Characteristics of corporate interlocking in Indian companies

Abstract

The community of corporate directors in any region forms a closely knit network. The directors, though appointed separately for each organization, are not in isolation from the rest of the community. They are connected socially, and this social network has a bearing on the directorship structure of organizations, and decisions regarding the appointment of new directors. Hence, it is important to understand this phenomena for improving its effectiveness. While a lot of work in the area of directorship interlocking has been done outside of the Indian setting, there is a lot of scope to explore this domain in the context of Indian companies. Moreover, little has been done to understand how these interlocks differ by gender. It’s a common belief that while fewer women exist at the top, they are more well networked than their male counterparts. Objectives of study: To understand the directorship interlocking network existing in Indian companies and to come up with a basis to evaluate the effectiveness of this phenomenon; more specifically: * To understand the concept of interlocks. * To study directorship interlocking in Indian companies and to identify underlying patterns. * To discern the differences in the interlocks by gender and identify the reasons for the same. * Develop a measure of centrality to identify resourceful directors and important companies in the network