The evolution of concentrated ownership in India broad patterns and a history of the Indian software industry

As in many countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Sweden), concentrated ownership has been a ubiquitous feature of the Indian private sector over the past seven decades. Yet, unlike in most countries, the identity of the primary families responsible for the concentrated ownership changes dramatically over time. The resulting turnover is perhaps even more than turnover in leading U.S. firms over the same time period. It does not appear that concentrated ownership in India is entirely associated with the ills that the literature has recently ascribed to it in emerging markets. If the concentrated owners are not exclusively, or even primarily, engaged in rent-seeking and entry-deterring behavior, concentrated ownership may not be inimical to competition. Indeed, as a response to competition, we argue that at least some Indian families have consistently tried to leverage internal markets for capital and talent inherent in business group structures to launch new ventures in environments where external factor markets are deficient.