Sumit Mitra - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Published Conference Papers by Sumit Mitra

Jaipur Rugs Company Private Limited (JRCPL) was incorporated in 1999 by a first generation entrep... more Jaipur Rugs Company Private Limited (JRCPL) was incorporated in 1999 by a first generation entrepreneur. Apart from its impressive growth and the track record of exports, it is also respected by a global community of observers and scholars for its dedication to the development and well-being of its weavers. After entering in the billion-rupee sales club, the entrepreneur of Jaipur Rugs – N K Chaudhary and his successors find themselves at crossroads. They are faced with a set of seemingly contradictory and interrelated concerns and goals, which they need to balance.

Papers by Sumit Mitra

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2019

Social enterprises (SEs) blend social goals with for-profit motive and such a blending provides u... more Social enterprises (SEs) blend social goals with for-profit motive and such a blending provides unique opportunity and challenges for the enterprise. Owing to their primary goal of solving social problems, SEs emerge in areas where government fails to solve issues and private sector does not find them to be profitable to pursue. Such a context poses unique challenges for social enterprise in terms of availability of resource because their predominant social focus fail to tap in to traditional sources for resources unlike their private counterparts. This creates challenges for resource management of SEs. SEs, which otherwise fulfill their social mission, but due to nature of their business are ‘core-stigmatized’ further discourage external resource holders to associate and share resources with such SE creating additional resource challenges because of the stigma attached to the business. Hence, it is interesting to understand how such ‘core stigmatized’ SEs manage their resources. With limited research in this area, studies may need to understand this through in- depth investigation of one or more revelatory cases of a SE that is stigmatized because of the nature of its core product like tobacco, men’s’ bath-house. Following established process of inductive theory building such studies may develop grounded resource management framework. Such studies have important implications for literature on social entrepreneurship particularly of the stigmatized type as also contribute to designing grounded research in such emerging areas.

In a globalized and intensely competitive environment, Air Arabia, as a late entrant identified a... more In a globalized and intensely competitive environment, Air Arabia, as a late entrant identified a niche in positioning itself as a low cost airline. This paper highlights how it went about building a network of competencies and leveraging them to create a sustainable competitive position in the fast developing and fairly turbulent environment of the Middle East region. It highlights how top management by clearly articulating its vision helps identify and develop relevant sources of sustainable difference

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 1, 2018

Resources play a vital role in the development of an entrepreneurial ventures. For social enterpr... more Resources play a vital role in the development of an entrepreneurial ventures. For social enterprises operating under resource constraints, process of effective resource management can be very critical for achieving their social mission. However, there have been very limited research on understanding how social enterprises manage their resources in resource constrained environments. We propose to study the resource management process of social enterprises by systematically applying theoretical insights from Resource Based View, specifically adopting a resource management model developed for commercial enterprises. Based on the resource management model, we propose a set of research questions that can be studied using case based qualitative research methodology.

Journal of Management & Organization, Jul 1, 2012

This research is an attempt to explore the impact of an innovative case assessment technique on a... more This research is an attempt to explore the impact of an innovative case assessment technique on a deep versus surface approach to learning as adopted by a large cohort of undergraduate management students studying in a reputed University. Specifically, a case assessment incorporating peer assessment in the form of a Case Challenge was introduced by the researchers to enhance deep learning, as an innovation to compartmentalized approaches to case assessment that may foster surface-level approaches to learning. Data collected through structured interviews suggest that inclusion of a challenge component in case analyses, directed and led by a peer group, substantially increased the level of preparation and ownership assumed by both the presenting team and challenging team in their own learning as also learning for the rest of the class. Results are discussed in the context of contemporary literature on learning-oriented assessment in general and the impact of peer assessments on deep versus surface approaches to learning in particular.

SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd eBooks, 2016

This case concerns and discusses how a company can shape its growth strategy, given the current c... more This case concerns and discusses how a company can shape its growth strategy, given the current competitive environment and increasing operating costs. The case will help students to realize the important of aligning its business objectives with its operations. The food industry is facing declining profit margins due to fierce competition internally and also from overseas competitors. It is, therefore, important to align its strategies with its operations to grow its revenue while reducing its operating costs.

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Jun 26, 2018

Subject area Strategic Management. Study level/applicability MBA, Executive MBA. Case overview Th... more Subject area Strategic Management. Study level/applicability MBA, Executive MBA. Case overview This case deals with Harsh Mariwalla’s struggle to develop an innovative company from scratch. The journey of innovation is not an easy one. Marico was forced to compete with multinationals in many markets where it operated. Constant pressure from rivals has made the company develop a new innovative business model, which is expected to generate profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. Expected learning outcomes Students will be able to appreciate the business models, understand the competitive moves by rivals, understand strategy formulation and implementation, understand product innovation and competitive advantage and understand the ability to tackle competition with innovation. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2010

This paper looks at how clusters can help to create competitive advantage for firms. The differen... more This paper looks at how clusters can help to create competitive advantage for firms. The differences between clusters in terms of their structure and internal dynamics are discussed, with reference to a number of typologies. The life cycle dimension of cluster development is also considered. This paper then addresses issues related to public policy in terms of initiating clusters and ensuring their longer-term sustainability. This is considered in the context of clusters as an integral and growing feature of regional policy formulation by governments. The 'Dubai model' of regional development is then introduced, highlighting how the establishment of free zones (nascent clusters) constitute the basis of industry planning in the United Arab Emirates. Some insights are provided from the experiences of two particular zones: Dubai Media City and Dubai Logistics City. Some observations are made as to the efficacy of the 'Dubai model'.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2021

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2018

Over last two decades, Social enterprises have established themselves as globally relevant ventur... more Over last two decades, Social enterprises have established themselves as globally relevant ventures exhibiting innovative and sustainable social value creation processes and addressing long-standing social issues through entrepreneurial process. Because of their unique combination of private structure with public purpose, strong connection to citizens, flexibility in operations, ability to innovate, and capacity to tap private resource for public purpose, SEs have emerged as strategically important organizational forms Despite growing interest for social entrepreneurship in academic literature and practices, the body of scholarly research is still much less developed. One of the primary reasons for lack of development in social entrepreneurship domain is difficulties in differentiating social enterprise from other type of organizations. In this paper, we used the concept of value and mission, to propose a grid, which helps to distinguish social enterprises from other enterprise types. This paper argues that working to incorporate negotiation outputs of diverse stakeholder groups, within a plurality of institutional logics, the different enterprise types reflect their distinct design, resourcing and strategy types through their business models. Given the challenges of matching demand and supply side constraints, particularly in the challenging situation of rapid scaling up, hybrid organizational types like social enterprise face greater challenges to identifying effective business models compared to commercial organizations narrowly focused on maximizing benefits of shareholders or owners.

Global Business Review, Feb 1, 2007

The Practice of outsourcing has been prevalent in the automobile industry for a very long time. V... more The Practice of outsourcing has been prevalent in the automobile industry for a very long time. Vehicle brand owners (VBO), also known as assemblers, have developed preferred relationships like Keiretsu with their suppliers to capture the complexities of outsourcing as also to reflect their regional idiosyncrasies. Against the backdrop of the Indian automobile industry becoming increasingly global, a field study conducted on suppliers of automobile components to vehicle manufacturers, captured patterns of outsourcing prevalent and provided interesting insights. Indian auto component suppliers, although aware of global opportunities, are left with little choice in transacting with their clients partly because of their own risk averse, status quo preferences and remaining for want of an efficient mechanism for horizontal cooperation among firms with complementary capabilities to form clusters/groups of globally competitive suppliers. On the other hand, such clusters often lack necessary institutional support leaving individual suppliers dependent on clients for business and growth. While this article investigates the existing relationship between auto assemblers and their suppliers to suggest a not so encouraging picture of global opportunity for the suppliers with pressures of global competition and sourcing, it also highlights areas in which to expect changes before the global opportunity can be leveraged.

Vikalpa, Oct 1, 2005

This colloquium serves as a conceptual and experiential platform to stage the insights generated ... more This colloquium serves as a conceptual and experiential platform to stage the insights generated on the case method by the faculty who have taught and/or trained at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). It comprises three sections titled Contexts (including Technology and Culture), Institutions, and Futures. The institutions comprise IIM, Ahmedabad, IIM, Bangalore, and IIM, Indore though the primary focus remains on the curricular and pedagogical innovations at IIMA. The insights on the future of the case method in India that emerged from the colloquium are the following: The availability of information and communication technologies in the emerging milieu is not a threat but an opportunity to reinvent the method; this, however, requires breaking from the 'classical method' in order to innovate. The changing demographics of the classroom necessitate a greater appreciation and sensitization to how cultural differences can affect the receptivity to the case method. The written analysis of cases (WAC) was and will continue to remain the site for introducing the case method to the incoming students of the PostGraduate Programme (PGP) at IIMA. Communication skills can be taught effectively if a performative dimension is built into the case discussion through role plays. Many of the cases used in the IIMs reflect the ethos of a socialist, pre-liberal era of the Indian economy. There is a pressing need to develop cases that reflect the economic developments of recent times. The case method will continue to be the mainstay of the forthcoming PGPX (PGP for executives) at IIMA since the greater work experience of the participants will make it possible to combine 'inductive and personalized' forms of learning. An examination of the barriers to effective case teaching and writing at IIM, Bangalore reveals that a formal review process may help to increase the standard of cases and teaching notes. The institutionalization of the case method in a new IIM requires enormous efforts on the part of both individual faculty (with prior exposure to the method) and the institute as a whole. The learnings from the experiment at IIM, Indore are relevant to understanding what is at stake in the replication of the method in a new institution. The Socratic Method is not synonymous with the case method; it is not the instructor's task to invoke the dialectical method in response to an 'inner voice,' but an attempt to facilitate the learning process. The method persists despite adverse conditions in many institutions. Questions of form remain more important than content in teaching through this method since it helps to negotiate the gap between 'management reality' and 'methodical management.' The method should move from a mere 'post-mortem' of a business situation to a dynamic orientation and facilitate active learning through the realization of the dictum that 'the past is in the present as in the future.' The case method will continue to structure the education of managers in the future despite changes in the nature of competition, the organizational environment, etc. However, it may be necessary to supplement the case method with field-based projects to generate the habit of decision-making; this will also make the learning contemporary for the participants.

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2019

Asian Case Research Journal, Jun 1, 2008

Webdunia.com, one of the first Indian vernacular language portals, was launched in the heady days... more Webdunia.com, one of the first Indian vernacular language portals, was launched in the heady days of the Internet boom in 1999. Born out of its…

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Jul 4, 2022

Social entrepreneurial ventures generally have lower profitability owing to poor value perception... more Social entrepreneurial ventures generally have lower profitability owing to poor value perceptions of their offerings, which negatively impact financial sustainability. A frequent antecedent is the negative view of marketing prevalent in the sector, requiring an attitudinal transformation. This study provides one such success story that demonstrates how a deliberate marketing-driven approach allowed social entrepreneurs in Eastern India to pilot a new venture with creative offerings that detected and filled a financially viable gap in the cultural clothing market. This paper makes a case for social entrepreneurship ventures to be market savvy in order to financially nurture their social mission.

The Routledge Companion to Innovation Management, 2019

We examine the direct and moderated influence of different ownership groups on international inve... more We examine the direct and moderated influence of different ownership groups on international investments in emerging economy firms. We argue that the identity of owners influence internationalization decision of firms, often in different directions. Our results, based on a panel of 30385 firm years, demonstrate that higher shareholdings by promoters result in lower levels of internationalization by emerging economy firms. Furthermore, institutional investors are also significant in determining international investments of a firm, but different heterogeneous groups of institutional investors have different preferences for this strategy. We also find evidence that ownership groups moderate each other’s preference for international diversification. Pressure resistant institutions prefer promoter-owned firms, while pressure-sensitive institutions are wary of high promoter ownership when high risk strategies such as internationalization is being considered by the firm.

Jaipur Rugs Company Private Limited (JRCPL) was incorporated in 1999 by a first generation entrep... more Jaipur Rugs Company Private Limited (JRCPL) was incorporated in 1999 by a first generation entrepreneur. Apart from its impressive growth and the track record of exports, it is also respected by a global community of observers and scholars for its dedication to the development and well-being of its weavers. After entering in the billion-rupee sales club, the entrepreneur of Jaipur Rugs – N K Chaudhary and his successors find themselves at crossroads. They are faced with a set of seemingly contradictory and interrelated concerns and goals, which they need to balance.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2019

Social enterprises (SEs) blend social goals with for-profit motive and such a blending provides u... more Social enterprises (SEs) blend social goals with for-profit motive and such a blending provides unique opportunity and challenges for the enterprise. Owing to their primary goal of solving social problems, SEs emerge in areas where government fails to solve issues and private sector does not find them to be profitable to pursue. Such a context poses unique challenges for social enterprise in terms of availability of resource because their predominant social focus fail to tap in to traditional sources for resources unlike their private counterparts. This creates challenges for resource management of SEs. SEs, which otherwise fulfill their social mission, but due to nature of their business are ‘core-stigmatized’ further discourage external resource holders to associate and share resources with such SE creating additional resource challenges because of the stigma attached to the business. Hence, it is interesting to understand how such ‘core stigmatized’ SEs manage their resources. With limited research in this area, studies may need to understand this through in- depth investigation of one or more revelatory cases of a SE that is stigmatized because of the nature of its core product like tobacco, men’s’ bath-house. Following established process of inductive theory building such studies may develop grounded resource management framework. Such studies have important implications for literature on social entrepreneurship particularly of the stigmatized type as also contribute to designing grounded research in such emerging areas.

In a globalized and intensely competitive environment, Air Arabia, as a late entrant identified a... more In a globalized and intensely competitive environment, Air Arabia, as a late entrant identified a niche in positioning itself as a low cost airline. This paper highlights how it went about building a network of competencies and leveraging them to create a sustainable competitive position in the fast developing and fairly turbulent environment of the Middle East region. It highlights how top management by clearly articulating its vision helps identify and develop relevant sources of sustainable difference

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 1, 2018

Resources play a vital role in the development of an entrepreneurial ventures. For social enterpr... more Resources play a vital role in the development of an entrepreneurial ventures. For social enterprises operating under resource constraints, process of effective resource management can be very critical for achieving their social mission. However, there have been very limited research on understanding how social enterprises manage their resources in resource constrained environments. We propose to study the resource management process of social enterprises by systematically applying theoretical insights from Resource Based View, specifically adopting a resource management model developed for commercial enterprises. Based on the resource management model, we propose a set of research questions that can be studied using case based qualitative research methodology.

Journal of Management & Organization, Jul 1, 2012

This research is an attempt to explore the impact of an innovative case assessment technique on a... more This research is an attempt to explore the impact of an innovative case assessment technique on a deep versus surface approach to learning as adopted by a large cohort of undergraduate management students studying in a reputed University. Specifically, a case assessment incorporating peer assessment in the form of a Case Challenge was introduced by the researchers to enhance deep learning, as an innovation to compartmentalized approaches to case assessment that may foster surface-level approaches to learning. Data collected through structured interviews suggest that inclusion of a challenge component in case analyses, directed and led by a peer group, substantially increased the level of preparation and ownership assumed by both the presenting team and challenging team in their own learning as also learning for the rest of the class. Results are discussed in the context of contemporary literature on learning-oriented assessment in general and the impact of peer assessments on deep versus surface approaches to learning in particular.

SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd eBooks, 2016

This case concerns and discusses how a company can shape its growth strategy, given the current c... more This case concerns and discusses how a company can shape its growth strategy, given the current competitive environment and increasing operating costs. The case will help students to realize the important of aligning its business objectives with its operations. The food industry is facing declining profit margins due to fierce competition internally and also from overseas competitors. It is, therefore, important to align its strategies with its operations to grow its revenue while reducing its operating costs.

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Jun 26, 2018

Subject area Strategic Management. Study level/applicability MBA, Executive MBA. Case overview Th... more Subject area Strategic Management. Study level/applicability MBA, Executive MBA. Case overview This case deals with Harsh Mariwalla’s struggle to develop an innovative company from scratch. The journey of innovation is not an easy one. Marico was forced to compete with multinationals in many markets where it operated. Constant pressure from rivals has made the company develop a new innovative business model, which is expected to generate profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. Expected learning outcomes Students will be able to appreciate the business models, understand the competitive moves by rivals, understand strategy formulation and implementation, understand product innovation and competitive advantage and understand the ability to tackle competition with innovation. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2010

This paper looks at how clusters can help to create competitive advantage for firms. The differen... more This paper looks at how clusters can help to create competitive advantage for firms. The differences between clusters in terms of their structure and internal dynamics are discussed, with reference to a number of typologies. The life cycle dimension of cluster development is also considered. This paper then addresses issues related to public policy in terms of initiating clusters and ensuring their longer-term sustainability. This is considered in the context of clusters as an integral and growing feature of regional policy formulation by governments. The 'Dubai model' of regional development is then introduced, highlighting how the establishment of free zones (nascent clusters) constitute the basis of industry planning in the United Arab Emirates. Some insights are provided from the experiences of two particular zones: Dubai Media City and Dubai Logistics City. Some observations are made as to the efficacy of the 'Dubai model'.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2021

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2018

Over last two decades, Social enterprises have established themselves as globally relevant ventur... more Over last two decades, Social enterprises have established themselves as globally relevant ventures exhibiting innovative and sustainable social value creation processes and addressing long-standing social issues through entrepreneurial process. Because of their unique combination of private structure with public purpose, strong connection to citizens, flexibility in operations, ability to innovate, and capacity to tap private resource for public purpose, SEs have emerged as strategically important organizational forms Despite growing interest for social entrepreneurship in academic literature and practices, the body of scholarly research is still much less developed. One of the primary reasons for lack of development in social entrepreneurship domain is difficulties in differentiating social enterprise from other type of organizations. In this paper, we used the concept of value and mission, to propose a grid, which helps to distinguish social enterprises from other enterprise types. This paper argues that working to incorporate negotiation outputs of diverse stakeholder groups, within a plurality of institutional logics, the different enterprise types reflect their distinct design, resourcing and strategy types through their business models. Given the challenges of matching demand and supply side constraints, particularly in the challenging situation of rapid scaling up, hybrid organizational types like social enterprise face greater challenges to identifying effective business models compared to commercial organizations narrowly focused on maximizing benefits of shareholders or owners.

Global Business Review, Feb 1, 2007

The Practice of outsourcing has been prevalent in the automobile industry for a very long time. V... more The Practice of outsourcing has been prevalent in the automobile industry for a very long time. Vehicle brand owners (VBO), also known as assemblers, have developed preferred relationships like Keiretsu with their suppliers to capture the complexities of outsourcing as also to reflect their regional idiosyncrasies. Against the backdrop of the Indian automobile industry becoming increasingly global, a field study conducted on suppliers of automobile components to vehicle manufacturers, captured patterns of outsourcing prevalent and provided interesting insights. Indian auto component suppliers, although aware of global opportunities, are left with little choice in transacting with their clients partly because of their own risk averse, status quo preferences and remaining for want of an efficient mechanism for horizontal cooperation among firms with complementary capabilities to form clusters/groups of globally competitive suppliers. On the other hand, such clusters often lack necessary institutional support leaving individual suppliers dependent on clients for business and growth. While this article investigates the existing relationship between auto assemblers and their suppliers to suggest a not so encouraging picture of global opportunity for the suppliers with pressures of global competition and sourcing, it also highlights areas in which to expect changes before the global opportunity can be leveraged.

Vikalpa, Oct 1, 2005

This colloquium serves as a conceptual and experiential platform to stage the insights generated ... more This colloquium serves as a conceptual and experiential platform to stage the insights generated on the case method by the faculty who have taught and/or trained at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). It comprises three sections titled Contexts (including Technology and Culture), Institutions, and Futures. The institutions comprise IIM, Ahmedabad, IIM, Bangalore, and IIM, Indore though the primary focus remains on the curricular and pedagogical innovations at IIMA. The insights on the future of the case method in India that emerged from the colloquium are the following: The availability of information and communication technologies in the emerging milieu is not a threat but an opportunity to reinvent the method; this, however, requires breaking from the 'classical method' in order to innovate. The changing demographics of the classroom necessitate a greater appreciation and sensitization to how cultural differences can affect the receptivity to the case method. The written analysis of cases (WAC) was and will continue to remain the site for introducing the case method to the incoming students of the PostGraduate Programme (PGP) at IIMA. Communication skills can be taught effectively if a performative dimension is built into the case discussion through role plays. Many of the cases used in the IIMs reflect the ethos of a socialist, pre-liberal era of the Indian economy. There is a pressing need to develop cases that reflect the economic developments of recent times. The case method will continue to be the mainstay of the forthcoming PGPX (PGP for executives) at IIMA since the greater work experience of the participants will make it possible to combine 'inductive and personalized' forms of learning. An examination of the barriers to effective case teaching and writing at IIM, Bangalore reveals that a formal review process may help to increase the standard of cases and teaching notes. The institutionalization of the case method in a new IIM requires enormous efforts on the part of both individual faculty (with prior exposure to the method) and the institute as a whole. The learnings from the experiment at IIM, Indore are relevant to understanding what is at stake in the replication of the method in a new institution. The Socratic Method is not synonymous with the case method; it is not the instructor's task to invoke the dialectical method in response to an 'inner voice,' but an attempt to facilitate the learning process. The method persists despite adverse conditions in many institutions. Questions of form remain more important than content in teaching through this method since it helps to negotiate the gap between 'management reality' and 'methodical management.' The method should move from a mere 'post-mortem' of a business situation to a dynamic orientation and facilitate active learning through the realization of the dictum that 'the past is in the present as in the future.' The case method will continue to structure the education of managers in the future despite changes in the nature of competition, the organizational environment, etc. However, it may be necessary to supplement the case method with field-based projects to generate the habit of decision-making; this will also make the learning contemporary for the participants.

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2019

Asian Case Research Journal, Jun 1, 2008

Webdunia.com, one of the first Indian vernacular language portals, was launched in the heady days... more Webdunia.com, one of the first Indian vernacular language portals, was launched in the heady days of the Internet boom in 1999. Born out of its…

Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Jul 4, 2022

Social entrepreneurial ventures generally have lower profitability owing to poor value perception... more Social entrepreneurial ventures generally have lower profitability owing to poor value perceptions of their offerings, which negatively impact financial sustainability. A frequent antecedent is the negative view of marketing prevalent in the sector, requiring an attitudinal transformation. This study provides one such success story that demonstrates how a deliberate marketing-driven approach allowed social entrepreneurs in Eastern India to pilot a new venture with creative offerings that detected and filled a financially viable gap in the cultural clothing market. This paper makes a case for social entrepreneurship ventures to be market savvy in order to financially nurture their social mission.

The Routledge Companion to Innovation Management, 2019

We examine the direct and moderated influence of different ownership groups on international inve... more We examine the direct and moderated influence of different ownership groups on international investments in emerging economy firms. We argue that the identity of owners influence internationalization decision of firms, often in different directions. Our results, based on a panel of 30385 firm years, demonstrate that higher shareholdings by promoters result in lower levels of internationalization by emerging economy firms. Furthermore, institutional investors are also significant in determining international investments of a firm, but different heterogeneous groups of institutional investors have different preferences for this strategy. We also find evidence that ownership groups moderate each other’s preference for international diversification. Pressure resistant institutions prefer promoter-owned firms, while pressure-sensitive institutions are wary of high promoter ownership when high risk strategies such as internationalization is being considered by the firm.

Extant literature examines the relationship between various categories of owners and internationa... more Extant literature examines the relationship between various categories of owners and internationalization in the context of emerging economies. However, these studies based on agency perspectives ignore the differences between the controlling and non-controlling principals and their risk preferences. In this paper, we use the behavioural risk perspective to understand the risk perception and risk propensities of different types of principals of a firm (family and institutional investors), and the subsequent impact on firm internationalization. We employ resource dependence perspective to understand how the board of directors moderate the preferences of these owners. Empirical results from a sample of 1239 unique Indian firms during the period from 2005-2016 show that the ownership share of different types of principals is associated with firms’ international investments differently. Families influence internationalization negatively, whereas institutional shareholders support intern...