CONTINUITY IN CHANGE: BHIMA JEWELS’ TRANSFORMATION
JOURNEY CASE STUDY SOLUTION
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SYNOPSIS
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Sa
Bhima Jewels (“Bhima”) was a household name in southern India, where the company had built up a loyal
clientele spanning three generations over its 97 years in business as a retailer in the jewellery sector. The
company expanded in 1999 when Bindu Madhav, one of the sons of the founder Bhima Bhattar, opened a
cluster of stores in Kerala and began to carve out a successful business. In 2015, his son Abhishek Bindu
n
Madhav took over the business and, after obtaining the board’s go-ahead, initiated the professionalization
tio
of the family-run company. Unlike most such transitions, Bhima’s transition to professionalization was not
triggered by a crisis, but instead reflected a strategy of proactive realignment to enable better handling of
impending changes. The company notched up impressive successes during the early years of its transition,
lu
including during the trying times of the pandemic. During this phase, Bhima maintained its focus on the
customer while increasing its retail footprint. The company also embraced digital technologies and initiated
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
,OBJECTIVES
• Identify the considerations that would have swung the board’s decision to professionalize the company
and the differences between the professionalization and corporatization approaches.
• Understand the reasoning and implications behind the segregation of core and noncore activities.
• Appreciate how the stakeholder theory underpinned the application of the framework adopted by Bhima
in the first phase of its transformation journey.
• Evaluate how the company operationalized its “continuity in change” philosophy through its adoption
e
of customer-first principles and review its suitability to support its future transformation journey.
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Sa
n
tio
lu
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ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. What market situations or opportunities could have motivated the family-run business to agree to
Abhishek Bindu Madhav’s proposal to professionalize the company?
2. In the context of a family business, what is the difference between professionalization and corporatization?
3. Review the impact and ramifications of the 4 × 4 framework Bhima adopted to guide its transition into
a professionally run enterprise.
4. In your view, what is the significance of Bhima identifying core and noncore activities in the first phase
of its transformation journey, and what are the implications of having done so?
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, 5. Evaluate whether Bhima’s “continuity in change” philosophy could also serve the company when
designing its strategy to fuel Transformation 2.0. What elements and dependencies would you require
Abhishek and the senior leadership to consider? What options does Bhima have before it to guide the
second phase of its transformation?
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pl
m
Sa
n
tio
ANALYSIS
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1. What market situations or opportunities could have motivated the family-run business to agree
to Abhishek Bindu Madhav’s proposal to professionalize the company?
So
begin the discussion by asking the students how they understand professionalization in the
context of a family-run business. By the end of the discussion, the students should be able to broadly relate to
the concept of a family business as proposed by Chua et al. (2003)—that is, a business that is governed and
managed so as to achieve the business vision envisaged by the “dominant coalition,” which can be sustainable
into future generations. Family businesses exhibit the following characteristics to some degree or another:
commitment to family values and an entrepreneurial spirit; a somewhat less structured approach to business
processes and procedures; more informal recruitment and employment policies; less sharply defined business
strategies; and, sometimes, more unconventional management practices.
typically, the key stakeholders involved in a family firm are the individual, the family, the firm, and the larger
societal elements. At this juncture, want to point out that the research shows that a family
business can be professionally run, even if it is managed and owned by family members.
Professionalization can be explained as a multidimensional transition to a modern, formal organization,
enabling a firm to compete successfully over the long term, commit to sound decision-making and
management practices, and establish good governance while developing both family and nonfamily talent.
Professionalism plays an important role in creating solutions to issues so that the firm can better adapt to
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
JOURNEY CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
SYNOPSIS
m
Sa
Bhima Jewels (“Bhima”) was a household name in southern India, where the company had built up a loyal
clientele spanning three generations over its 97 years in business as a retailer in the jewellery sector. The
company expanded in 1999 when Bindu Madhav, one of the sons of the founder Bhima Bhattar, opened a
cluster of stores in Kerala and began to carve out a successful business. In 2015, his son Abhishek Bindu
n
Madhav took over the business and, after obtaining the board’s go-ahead, initiated the professionalization
tio
of the family-run company. Unlike most such transitions, Bhima’s transition to professionalization was not
triggered by a crisis, but instead reflected a strategy of proactive realignment to enable better handling of
impending changes. The company notched up impressive successes during the early years of its transition,
lu
including during the trying times of the pandemic. During this phase, Bhima maintained its focus on the
customer while increasing its retail footprint. The company also embraced digital technologies and initiated
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
,OBJECTIVES
• Identify the considerations that would have swung the board’s decision to professionalize the company
and the differences between the professionalization and corporatization approaches.
• Understand the reasoning and implications behind the segregation of core and noncore activities.
• Appreciate how the stakeholder theory underpinned the application of the framework adopted by Bhima
in the first phase of its transformation journey.
• Evaluate how the company operationalized its “continuity in change” philosophy through its adoption
e
of customer-first principles and review its suitability to support its future transformation journey.
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. What market situations or opportunities could have motivated the family-run business to agree to
Abhishek Bindu Madhav’s proposal to professionalize the company?
2. In the context of a family business, what is the difference between professionalization and corporatization?
3. Review the impact and ramifications of the 4 × 4 framework Bhima adopted to guide its transition into
a professionally run enterprise.
4. In your view, what is the significance of Bhima identifying core and noncore activities in the first phase
of its transformation journey, and what are the implications of having done so?
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
, 5. Evaluate whether Bhima’s “continuity in change” philosophy could also serve the company when
designing its strategy to fuel Transformation 2.0. What elements and dependencies would you require
Abhishek and the senior leadership to consider? What options does Bhima have before it to guide the
second phase of its transformation?
e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
ANALYSIS
lu
1. What market situations or opportunities could have motivated the family-run business to agree
to Abhishek Bindu Madhav’s proposal to professionalize the company?
So
begin the discussion by asking the students how they understand professionalization in the
context of a family-run business. By the end of the discussion, the students should be able to broadly relate to
the concept of a family business as proposed by Chua et al. (2003)—that is, a business that is governed and
managed so as to achieve the business vision envisaged by the “dominant coalition,” which can be sustainable
into future generations. Family businesses exhibit the following characteristics to some degree or another:
commitment to family values and an entrepreneurial spirit; a somewhat less structured approach to business
processes and procedures; more informal recruitment and employment policies; less sharply defined business
strategies; and, sometimes, more unconventional management practices.
typically, the key stakeholders involved in a family firm are the individual, the family, the firm, and the larger
societal elements. At this juncture, want to point out that the research shows that a family
business can be professionally run, even if it is managed and owned by family members.
Professionalization can be explained as a multidimensional transition to a modern, formal organization,
enabling a firm to compete successfully over the long term, commit to sound decision-making and
management practices, and establish good governance while developing both family and nonfamily talent.
Professionalism plays an important role in creating solutions to issues so that the firm can better adapt to
The Case Solution Starts From page 4
