Title: Going abroad through acquisitions: an exploratory analysis of Indian companies' recent international expansion

Authors: U.S. Rangan, J.D. Parrino

Addresses: Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA. ' Senior Lecturer of Finance, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, USA

Abstract: Since the 1990s, Indian companies have been acquiring firms abroad. The pace of acquisitions has accelerated recently. While the popular press has been covering with gusto major Indian acquisitions, academics have not yet addressed the whys and wherefores of this phenomenon. As much of the information on foreign acquisitions has to be collected from diverse sources and the data may be incomplete, this reluctance to explore the topic is understandable. Drawing on extant academic literature on Third World multinationals and traditional multinationals, the paper puts forward several tentative hypotheses to explain the phenomenon and tests them using aggregate as well as anecdotal evidence. Its major conclusion is that Indian companies may have now joined the ranks of traditional multinationals from Europe, USA, and Japan. Acquisitions are a manifestation of Indian firms| efforts to compete globally. The paper then outlines possible future research avenues in this emerging area of international business.

Keywords: foreign investment; India; Indian companies; international acquisitions; international expansion strategies; multinational corporations; MNCs; international business.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2008.017789

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2008 Vol.1 No.3, pp.335 - 353

Published online: 13 Apr 2008 *

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