Constructing identities in Indian networks: Discourses of marketing management in inter-organizational relationships Nick Ellis a, ⁎, Michel Rod b , Tim Beal c , Val Lindsay c a School of Management, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK b Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6 c School of Marketing and International Business, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand abstract article info Article history: Received 14 February 2010 Received in revised form 13 September 2010 Accepted 24 October 2010 Available online 8 July 2011 Keywords: Identities in networks Inter-organizational relationships India Discourse analysis This paper explores business-to-business (B2B) marketing values and knowledge systems in India and their impact on identity construction in industrial networks. Our study moves methodological approaches into more interpretive territory by acknowledging the processes of social construction in networks as articulated by the IMP Group. We bring an interdisciplinary perspective to B2B marketing studies by recognizing cultural influences on managers' constructions of Indian modernity and explore what these linguistic moves may mean for the management of buyer–seller relationships. We highlight the dexterity with which individual actors discursively position themselves, their (and other) firms and countries by drawing upon a range of interpretive repertoires in their accounts of relationship management. Our chief contribution is to conceptually synthesize some of the discursive forces at work in identity processes within Indian business networks and to empirically illustrate the inherent tensions within managers' talk as they construct individual, organizational and national identities. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction This paper offers a fresh approach to the study of identities in networks (Huemer, Håkansson, & Prenkert, 2009) and business-to- business (B2B) marketing values and knowledge systems (Welch & Wilkinson, 2002) in post-colonial contexts. Specifically, we explore Indian marketing management by taking a discursive view of inter- organizational relationships (Lowe, Ellis, & Purchase, 2008) and plot the impact of the meaning systems represented in managerial discourse on identity construction in industrial networks. Our paper moves methodological approaches in industrial network studies into more interpretive territory (Hausman & Haytko, 2003; Wilson & Woodside, 1999). We bring an interdisciplinary perspective to B2B marketing by focusing on identity processes in networks, in particular social constructions of Indian modernity, and explore what these constructions may mean for the management of buyer–seller re- lationships (Bagozzi, 1995). In addressing the notion of identity, we agree with the views expressed in a recent special issue of this journal by Brown, Dacin, and Pitt (2010, p. 709) who argue that “it is time for B2B marketing scholars to address the broader issues related to corporate associa- tions, image, reputation, identity and brand”. While this special issue makes a valuable contribution, in this paper we wish to explore identity (or more accurately, identities) in industrial networks from a perspective that is less focused on corporate branding and image. Moreover, our methodological approach embraces calls for B2B scholars not to view science as merely “synonymous with quantifi- cation” (Malhotra & Uslay, 2009, p. 29) and to bring to the B2B context studies that draw on a broader organizational and social science spectrum (Spekman, 2004). Our study also reflects calls for more empirical research to be undertaken to improve our understanding of contemporary market- ing practices, especially in large emerging market economies such as India and Brazil (Dadzie, Johnston, & Pels, 2008; DeBerry-Spence, 2008). While business relationships in certain cultures like China and Russia (Jansson, Johanson, & Ramström, 2007) and Japan (Lohtia, Bello, & Porter, 2009) have been studied quite extensively in recent years, marketing management in India remains relatively under- explored in the B2B literature, with only Iyer (1999) and Sarin (1982) focusing on inter-firm trading and purchasing in India. It is frustrating to find that much of the existing management literature on Indian business tends to be based on replication studies, which typically attempt to apply existing theories to the Indian context (Monga, 2005; Singh, 2008). While these studies provide useful overviews, we believe that their predominantly deductive, survey-based methodol- ogies are in need of augmentation with inductive, interpretive research. Conceptually and methodologically, we locate our approach within the ideographic studies of certain industrial network scholars. The significance of processes of social construction in relationship Industrial Marketing Management 41 (2012) 402–412 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: n.ellis@le.ac.uk (N. Ellis). 0019-8501/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.06.014 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Marketing Management