Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2018
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Countering Political Risk in Colonial India: German Multinationals and the Challenge of Internment (1914-1947)

By: Christina Lubinski, Valeria Giacomin and Klara Schnitzer
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:47
ShareBar

Abstract

Internment in so-called “enemy countries” was a frequent occurrence in the 20th century and created significant obstacles for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This article focuses on German MNEs in India and shows how they addressed the formidable challenge of the internment of their employees in British camps during both WWI and WWII. We find that internment impacted business relationships in India well beyond its endpoint and that the WWI internment shaped the subsequent perception of and strategic response to the WWII experience. We show that internment aggravated existing staffing challenges, impacted the perception of racial lines of distinctions, and re-casted the category “European business.” While internment was perceived and managed as a political risk, the case also shows that it created unexpected networking opportunities, generating a tight community of German businesspeople in India.

Keywords

Multinational Firms and Management; Employees; War; History; Outcome or Result; India

Citation

Lubinski, Christina, Valeria Giacomin, and Klara Schnitzer. "Countering Political Risk in Colonial India: German Multinationals and the Challenge of Internment (1914-1947)." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-090, March 2018.
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

Related Work

    • Business History

    Internment as a Business Challenge: Political Risk Management and German Multinationals in Colonial India (1914–1947)

    By: Christina Lubinski, Valeria Giacomin and Klara Schnitzer
Related Work
  • Internment as a Business Challenge: Political Risk Management and German Multinationals in Colonial India (1914–1947) By: Christina Lubinski, Valeria Giacomin and Klara Schnitzer
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College