The pursuit of economic prosperity – exploring the entrepreneurial philosophy and approach of the Marwari Business community in India

Abstract

The Marwari business community has evolved from being one of merely shopkeepers to controlling majority of India’s inland trade by the First World War. Moving from trading and money lending in the 19th century, the Marwaris owned majority of India’s private industrial assets by the 1970’s. From controlling much of India's industrial enterprise throughout the twentieth century, they now account for a quarter of the Indian names on the Forbes billionaire list (Timberg, 2014). Despite their prominence, surprisingly little research has attempted to explore the reasons for their success. This study addresses that gap by undertaking an examination of Marwari entrepreneurs operating in Kolkata, India. The paper leads an exploratory study into the Marwari approach to Entrepreneurship by conducting a narrative based research among Marwari entrepreneurs. The study presents evidence of the Marwaris’ unique approach to Entrepreneurship and argues for further research into the community in view of the research questions emerging out of this exploratory study.