Multinacionales indias?

Knowledge Wharton dedica en diciembre una nota a la salida de empresas de India, no ya a la conquista de negocios, sino a la compra de empresas, y buscando especialmente una porción de mercado en Estados Unidos. Es conocida la importancia de Tata, en la industria automotriz, acero, y consultoría informática, y se mencionado aquí a Mittal, asociada con Arcelor, para el control del acero, pero son muchas otras las que salen a la búsqueda de mercados globales:

Reliance Gateway Net, VSNL, Scandent and GHCL aren't exactly household names in the U.S., but they may be signs of bigger things to come.
These are only a few of the growing number of Indian businesses that have acquired U.S. firms in the past few years. And the U.S. merger-and-acquisition activity is just part of a bigger picture. Indian companies -- usually quietly, but sometimes with media fanfare -- have been on a buying spree in continental Europe, Great Britain and Asia in attempts to become key players in global markets. (...)
"Over the last decade, Indian firms in various industries -- most visibly in information technology but also in areas like auto components, the energy sector and [food products] -- have been slowly building up to become emerging multinationals," says Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri. The outsourcing phenomenon, in which Western firms have hired Indian companies for call center work and other tasks, has reaped benefits for Indian managers, exposing them to Western companies and management practices and, at the same time, demonstrating to non-Indian firms that India is a reliable source of low-cost, yet high quality, products and services.

Las adquisiciones en Estados Unidos, particularmente:

Also making major moves in 2006 were members of the Tata Group, a major Mumbai-based conglomerate with interests in, among other things, steel production, transportation, software and hotels. In June, Tata Coffee paid $220 million to buy Eight O'Clock Coffee, a venerable U.S. brand. In August, Tata Tea paid $677 million for a 30% stake in Glaceau, a maker of vitamin water in Whitestone, N.Y.
According to statistics compiled by the Mape Advisory Group, there were a number of noteworthy acquisitions by Indian companies of U.S. firms from January 2000 to March 2006. They include: Reliance Gateway Net's acquisition of Flag Telecom in 2003 for $191.2 million; the purchase by Mumbai-based VSNL of Tyco Global Network, a submarine cable network, from Tyco International, based in New Jersey, for $130 million in 2004; and the acquisition by Bangalore-based Scandent of Cambridge Services Holding, a global outsourcing firm headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., in 2005 for $120 million.

Pero salir a conquistar posiciones globales no es simple, y sobre las espaldas de cualquier compañia que lo intenta, debe estar el patrimonio de conocimiento y cultura de su base nacional. Este es un desafío para todos los que lo intentan, sea India, China, Corea, Brasil, o los intentos menores de Chile y Argentina, mencionando los vecinos cercanos. Qúe dice Wharton en el caso de India:

Indeed, Indian companies may be excited about their cross-border shopping spree, but Wharton management professor Raphael (Raffi) Amit, says enthusiasm is no guarantee of a successful merger.
"Whenever companies in India, Korea, Israel or anywhere [do cross-border acquisitions], the problems they encounter are a different culture, different managerial norms, different compensation and a different regulatory environment," Amit says. "Unfortunately, the literature shows companies don't pay sufficient attention before the merger to the post-merger integration (PMI) issues that need to be addressed. PMI is a major barrier that firms face as they try to operate as one entity."
Amit's advice to Indian companies considering cross-border mergers would be to "pay close attention to the issues associated with PMI before agreeing to buy a company. That relates to understanding the strategic considerations and the merits of such an acquisition; market considerations that relate to the process by which companies agree on the terms of the acquisition; and post-acquisition issues that deal with the degree and scope of the integration, compensation for executives and managerial-norm issues."

Países que provienen de prácticas muy cuestionables, encuentran serios problemas de adaptación al cruzar su frontera.
Pero la participación global sigue una línea de crecimiento:

Says Chaudhuri: "Look at the amount of capital going into India and how the accounting and governance practices of the West are being adopted in India, like they are in China, and how Indian investors perceive opportunities in foreign markets. There's an analogy between Indian and Chinese companies. My prediction is 15 to 20 years from now, Indian and Chinese firms will compete with Western firms in all sectors around the world. It's good for everybody. It's part of the integration of the global economy, and it's important for India to participate in that."

Artículo enlazado en el título de la nota.