The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm
Can an industrial organisation simultaneously fulfil economic and social functions, that is to say successfully reconcile its own priorities of optimal resource utilisation and productive efficiency with the larger objectives of social justice defined for it by public authorities? This is the centra...
Αποθηκεύτηκε σε:
| Τόπος έκδοσης: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom, |
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| Κύριος συγγραφέας: | |
| Μορφή: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Γλώσσα: | Anglais |
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Netcom
2014
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| Θέματα: | |
| Διαθέσιμο Online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:netcom_739 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:netcom_739 https://doi.org/10.4000/netcom.739 urn:doi:10.4000/netcom.739 en https://journals.openedition.org/netcom/739 2014-01-14T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/ij3s https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm Netcom Netcom Association info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2431-210X info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0987-6014 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom Subramanian, Dilip secteur public télécommunication expansion géographique commutateur électronique dirigisme Uttar Pradesh public sector telecommunication spatial expansion electronic switching dirigisme Uttar Pradesh Can an industrial organisation simultaneously fulfil economic and social functions, that is to say successfully reconcile its own priorities of optimal resource utilisation and productive efficiency with the larger objectives of social justice defined for it by public authorities? This is the central question this paper whose compass is restricted to the 1980s asks, and seeks to answer on the basis of a study of locational and technology choices at a big public sector manufacturing firm, Indian Telephone Industries. It will show how decisions pertaining both to the implantation of new state-owned factories and the sourcing of technology were shaped not by an economic rationale but a political one where employment generation took precedence over all other considerations. This was a consequence, on the one hand, of the paradigm of state-initiated industrial development embraced by India after Independence in 1947 and which held out the promise of future prosperity for the population at large; on the other, of the mode of governance prevailing in public enterprises where state interventionism rhymed with the complete loss of autonomy for managements. The paper concludes by pointing out that however justified the redistributive goals allocated to public enterprises from the standpoint of improving living standards, they proved highly detrimental to their efficient working as well as onerous for the exchequer. Une organisation industrielle peut-elle à la fois accomplir des fonctions économiques et sociales, c’est-à-dire réconcilier ses propres priorités d’efficience productive et d’utilisation optimale des ressources avec des objectifs plus vastes de justice sociale tels qu’ils sont définis par les pouvoirs publics ? C’est la question centrale que cet article pose et à laquelle il tente de répondre à travers l’étude d’un choix technologique et de localisation pris dans les années 1980, dans le cadre d’une grande entreprise de production du secteur public, Indian Telephone Industries. Nous montrons comment les décisions concernant l’implantation de nouvelles usines étatiques ainsi que les choix technologiques ont été le résultat non pas d’une justification économique mais d’une justification politique qui accordait la priorité à la création des emplois. Ceci découle d’une part du paradigme de développement industriel planifié poursuivi par l’Inde depuis l’indépendance en 1947 - paradigme qui offrait la promesse d’un avenir prospère pour l’ensemble de la population - d’autre part, du mode de gouvernance en vigueur dans les entreprises publiques où l’interventionnisme étatique s’est traduit par la perte d’autonomie totale de la direction. L’article conclu en soulignant que la mission redistributive fixée aux entreprises publiques, bien que légitime dans la perspective d’une amélioration du niveau de vie, a nuit gravement à l’efficacité de leur fonctionnement et s’est révélée onéreuse pour le trésor public. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
secteur public télécommunication expansion géographique commutateur électronique dirigisme Uttar Pradesh public sector telecommunication spatial expansion electronic switching dirigisme Uttar Pradesh |
| spellingShingle |
secteur public télécommunication expansion géographique commutateur électronique dirigisme Uttar Pradesh public sector telecommunication spatial expansion electronic switching dirigisme Uttar Pradesh Subramanian, Dilip The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| description |
Can an industrial organisation simultaneously fulfil economic and social functions, that is to say successfully reconcile its own priorities of optimal resource utilisation and productive efficiency with the larger objectives of social justice defined for it by public authorities? This is the central question this paper whose compass is restricted to the 1980s asks, and seeks to answer on the basis of a study of locational and technology choices at a big public sector manufacturing firm, Indian Telephone Industries. It will show how decisions pertaining both to the implantation of new state-owned factories and the sourcing of technology were shaped not by an economic rationale but a political one where employment generation took precedence over all other considerations. This was a consequence, on the one hand, of the paradigm of state-initiated industrial development embraced by India after Independence in 1947 and which held out the promise of future prosperity for the population at large; on the other, of the mode of governance prevailing in public enterprises where state interventionism rhymed with the complete loss of autonomy for managements. The paper concludes by pointing out that however justified the redistributive goals allocated to public enterprises from the standpoint of improving living standards, they proved highly detrimental to their efficient working as well as onerous for the exchequer. |
| author |
Subramanian, Dilip |
| author_facet |
Subramanian, Dilip |
| author_sort |
Subramanian, Dilip |
| title |
The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| title_short |
The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| title_full |
The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| title_fullStr |
The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an Indian public sector firm |
| title_sort |
politics of technology and site location: impact of state interventionism on an indian public sector firm |
| publisher |
Netcom |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/netcom.739 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/netcom/739 |
| _version_ |
1877243312791879680 |