Innovation in the Indian Telecommunication Industry: Examining Resource Based View from Emerging Economy Context

Abstract:     
Telecommunication industry has been the flagship of the business model innovation in India. In this paper we explore the mechanisms of cost innovation in India and connect it to the strategy and innovation literature, particularly, to the Resource Based View of the firm. We examine how firms in India pursue innovation and if firms in India fit the VRIN (valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable) framework to gain competitive advantage as prescribed by the RBV. To analyze this, we study two cases and reveal significant divergent strategies that successful Indian firms engage to innovate their business models and gain competitive advantage. We find some degree of incompatibility between these strategies and the axioms of the RBV. We also put forth propositions that could be integrated with the RBV to make it more adaptable to markets exhibiting differing competitive dynamics.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

Keywords: business model innovation, VRIN, resource based view, India, telecommunications

JEL Classification: O31, L97

working papers series