Trust, entrepreneurship and development in Surat city, India*

Will they stay or will they go? The role of job embeddedness in predicting turnover in individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

“…Hofstede (1991) succinctly described the differences between employees in individualistic versus collectivistic cultures by stating that in collectivistic societies, "relationship prevails over the task," whereas in individualistic societies, "the task is supposed to prevail over personal relationships" (p. 67). Consistent with this, a study by Menning (1997) in the Surat (India) textile industry found that the traders primarily relied on trust-based relationships to decide which business transactions they would initiate. In addition, Sekaran (1981) found that in the United States, job satisfaction was defined more in terms of satisfaction with work, whereas in India, job satisfaction was defined more in terms of satisfaction with coworkers.…”

A Matching Theory of Entrepreneurs' Tie Formation Intentions and Initiation of Economic Exchange

“…Ethnographic evidence suggests that caste homophily is indeed important in economic exchange in traditional sectors of the Indian economy and identifies trust engendered by cohesive intra-caste ties (Coleman, 1990;Portes & Sensenbrenner, 1993) as the mechanism. For example, Menning (1997) reports that textile industry entrepreneurs in Surat, India, were more likely to form inter-firm exchange ties with others of the same caste than with outsiders. Similarly, Rudner (1994) shows how entrepreneurs from the "Chettiar" merchant caste of South India built a significant trading and banking network across Southeast Asia during the inter-war period by leveraging their common caste membership.…”

The role of social proximity in professional CEO appointments: Evidence from caste/religion‐based hiring of CEOs in India

“…For these reasons, caste (or religion)‐based social proximity can also lead to formation of expressive ties based on interpersonal attraction that foster trust and reciprocity. Extant studies (e.g., Menning [] on textile industry in Surat in North India and Rudner [] on Chettiar community in South India) provide empirical evidence for trust as the underlying mechanism for inter‐firm ties that are based on common caste affiliations. Guiso et al () argue and provide evidence that cultural similarity, be it religious, genetic or somatic, can improve bilateral trust, leading to more trade.…”