Surviving challenges: a case of DK Exports on family business

Entrepreneurship, strategy, family business.

MBA, PhD (Mgmt)

DK Dies and Tools was set up initially as a tool room by its founder Krishna Verma. It manufactured machine parts, sheet metal tools, jigs and fixtures, plastic/rubber moulds and metal fabrications. The firm came to be known as DK Exports (henceforth DKX) when it was professionalized in the year 2003 for merchant exporting. Lately, after the founder's demise, professionalization had become a dire need when the firm faced with loss of customers, the market share was taken over by the Chinese, workers' expectations had risen, poor internal communications, search for dynamic capabilities and finally a need to diversify had arisen. Unexpected death of the founder had pushed the firm into doldrums. It was because of the founder's relationship and reputation in the market that the business prospered. Unfortunately, the tacit knowledge he possessed could not be handed over to his son Kunal, which led to complexes in business. Hence, there arose a need for internationalization for finding new customers and markets. Entrepreneurial orientation needed a change. The new Chairman, Kunal, had expertise in operations management, with his wife, Priyanka, looking after development via overseas collaborations. The firm had been struggling to create a two-tier top-level management to decide on operational issues, besides search for newer destinations for increasing the scale of operations.

To understand how multilevel entrepreneurship happens and the importance of translating tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, especially at times when the founder has to pass the baton to the second generation.

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