Entrepreneurship has emerged as a powerful driver of economic growth, innovation, and employment generation in today’s dynamic business environment. In a rapidly transforming economy like India, the ability to take strategic business decisions is no longer confined to large corporations alone; it has become a critical competence for aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small and medium enterprises. This textbook, “Strategic Business Decisions for Entrepreneurship”, is designed to equip IV Semester, B.Com students of Bengaluru City University with the conceptual clarity, analytical skills, and practical orientation required to understand and apply entrepreneurial decision-making in real-world business contexts.
The contents of this book have been carefully structured in alignment with the prescribed syllabus and contemporary industry practices. Unit 1 introduces students to entrepreneurial paradigms and clearly distinguishes between entrepreneurs, managers, and intrapreneurs, while highlighting the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and the role of entrepreneurship in socio-economic development, particularly in developing economies. This unit lays a strong conceptual foundation for understanding entrepreneurship as both an economic and social phenomenon.
Unit 2 focuses on strategic business principles essential for entrepreneurial decision making. It provides practical insights into demand and supply analysis, elasticity, market structures, and cost–revenue behaviour, enabling students to analyze competitive environments and make informed strategic choices. Unit 3 emphasizes entrepreneurial metrics and the macro-economic environment, covering key indicators such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, GST, fiscal policy, and business cycles, along with legal frameworks, government incentives, and risk management in new ventures.
Unit 4 addresses one of the most critical challenges faced by entrepreneurs—finance and resource mobilization. It explores various short-term and long-term funding sources, cost of capital, return on investment, budgeting, forecasting, capital budgeting, and working capital management, with special emphasis on modern funding avenues such as angel investors and venture capital. Unit 5 highlights the role of innovation and creativity in entrepreneurship and national development, drawing from Schumpeterian theory, global entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the growing importance of technology-based start-ups in driving economic growth.
This book aims not only to help students excel in examinations but also to inspire them to think innovatively, act strategically, and confidently pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. It is hoped that this text will serve as a valuable academic resource and a practical guide for nurturing future entrepreneurs who can contribute meaningfully to India’s economic and social development.
Contents –
UNIT 1 ENTREPRENEURIAL PARADIGMS
Introduction to Entrepreneurial Paradigms; Distinction between Entrepreneur, Manager, and Intrapreneur; Characteristics of a successful Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies; Role of Entrepreneurship in Socio- Economic Development.
UNIT 2 STRATEGIC BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
Strategic Demand and Supply in Entrepreneurial Decision-Making; Applied Elasticity of Demand and Supply and its Business Implications; Market Behaviour and Competition- Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly; Applications of Market Behaviour in Realistic Business World; Cost and Revenue Behaviour and its Implications- Types and Behaviours.
UNIT 3 ENTREPRENEURIAL METRICS FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS
Business Metrics: Inflation, Interest Rates, Exchange Rates, GST Rates, Fiscal Policy and their impact on Business Decisions; Business Cycle and its impact on Entrepreneurship; Legal and Institutional Environment for Entrepreneurship; Role of Government and Policy Incentives for promoting Entrepreneurship, Schemes for New Age Women Entrepreneurs; Risk Management in New Ventures.
UNIT 4 ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
Sources of Entrepreneurial Finance Short term and Long term sources of Finance; Cost of Capital and ROI; Budgeting and Forecasting for Start-ups; Public and Private Funding Options (Angel Investors, VCs, Hybrid Finance etc.); Metrics of Investment Decisions for Capital Budgeting and Working Capital Management.
UNIT 5 INNOVATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Innovation and Creativity: Meaning of Innovations and creativity in Entrepreneurship, Importance of Tech-based Start-ups for National Development. Schumpeterian entrepreneurship and creative destruction; Innovation, R&D, and economic growth; American, European and Indian Entrepreneurial Infrastructure and Inventions-Comparative Study Role of start-ups in technological change; Government policy and innovation ecosystem.