Case Analysis of

Career Dilemma of a Nextgen Family Member:

The Case of Lavanya Nalli
Course Name: Family Business: Governance & Sustainability
Course Code: OSL - 503

Department of Organization Strategy and Leadership

University of Dhaka

Submitted to

Dr. Muhammad Shariat Ullah

Professor

Submitted by

Serial Name

25 Umme Saima

26 Selina Jahan

28 Sayed Anamul Haque

29 Amran Mojumder Fahad

33 Shafiqul Hasan Chowdhury

Date of Submission: 9th August 2023

 Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Background 4
Key Challenges 5
Recommendations 6
Conclusion 8

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 Introduction
This case study analysis focuses on numerous major aspects of a family business
named “Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited”. The case analysis portrays Lavanya Nalli, a
fifth-generation member of the Nalli family business, as she contemplates a critical
decision to extend her family business by establishing an e-commerce vertical. The
whole case analysis consists of four dynamic sections. The first section provides a
brief introduction to the case presenting details about the Nalli family's 90-year-old
business, its people, and overall culture. The second section identifies obstacles
faced by Lavanya while she was thinking about returning to the Nalli company and
starting a new e-commerce vertical from scratch. There were serious reservations
within the family and the organization about Lavanya's proposal to venture into
e-commerce. In the third section, the analysis also consists of recommendation
strategies considering the pros and cons of obstacles in the second part. Finally, the
analysis ends with giving concluding remarks based on the entire case.

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 Background
The case study of Lavanya Nalli and Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited is a real-life
example of the challenges faced by a family-owned business in India. Nalli Silk
Sarees Pvt Limited is a classic example of a family-owned business in India. Nalli
Silk Sarees is a 90-year-old family business that specializes in sarees and women's
ethnic wear. The company was established in 1928 by Nalli Chinnasami Chetty, a
weaver of Kanjeevaram silk sarees. In 1958, his grandson Nalli Kuppusami Chetty
took over the company and established a solid foundation for it. From one generation
to the next, the organization's key values—innovation, customer-centric practices,
quality, and honesty—were transmitted. The third and fourth generations of the
family, including Mr. Kuppusami Chetty, Chairperson, Mr. Ramnath Nalli, Vice
Chairperson, and Ms. Lavanya Nalli, Vice Chairperson, are currently in charge of
running the business.

Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited is a family-owned company with a distinctive mix of
strengths and difficulties. The organization gains a strong advantage from a
deep-rooted feeling of heritage, principles, and ethos that has been transmitted
across successive eras. Individuals within the family are dedicated to the enterprise
and hold the conviction that it will achieve long-term prosperity. Leveraging their
individual affiliations and networks, they adeptly establish robust rapport with clients,
suppliers, and other involved parties.

Conversely, enterprises with family ownership encounter several hurdles. These

encompass the necessity to harmonize personal aspirations with familial
anticipations, the likelihood of disagreements and disharmony amid kin, and the
complexity of steering the shift from one era to the ensuing one. Lavanya Nalli
confronts various trials in her capacity as a next-generation family enterprise worker
at Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt. Ltd. These include carving out her distinctive journey,
contending with ambiguity concerning her role and obligations within the firm, and
navigating the equilibrium between upholding tradition and fostering innovation.

Lavanya Nalli is a next-gen family business member and the Vice Chairperson of
Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited. She is Nalli Kuppusami Chetty's granddaughter, who

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established the foundation for the family company. Lavanya is an outstanding and
highly educated person who has excelled in her studies as well as her extracurricular
activities. Lavanya enjoyed painting and aspired to work in journalism. She was also
fascinated by fashion design.

Lavanya followed engineering in spite of having other interests because her father
and school principal, who was aware of her aptitude in math and science, insisted on
it. Lavanya pursued an MBA at Harvard Business School (HBS) after receiving her
engineering degree and worked in the technology and consulting industries in the
US. She gained useful knowledge and abilities throughout her stay at HBS, which
she has since used in her employment at Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited.

Lavanya's journey back to India and assumption of leadership within the family
enterprise was a complex endeavor. She encountered the challenge of reconciling
her individual aspirations with the collective expectations of her family and the
company. She also needed to define her job and duties inside the company and
create her own path. Lavanya was eager to infuse the company with fresh concepts
and developments, but she also understood how crucial it was to uphold the heritage
and high caliber of Nalli Silk Sarees.

Overall, the case study of Lavanya Nalli and Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt Limited provides a
fascinating insight into the dynamics of family-owned businesses in India and the
strategies and solutions that can be adopted to achieve long-term success.

Key Challenges
Lavanya Nalli faces several challenges as she considers starting an e-commerce
vertical within the Nalli group.

Maintaining Family Values: One of the main challenges is the need to balance
innovation and growth with the core values and traditions of the family business. The
Nalli group has a long history and a strong reputation for quality and customer
service, which could be difficult to maintain in the fast-paced and rapidly changing
world of e-commerce.

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Risk Aversion Mentality: Another challenge faced by Lavanya is the need to
navigate complex family dynamics and relationships. The Nalli group is a
multi-generational family business, and Lavanya's decision to start an e-commerce
venture could create tensions and conflicts within the family if there are
disagreements about the direction of the business or if her role is perceived as a
threat to the existing power structure. Also, their current business model also does
not support e-commerce. Their limited financial capability might cause a risk
aversion tactic akin to family businesses.

Sustainability of the Business: Lavanya faces the challenge of operating in a

highly competitive and fragmented market. The saree and women's ethnic wear
industry in India is mature and fragmented, and the e-commerce sector is rapidly
evolving. Lavanya must find a way to differentiate the Nalli group's e-commerce
offering from its competitors while also staying true to the core values and traditions
of the family business.

Limited Resources: She must also find a way to manage tight budgets and limited
resources while still delivering high-quality products and services to customers. As
Nalli Group values quality & doesn’t use marketing ploys like discounts.

Lack of Fresh Perspectives: The existing senior executives of the Nalli group are in
their mid-fifties or older & are not that familiar with technological know-how. So, in
order to operate an e-commerce business Lavnya also needs to hire new employees
that can support her new venture. But these types of employees come with larger
benefit packages & don't tend to stay for a very long time at an organization.

Faulty Business Hierarchy: Nalli Group doesn’t have a leadership hierarchy. there
was no senior strategic talent to look beyond the status quo. The business was run
intuitively, and this meant a slow pace of growth. This was also alarming for Lavanya
as businesses now need to make fast decisions to stay competitive, especially
e-commerce-related businesses.

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 Recommendations
Some of the strategies that she can use to overcome her challenges include:

Building a strong team: Lavanya was interested to establish an e-commerce

platform and the company lacked fresh and young talents. She can overcome this
problem by building a strong team of experienced and talented professionals who
can help her execute the e-commerce venture. Building a new team will help her
bring new innovative ideas to the table for her e-commerce venture.

Performance Enhancement Initiatives for Stores and Sales Teams: Nalli stores
are all over India but their stores lacked healthy competition. There were no targets
for the salespeople to meet. But increasing healthy competition among stores will not
only motivate the employees for better performance but also it will increase the sales
at the store. These initiatives seek to enhance customer experiences, increase sales
staff productivity, and optimize retail operations. Ultimately, this will result in greater
market share, customer satisfaction, and revenue.

Communicating the vision: The Nalli company is a highly autonomous and

independent cultured company. Moreover, the company has been dominated by the
patriarchy of the Nalli Family for almost 100 years. To navigate the complexity of the
family dynamics for the e-commerce venture, Lavanya needs to communicate her
vision clearly and transparently to all family members. This would also help to avoid
any kinds of conflicts among the family members.

Leveraging Technology for Operational Excellence: The prospects of

e-commerce in India are promising. The saree market is a mature and fragmented
company. But the pattern of an e-commerce venture is a bit against the values of the
market but is disorganized. Lavanya wanted to make an online presence for their
Nalli Company. For establishing an e-commerce venture, Lavanya needs
technological support. With the help of fresh and young talents, she can leverage
technological support to enhance the customer experience to meet the changing
needs of consumers. Technology will enable the company to sustain itself in the long
run. Lavanya needs to maintain their core values while she uses data analytics and
other tools to gain more insights into the consumers buying behavior and pattern.

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Differentiating the e-commerce offering: Entering into the e-commerce platform
requires adopting a few prerequisites such as differentiating products, giving
discounts and etc. But giving discounts was against the value of Nalli company. That
is why, the company needs to differentiate their products such as offering saree as a
fusion wear. Nowadays celebrities are promoting the saree as a fusion wear that is
getting popular among the young generation. She can also concentrate on providing
premium goods and services, individualized customer support, and a seamless
online shopping experience to set the Nalli group apart from rival companies in the
industry.

Overall, Lavanya can overcome her obstacles by beginning the Nalli group's
e-commerce business in a strategic and cooperative manner. She can position the
Nalli group for success in the quickly developing e-commerce industry by assembling
a solid team, clearly articulating her vision, utilizing technology, and differentiating the
e-commerce offering.

Conclusion
From the viewpoint of a family business, it is concluded that decision dilemmas of
family business often arise due to the involvement of family members in various
aspects of the business. These dilemmas can stem from the unique dynamics,
relationships, and emotions within the family, which can influence the
decision-making process. In the case of Lavanya Nalli and Nalli Silk Sarees Pvt
Limited, there were deep-rooted values and established practices, which can be both
an advantage and a challenge. While pre-established values and practices can offer
quick decision-making, it's important for family businesses to stay open to change
and adapt to shifting market trends and customer expectations. So, there were
serious reservations within the Nalli’s business about Lavanya's proposal to venture
into e-commerce which led to her decision dilemmas. Therefore, by adopting
strategies to address decision dilemmas, Lavanya can navigate complex situations
more effectively and work towards sustaining the business's success while
preserving family relationships.