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Date Submitted: 09/30/2012 11:07 PM
Appendix A
The Tata Group: an example
The Tata Group is the largest and most distinguished business group in India.
Starting in 1874 with a single textile mill, the group nowadays contains more
than 80 firms in seven main business sectors (materials, engineering, energy,
chemicals, consumer products, communications and information systems, and
services). In 1995, it had sales of Rs. 220 billion and 270,000 employees and
it has a leadership position in many industries.1 Table A.1 describes the
diversiļ¬cation pattern of the Tata group over the 130 years of its existence.
The founder of the Tata Group, Jamshedji Tata, already started to expand his industries to steel, hydroelectric power, modern manufacturing
methods, and technical education and research. Tata Sons Ltd., which now
is the principal investment holding company of the Tata Group, was the promoter of many new ventures in the first half of the twentieth century and
continued to promote and manage all major Tata Group companies until
1970. After this, the managing agency system was abolished, and the group
was no longer a legal construct.
A lot of interdependence remained, however, and Tata Sons still offers
the Tata companies consultancy, management, and financial services. Tata
Sons is also the proprietor of the Tata brand name, which is a registered
trademark for a variety of product classes. The Tata brand name is one
of the most valuable assets of the Tata Group. Tata Sons is not only the
proprietor of this name, but is also responsible for promoting it at a central
1
The information in this appendix is obtained from Khanna, Palepu and Wu (1998),
Khanna and Palepu (2004), the Tata Group website, and Piramal (1998).
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146
The Tata Group: an example
Table A.1. Diversif ication pattern of the Tata Group
year
industry entered
1874
1902
1907
1910
1912
1917
1931
1932
1939
1940
1952
1953
1954
1958
1962
1968
1970
1984
textiles
hospitality...