table 5.4 Composite of predictive categorisation of entrepreneurial 291
approach

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ABSTRACT

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the Marwari business
community’s approach to Entrepreneurship.

Design:

The study adopts an ‘interpretivist’ paradigm to aid theory building within the subject

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domain of Entrepreneurship. The study leverages responsive interviewing and
observation with an adaptation of ‘inquiry from inside’ approach to gain in-depth
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insights into the Marwari Entrepreneurship and socio-cultural context. A case study
method is used to generate data via a hermeneutic approach. An individual and cross-
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case analysis is undertaken against a set ‘criteria for analysis’ to allow theory building.
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Findings:

The study identifies ‘intangible’ elements of the Marwari socio-cultural system that
have a ‘tangible’ influence on their approach to Entrepreneurship. The study emerges
with a descriptive model of Marwari Entrepreneurship approach which is characterized
by a balance of Effectuation and Prediction in order to manage the effects of the socio-
cultural elements on Entrepreneurship.

Research implications:

The emerging descriptive model identifies unique elements such as the Marwari
identity, Reputation, Legacy and Fear of failure which inform the Effectual and

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Prediction adoption within the Marwari approach to Entrepreneurship. The emerging
descriptive model carries implications for further development of Effectuation theory
within Ethnic business community contexts by arguing that the unique socio-cultural
elements of a community can influence Effectuation adoption and adaptation. The study
also carries practitioner implication for Entrepreneurs with regards to quicker decision-
making process in an uncertain and competitive environment with limited availability
of information. Further, the study carries implications for Western businesses seeking
to develop International business ties in India by identifying factors that remain
important for consideration when forging business ties with successful Indian family
businesses. The study also carries implications for Policy makers by arguing that
effective leveraging of the Indian business communities can drive regional
Entrepreneurship and Economic development. The study identifies key areas for future
research on the Marwari business community by adopting Institutional theory lens,

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Social capital perspective, Competitive Succession and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
framework. The study also presents a descriptive model of Marwari approach to
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Entrepreneurship which the author argues needs to be applied against other Indian
business communities such as Gujarati’s, Jain’s and Parsi’s.
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1.0 Chapter 1 – Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This chapter aims to build the context for this PhD study by highlighting the area of
knowledge the thesis aims to address. The chapter identifies gaps in existing literature
on Effectuation theory and Ethnic-entrepreneurship and demonstrate how this thesis
can contribute to further understanding and knowledge in Effectuation theory and
Ethnic-entrepreneurship literature.

The researcher while undergoing a Master’s program in Business and Administration

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encountered the theory of Effectuation, the components of which seemed interestingly
relevant to the functioning of the researchers own business. The researcher undertook
a Masters dissertation via an ethnographic study of their business via an Effectuation
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theory lens. The outcome of the dissertation highlighted that although Effectuation
theory was developed in a very specific environment i.e. ‘white, male, North American,
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expert’ entrepreneurs, it carried relevance to the business practice of entrepreneurs from

Eastern ethnic contexts, such as the researchers own business.
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The researcher developed a PhD research proposal to investigate whether Effectuation

theory and its framework would remain the same or change as the ‘context’ i.e. the
social-cultural environment and its elements change. The process of problem
identification and aim/objective setting was as follows. The researcher being married
into a traditional Indian business community called the ‘Marwaris’, decided to review
literature on the Marwaris to understand whether there was any evidence of Effectual
approach in business. The researcher through his own experience within a Marwari
family, was well aware of the Marwari business acumen and their prominence within
the Indian economic landscape. The researcher however found that despite the
prominence of the Marwaris, there was very little written about them within academia.
The researchers hence explored the most important texts on Marwaris developed by
Timberg (2014), Damodaran (2008) and Iyer (2004). This helped the author confirm
academically, some of the aspects seen through experience and observation of Marwaris

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via the family context. However, these texts although highlighting the ‘entrepreneurial
characteristics’ of the Marwaris did not further understanding of the ‘nature’ or the
‘process’ through which Marwaris engage in entrepreneurial activity. The research aim
of this study was developed at this point to be:

Aim: to explore the Marwari approach to Entrepreneurship.

The Marwaris were considered to have a “phenomenal appetite for risk” (Timberg,
2014) and were known for their innovating problem solving (Damodaran, 2008). These
characteristics matched the Western definition of an entrepreneur as the researcher then
expanded the reading into the broad Western academic literature on Entrepreneurship.
The researcher reached a point wherein it was found that academic literature
acknowledge that culture had a tangible influence on approach to Entrepreneurship

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(Shapero and Sokol, 1982). This led the researcher to explore Ethnic-Entrepreneurship
literature wherein it was clear that varying culture meant variance in the unique socio-
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cultural elements that emerge in Ethnic entrepreneurial contexts.
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The researcher realised at this point that the socio-culturally complex Eastern societies
present a challenge to adopting a Western theoretical lens to study Entrepreneurship as
the local Ethnic variations emerge as impediments to achieve a universal definition of
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Entrepreneurship. For example, Western academia has argued the lack of protestant
work ethic and the mystical beliefs of Eastern societies such as India create constraints
to Entrepreneurship development. However, authors such as Gupta (2008) and Timberg
(2014) have argued otherwise. Despite many notable scholarly achievements in the
field of Ethnic Entrepreneurship, the links between Ethnic and entrepreneurial
behaviour remain limited and unclear especially in the ‘non-western’ context. Iyer
(2004) argues that one unique feature in Eastern societies was the emergence of
‘business communities’ which had their origin within the broader socio-economic
structure. Such communities emerged more as a consequence of religious philosophy
and traditional social structures rather than as a result of market or economic reforms.
Such business communities in the East have been argued to have become prominent in
trade and business by several authors (Bayly, 1983; Cottam Ellis, 1991; Iyer, 1999;
Timberg, 1978). Wielecki (2015) asserts that Ethnic Entrepreneurship emphasizes an

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economic behaviour that is socially embedded and thus does not fit into the paradigm
of homo economics as proclaimed by neoclassical economics.

Several studies have shown that Ethnic Entrepreneurship is affected by variance

between social structures, social relations and networks (Adeleke et al. 2003; Alvarez
et al. 2011; Anggadwita et al. 2017; Wielecki, 2015). The ‘socio-cultural system’ is an
intangible entity that may affect behaviour, relationships, perceptions and ways of life,
survival and the presence of a person in the society (Anggadwita et al. 2017). Studies
have claimed that elements of the socio-cultural environment that influence
entrepreneurial motivations include beliefs, values, attitudes, habits and lifestyle
behaviour, which are a progression of customs, religious, educational and social
conditions (Adeleke et al. 2003; Anggadwita et al. 2017). The relevant behavioural
patterns to environmental conditions are argued to aid formation of cultural values that

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are different between societies, in which some of them may affect economic activities
according to Anggadwita, et al., (2017). Rath (2000) expresses a similar opinion
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wherein he emphasizes that the opportunities and strategies of entrepreneurs are
embedded within the socio-economic and political environments, and that these
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external factors have great influence on the behaviour and development of Ethnic
entrepreneurs. At this point, the researcher through literature review had established
that in order to explore the Marwaris approach to Entrepreneurship, it was necessary to
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understand the nature and components of its socio-cultural system and understand
whether it was unique and influenced their approach to business. The research
objectives as a result were set to be:

1.1.1. to explore the socio-cultural context of the Marwari business community.

1.1.2. to apprehend, elucidate and report those facets of the Marwari socio-cultural
system that influence their entrepreneurial behaviour and approach.

The review of Entrepreneurship literature also highlighted that the Western academia’s
understanding of Indian Entrepreneurship was via a Western perspective of rationality
and they considered India’s reliance on mysticism and religion as an impediment to
Entrepreneurship (Morris, 1967) with authors such as Weber (1904) and Schumpeter
(1932) asserting that the Industrial revolution did not come to India as they lacked the
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Western Protestant work ethic. It was at this juncture that the researcher understood that
Western literature was over-relying on rationalism seen via studies done by Taylor
(1911) and Weber (1904). However, these rationalistic studies such as Bureaucracy
theory failed to explain why entrepreneurial firms behaved differently. The author
hence reviewed the extant literature on Effectuation theory as during the Masters
dissertation the researcher has found that Effectuation theory was one which turned
predictive rationality upside down by questioning its logic. The research asserts that as
seen earlier, the investigation of complex Eastern context via Western lens can be
complex and can lead to misleading observations. For example, despite Western
scholars arguing religion to be impediment to India’s Entrepreneurship, the Marwaris
are a business community evolved through the Indian Hindu religious philosophy with
a religious duty to ‘pursue economic prosperity’ and are accounted for a quarter of
Indian names on the Forbes billionaires list (Timberg, 2014).

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Hence, the researcher adopts the Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001) framework as
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a non-rational lens to explore the Marwari approach to Entrepreneurship, as Indian
approach to entrepreneurship is known to lack rationality. This approach is suitable to
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adopt an ‘exploratory’ stance against the Marwaris, which is open to considering

irrational aspects of the Marwari business approach and attempting to understand them
within the unique, ethnic, Marwari context and develop it further rather than simply
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attempt to provide judgements on its effectiveness. There are further aspects of the
Marwaris that have relevance to Effectuation theory which are worth investigating to
further develop Effectuation theory by applying its model in non-Western Ethnic
contexts such as the Marwaris to understand whether the process of Effectuation
changes. Reuber et al., (2016) posits that entrepreneurial behaviour is informed by
institutional norms, which reserves scope to explore how the process changes or adapts
in a ‘community’ of entrepreneurs. The Marwaris being a ‘community’ of
Entrepreneurs present themselves as a perfect case study in Effectuation theory
development. Reuber et al., (2016) further acknowledge the lack of knowledge of
Effectuations’ impact in varied contexts and argue that the meaning of important
Effectuation concepts can be changed through implementation of Effectuation in
different contexts. For Effectuation theory to allow induction of new and unique
theoretical insights, its exploration in varied ‘Ethnic’ contexts are essential for further
knowledge development. For example, the Marwaris are known to leverage networks
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and family to progress in business with Timberg (2014), which bears relevance to the
‘whom I know’ principle of logic of Effectuation. Ethnic Entrepreneurship literature
also suggests the role wider community and networks play in Ethnic Entrepreneurship.

The researcher hence leverages the Western ‘individualistic’ approach to

Entrepreneurship along with the Ethnic ‘family/community’ level Entrepreneurship to
understand the nature of Marwari Entrepreneurship without eliminating previous
academic findings. The researcher also seeks to understand whether there exist any
commonalities and variances in the approach to business within the Marwari
community. This is important to understand and categorize the multiple perspectives
on Entrepreneurship that may exist within the Marwari community and develop them
further to understand their impact on the whole community approach to
Entrepreneurship. The application of Effectuation theory will help provide a platform

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to base the Marwari approach to business by helping identify whether the Marwaris are
predictive of effectual within their approach, whether they value affordable loss or
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maximum profitability and whether the ‘community’ aspect of Marwaris has an
influence on Effectual route adoption.
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1.1.3. to identify and report the attributes of the Marwari entrepreneurial approach with
a focus on individual and family-community level.
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1.1.4. to seek to identify the commonalities and variances in the entrepreneurial

approach within the Marwari context.

Figure 1.1 illustrates the discussion above via a Venn diagram, highlighting the area of
focus within this study which is the combined overlapping area of Entrepreneurship,
Ethnicity and the theory of Effectuation. The following chapter will review the relevant
literature within this area to build a background to this study and help conceptualise the
research questions further.

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 Entrepreneurship

Ethnicity
(Marwari Effectuation
case)

Figure 1.1 Area of focus within this study

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The study aims to contribute to our understanding of the following:
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Marwari business community – understand the Marwari Ethnic socio-cultural system

and its elements. Seek whether these elements impact the Marwari approach to business
tangibly. Understand the role of family and community in the Entrepreneurship process
PR

within the Marwari community.

Effectuation theory – the impact of applying Effectuation theory within a non-western

Ethnic context on its framework, to understand if the antecedents and process of
Effectuation varies within Ethnic contexts in Eastern societies, to help define the
Marwari approach to Entrepreneurship.

The full detailed account of the contribution made by this study to theory, practice,
policy and future research is presented in Chapter 6.

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EV
IE
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 1.2 Methodological issues

Globalization has caused the world to converge and as a consequence, businesses

operating within developed economies have been actively seeking to identify overseas
markets for their products and services within emerging or developing economies such
as India. For example, there has been a recent impetus being provided to Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) in India with the Government policy constantly increasing FDI limits
in critical business sectors, providing Western firms with market entry opportunity.
Although the focus of research within this area has been within the domain of
International Business, International Marketing, Global cultures etc., the recent increase
in international engagement coupled with and advent of ‘start-up’ culture has meant
Western companies are now starting to encounter smaller, high- growth family

W
businesses as against the traditional ‘corporate’ large scale firms. As a consequence,
the Western firms face complexities in understanding the social contexts within which
such firms operate and their approach to doing business; understanding of which is
IE
important for successful contract enforcement in terms of partnerships (joint ventures,
strategic alliances, intermediary selection).
EV

In the West, the small firm sector is understood to be highly heterogeneous, complicated
by social contexts and a high degree of individualism wherein the rationale of the owner
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is the rationale of the firm (Deacon and Corp, 2004). Deacon and Harris (2011) while
speaking from a Marketing perspective argue that several intrinsic and extrinsic factors
influence the small firm owner managers in the West. On the other hand, Eastern
cultures such as Indian culture have been identified as collectivist (Hofstede, 1981) and
Banerjee (2008) highlights that Indian tend to believe more in group performance and
collective success rather than individual achievement. However, Gupta (2008)
highlights that these characteristics have since changed with Indian male entrepreneurs
recently showing increased individualism. It is important for Western firms engaging
in India to understand the socio-cultural contexts of Indian businesses, many of which
remain large scale, successful family enterprises (Gupta, 2008). Many of such family
businesses are owned and operated by individuals belonging to the ‘Vaishya’ caste of
the Indian classical social system (Damodaran ,2008). Within the ‘Vaishya’ caste, there
exist multiple business communities namely the Marwaris, Gujaratis and Jains

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