International Conference on Indian Business

Business systems around the world are shaped by distinctive historical experiences, institutional arrangements, cultural traditions, and social structures. The influential “Varieties of Capitalism” framework developed by Hall and Soskice challenged the assumption that capitalism is a uniform economic system by demonstrating that different societies organize markets, firms, labour, finance, and innovation in different ways. Liberal Market Economies such as the United States and the United Kingdom rely primarily on competitive markets and contractual relationships, while Coordinated Market Economies such as Germany and Japan are characterized by long-term relationships, institutional coordination, and collaborative forms of governance.

Yet many scholars have argued that several contemporary economies cannot be adequately understood through this binary distinction. India, in particular, presents a fascinating challenge to conventional theories of capitalism. Indian business operates at the intersection of markets, family ownership, community networks, state institutions, informal practices, and cultural traditions. Large family-owned conglomerates coexist with multinational corporations, state-owned enterprises, technology start-ups, informal enterprises, and community-based business networks. These diverse forms of economic organization suggest that Indian business may represent a distinctive variety of capitalism that requires deeper scholarly examination.

Recent contributions in critical political economy further complicate conventional classifications. Scholars such as David J. Bailey and Saori Shibata have argued that national economies should not be understood as coherent and homogeneous systems. Instead, they draw attention to informal practices, social relations, conflicts, and multiple overlapping forms of capitalism that coexist within a single economy. Their work invites scholars to move beyond the question of “Which variety of capitalism?” toward the more nuanced question of “How many capitalisms coexist within a society?” This perspective is particularly relevant for India, where economic life is shaped simultaneously by formal institutions and informal networks, by global market forces and local traditions, and by both cooperation and contestation among businesses, communities, workers, and the state.

The International Conference on Indian Business seeks to explore these questions by examining the distinctive character of Indian business as a social, economic, cultural, and institutional phenomenon. The conference aims to bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to investigate the historical evolution, contemporary dynamics, and future trajectories of Indian business.

A central theme of the conference is the proposition that Indian business may best be understood not as a single model but as a constellation of multiple capitalisms. These may include family-business capitalism, state-led capitalism, startup and venture capitalism, informal and small-enterprise capitalism, cooperative and social-enterprise models, and community-network capitalism associated with business communities such as the Marwaris, Chettiars, Gujaratis, Jains, and others. Understanding how these diverse forms interact, compete, and evolve is essential for developing a richer understanding of India’s economic transformation.

The conference welcomes interdisciplinary contributions from management, economics, sociology, political economy, history, anthropology, public policy, and related fields. Particular attention will be given to the institutions, actors, networks, values, and practices that shape Indian business, as well as to emerging challenges associated with globalization, digital transformation, sustainability, inequality, governance, and social change.

By fostering dialogue across disciplines and between academia, industry, and public policy, the conference seeks to contribute to the development of a more grounded and contextually informed understanding of Indian business. Ultimately, it aims to advance the broader question of whether India represents a distinctive variety of capitalism—or perhaps a unique configuration of multiple and overlapping capitalisms that challenges existing theories of economic organization.