Abstract

This case study “Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries” describes the journey of business tycoon Mukesh Ambani (Mukesh). The case study first weaves the story of Reliance right from its inception (1960) till March 2019. It then elaborates on the growth trajectory of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) under Mukesh’s leadership. Post its de-merger owing to a feud between Mukesh and his brother Anil related to ownership, RIL grew by leaps and bounds. Mukesh’s expert business acumen in expanding his business empire is discussed as also the company’s foray into a plethora of retail businesses through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL). The case study takes a look at RIL’s journey in the Petrochemical segment and its foray into broadband and internet services through Reliance Jio Infocom (Jio). The push toward transforming RIL into a technology platform company is elaborated on. The case study concludes with the announcement of RIL’s “New Commerce platform” and how such a platform would pose challenges to leading e-commerce players like Amazon Inc. and Flipkart, already popular in India.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• The leadership skills required to successfully run a business.
• How leaders sense opportunities in the business environment and seize them to launch new products and services.
• How leaders overcome the challenges from the external business environment.
• The role of disruptive business models in making a traditional vertical industry structure irrelevant.
• How leaders identify gaps in what customers want and what they are delivered and how they bridge the gap.

Keywords

Reliance Industries; Mukesh Ambani; Reliance Retail; Anil Ambani; Alibaba Group; Amazon; B2B; B2C; Digital Marketplace; Reliance Jio; Leadership; Entrepreneurship; Benevolent Leadership; Authoritative Leadership; Technology Platform Company