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 recast 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: internment; political risk; international business; Multinational Firms and Management; Employees; War; History; Outcome or Result; India; Germany;
Citation:
Lubinski, Christina, Valeria Giacomin, and Klara Schnitzer. "Internment as a Business Challenge: Political Risk Management and German Multinationals in Colonial India (1914–1947)." Business History (in press). View Details