Gupta Garments and Amit™s First 100 Days

Abstract

This case captures the predictable tension between the generations of a family in business. The incumbent generation knows the secrets to the business’ current success; the next generation joins the business with its own vision of what the future holds and the opportunities that changes in the marketplace, technology, supply chains, and degree of globalization represent. Both legacy and opportunity (or tradition and innovation) are fundamental elements of the successful strategy for continuity of the family-owned business.

Amit is returning to his family business in India after successfully completing the requirements of a master’s in business administration in the United States. How can he most productively rejoin the family business and make the knowledge he has acquired abroad available and useful to its owner-managers and the enterprise they lead?

Teaching

This case is ideal for use with MBA students taking entrepreneurship and family business courses. While recent graduates may enjoy a knowledge advantage regarding best practices in management and governance of a family enterprise over the incumbent generation, they face predictable reentry and resistance to change dynamics upon returning to their respective family businesses. How they manage themselves, their leadership, and their relationships to other key stakeholders in the context of that useful knowledge will determine their success in helping their firms adapt and innovate in the service of sustainability and continuity across generations of owner-managers.

Case number:

A10-11-0001

Subject:

Finance and International Trade

Year:

2011

Setting:

India

Length:

9 pages

Source:

Library

Gupta Garments and Amit™s First 100 Days

Degrees

Executive Education

Lifelong Learning

Employers and Partners

Alumni