Understanding India’s Chilly Reception of Jeff Bezos

The CEO’s pledge to create millions of jobs was met with protests.

by

and

Luminita Enache

by

and

Luminita Enache

January 22, 2020, Updated January 23, 2020

SAJJAD HUSSAIN/Getty Images

Summary.

Jeff Bezos’s recent visit to India was marred by protests, an antagonistic remark by the Indian finance minister, and a refusal to meet by the Indian prime minister — all despite Bezos’s promising to spend a billion dollars and generate millions of jobs by 2025. What happened? The authors’ take is that at least one part of the Indian democracy is sending a loud and clear message: It is unwilling to welcome a multinational that disrupts traditional businesses and does so ruthlessly with alleged unfair trading practices.

Developing nations normally welcome CEOs of large multinationals who promise to invest in their countries and generate jobs. However, Jeff Bezos’s recent visit to India was marred by protests, an antagonistic remark by India’s commerce and industry minister, and a refusal to meet by the Indian prime minister — all despite Bezos’s promising to spend a billion dollars and generate millions of jobs by 2025. What happened?

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Vijay Govindarajan is the Coxe Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, and faculty partner at the Silicon Valley incubator Mach 49. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His latest book is Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future . His Harvard Business Review articles “Engineering Reverse Innovations” and “Stop the Innovation Wars” won McKinsey Awards for best article published in HBR. His HBR articles “How GE Is Disrupting Itself” and “The CEO’s Role in Business Model Reinvention” are HBR all-time top-50 bestsellers. Follow him on LinkedIn.
vgovindarajan
Anup Srivastava holds Canada Research Chair in Accounting, Decision Making, and Capital Markets and is a full professor at Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. In a series of HBR articles, he examines the management implications of digital disruption. He specializes in the valuation and financial reporting challenges of digital companies. Follow Anup on LinkedIn.
Luminita Enache is an associate professor at Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. She investigates financial disclosures of new-economy firms. Follow Luminita on LinkedIn.

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Understanding India’s Chilly Reception of Jeff Bezos

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