Srividhya Jandhyala: Geopolitics may shape who companies hire
In The Great Disruption, Srividhya Jandhyala unpacks how rising geopolitical tensions are changing where we work, who companies hire, and how global businesses operate. Her core insight: corporate nationality now matters more than ever.
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The ‘Great Disruption’ a meticulous book by Srividhya Jandhyala about geopolitics in relation to the functioning of corporations and the future of work. Storyboard18 caught up with the author for a Q&A on ‘corporate nationalities’ and its connection to the world of global business. The author’s stellar credentials-a PhD in management from Wharton, a former fellow at Princeton and currently teaching geopolitics at ESSEC Business School- made for a nuanced conversation.
How do you expect rising geopolitical tensions and protectionism to impact the future of work, including where work is done, who performs it, and how companies manage talent and innovation going forward?
As geopolitical tensions rise, global companies are taking a hard look at their workforce, trying to determine who can work on different types of projects. There are more restrictions on who works on leading and cutting-edge projects, nationality of individuals that companies can hire, and access to firm-level data that an employee can get.
Remote work also promised employees that work could be done from anywhere. As the technology continues to improve, employees might assume that they need notbe in the office or even in the country. But as countries increasingly emphasize sovereignty, data security, and the protection of strategic interests, the data, models, and technology resources that can be used from other countries becomes limited.
Finally, focusing on teams, operations, or finances of a business used to be the typical mandate for a manager. But today’s managers have to take on different tasks. Managerial skills include building and maintaining relationships with multiple governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. Such coalition building is not something that can easily be accomplished by digital nomads.
What motivated you to take a longer-term research-focused approach, given that the landscape is too dynamic and nimble to sustain any predictions?
Most managers of global companies today came of age in an era where geopolitics did not have a constraining role. They had little-to-no training or experience in navigating a world dominated by grand politics. As they face a new landscape, they have to figure it out on the fly. Hence, rather than offer predictions about the future of specific policies, tariffs, and rules, a research-based approach offers a more structured framework to think about how companies could navigate a fast-changing world.
What happens when geopolitics and gender collide?
Remote work – and the job flexibility that could come with it – was offered as one solution that might help employees, especially women, excel at work while also manage meaningful social and family relationships outside work. However, rising geopolitical tensions could challenge that narrative. Even as the technology for remote work is improving, geopolitical considerations challenge its implementation. Government restrictions increasingly shape who can work on projects, what the work is, and where it can be done. For example, as national security focus and data localization become more widespread, companies will find it harder to distribute work geographically and allow the flexibility that comes with remote work. If women were to gain the most from remote work, then geopolitical tensions might also be particularly challenging for them.
Lets project geopolitics a decade ahead- Can we take India as an example and elaborate a bit on India's position
As we look ahead, companies that are successful even in the midst of geopolitical tensions might be those that explicitly acknowledge and optimize for national security stakeholders. These companies will be defined by their corporate nationalities and are likely to manage their nationality for relative advantage. Rather than relying on traditional supporting institutional infrastructure for global operations, they will build an alternate system.
Indian companies have been in the midst of these dynamic challenges and opportunities. When American companies were looking to diversify their operations beyond China, India companies were attractive partners, in part because of their nationality. But when US tariffs on Indian products were hiked, Indian companies discovered that their product quality, operations, and innovativeness were secondary to their nationality. At the same time, some Indian companies are actively competing on their Indian-ness, especially in sectors with data security concerns.
You speak of stubborn legacies- can you elaborate a bit?
Some companies may well conclude that geopolitical headwinds require them to change their business model. Their current products and services may not meet the changing needs of the market, so they have to pivot or reorient their strategic direction through reallocation or restructuring of resources, attention, or activities. Pivoting, however, is a slow and incremental process. Firms rarely reorient the company’s strategic direction completely with one decision. Rather, they take multiple incremental steps; this can be challenging for established companies because it may also involve internal restructuring. Changing the internal organizational operations is hard as it involves breaking routines that previously worked well for the company. Reorientation would mean changing organizational structures, communication channels, reporting standards, and design architecture.
Overall, Srividya emphasizes that a whack-a-mole approach of approaching geopolitical issues as and when they show up is not sufficient. Assessing the defining feature of geopolitical risk for companies (corporate nationality), the skills companies will need to invest in (scanning, personalizing, planning, and pivoting (S-PPP), as well as understanding how the future of work is impacted by geopolitics (not just technology), is necessary to offer managers a set of tools to deal with a dynamic environment.
Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.
