Case Study Of Sachin Bansal - Co-founder Of Flipkart

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Executive Summary

The present paper aims to focus on Sachin Bansal as the co-founder of Flipkart and discuss the case as to how it impacted the e-commerce model in India. The study also relies on the disruptive innovation theory by Christensen et al. (2020) and Sarasvathy’s effectuation theory (2020) to explain Bansal’s vision, perseverance and calculated risk-taking, which transformed Flipkart from an online bookstore to Walmart’s acquisition. It analyses decisions like Cash-on-Demand and Big Billion Days using frameworks like opportunity recognition (Alvarez & Barney, 2020) and entrepreneurial judgment (McMullen, 2022). It also assesses the digital credit facility ‘Flipkart Pay Later’ from a fintech categorization viewpoint, more evidence of Bansal’s strategic and innovative skills. Thus, its findings also highlight the pragmatic implications of the theory actually at work in entrepreneurship and what can be used by innovators from emerging markets.

Case Study Of Sachin Bansal - Co-founder Of Flipkart

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Reference materials and sample papers are provided to clarify assignment structure and key learning outcomes. Through our help in assignment writing, guidance is shared while maintaining originality. The Case Study Of Sachin Bansal – Co-founder Of Flipkart highlights entrepreneurial strategies, business growth, and decision-making processes in a real-world context. These resources are intended solely for study and reference purposes.

Introduction

Sachin Bansal one of the founders of Flipkart has transformed the entire e-commerce market of India. Born in the year 1981 and an IIT Delhi graduate, Bansal worked for Amazon and later formed Flipkart in year 2007 online book-selling company with Binny Bansal. It had a noble purpose to counter India’s staggering shortage of books at its inception, which had started in a single apartment in Bengaluru. Some of these platforms include; the Cash-on-Delivery in 2008 and the Big Billion Days in 2014 contributed to its growth whereby it was acquired by Walmart for $16 billion in 2018.

Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation is relevant to understanding how Flipkart entered the market, while Porter’s Five Forces helps to compare the competition between the two retailers. Some of the references used where Clayton Christensen’s ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma and Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage(Christensen et al., 2020).

Further, a deeper analysis could be made to analyse Flipkart Pay Later as an example of the fintech integration, describing Bansal’s audacity and flexibility. This BNPL service also aimed at solving credit constraints, by using Flipkart’s customer database(Gartner, 2021).

Entrepreneurial characteristics

• Determination and Perseverance in Action: With true determination, Bansal transformed Flipkart from a small online bookseller to the biggest e-commerce company in India. The Case Study Of Sachin Bansal - Co-founder Of Flipkart highlights this journey in detail. Regarding Gartner’s Entrepreneurial Traits Theory, it was claimed that perseverance is one of the crucial means of overcoming the liability of newness which is typical for startups. Some of this persistence could be observed when Bansal himself delivered books as Flipkart was starting and also when the competition was introduced by the international giant Amazon.
• Achievement Drive and Vision: According to McClelland’s Need for Achievement Theory, the case of Bansal fits in well since he continuously strives to achieve. Far from envisioning a mere bookselling business, he dreamt of changing the entire face of retail in India. This dream, along with his desire for accomplishment drove him to expand Flipkart in unique measures, although indicators were pointing at the mistakes all the more to do it gently(McMullen, 2022).
• Opportunity Recognition and Creation: Kirzner’s alertness theory, defines the role of an entrepreneur in identifying opportunities that others cannot even perceive. The potential was first, the lack of books in India, secondly, the potential of e-commerce in India, and then Cash on Delivery services. One of his significant contributions was the skills to find and exploit opportunities that may not be very obvious to everyone, always a critical factor in any successful business such as Flipkart.
• Problem-Solving and Innovation: Bansal’s style of dealing with a difficult situation transmits the very essence of Schumpeter’s ‘creative destruction’. Instead of stepping into the low penetration of credit cards in India, he not only solved the payment issue but also reinvented the concept of e-commerce trust modes through COD. His solutions were not only solving problems for the shoppers but instead revolutionizing different parts of the shopping process(Sarasvathy, 2020).
• Risk Management and Tolerance for Ambiguity: It is the Knightian Uncertainty theory that can help explain Bansal’s rational calculations of risks. Introduction It would be interesting to note that in the earlier days of Flipkart, it under Saxena’s strategies ventured into Electronics and then in a later period, bought the struggling Myntra company all while operating within the complex Indian E-commerce market. It was significant that he made strategic decisions out of the available options because his choices had many uncertainties(Amabile and Pratt, 2021).
• Team Building and Leadership: Bansal can also be considered to have appropriate team-building attributes as identified by Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. It was therefore fascinating to see how Arjun started - passionately involved as a founder of a small startup, transitioning to the corporate managerial professional after attaining the position of the CEO of Flipkart. He brought in and developed talent such as Kalyan Krishnamurthy who went on to transform into the CEO of Flipkart apart from sustaining the company’s entrepreneurial spirit as it continued to grow big(Alvarez and Barney, 2020).
• Resilience and Tolerance for Failure: From the case of Bansal, it can be identified that the process matches Sarasvathy’s Effectuation Theory, especially the affordable loss concept. When he started making products and services and his first attempts did not succeed such as the Flyte digital music store he adapted without stalling. His good instance is within the Walmart acquisition where he had to start other businesses like Navi and that indicates determination.
• Energy, Passion, and Creativity: The Componential Theory of Creativity proposed by Teresa M. Amabile gives insight into how Bansal’s passion led to greater innovation. Bach continued to charge up Flipkart when competition intensified and from where he delivered innovative ideas that was unprecedented in the Flipkart and the Indian e-commerce industry including the Big Billion Day sales amongst others.

The Entrepreneurial Life Cycle: A Case Study of Sachin Bansal and Flipkart

Starting a business similarly goes through a systematic development process, implying that it goes through specific phases from planning to the maturation to a ripe stage where it is either sold or handed over to others. The transformation of Sachin Bansal into the co-founder of Flipkart can be used to explain these phases in an effective manner.

Stage 1: The Preparation Stage

The foundation for Flipkart was built through early work experience, training, and recognizing opportunities to pursue by Sachin Bansal. On completing his engineering from IIT Delhi in 2005, he initially joined the technology company TechSpan which was later acquired by Amazon, and working there helped him understand the dynamics of e-commerce and technology sales. This exposure gave him the vision to see the fact that there are hardly any developed e-tailing markets in India. With Bansal, he noted that while there was a great business opportunity in India, there was a very weak market for books online. His technical skills complemented by the increased endowment of engineers and investors make him prepare to move to the next level of establishing his outfit(Shepherd and Patzelt, 2023).

Stage 2: Start-Up Operations

The company was started in the year 2007 as an online platform exclusively focused on selling books and was based in a Bangalore apartment. This phase involved the development of trades and identification of proper suppliers, as well as customer credibility in the marketplace. In the early stage, the actual packing and delivery of orders were done manually by the founders of the firm which enabled them to understand the practical aspects of distribution and the handling of customer relations. This phase is well documented in the Case Study Of Sachin Bansal - Co-founder Of Flipkart, illustrating hands-on entrepreneurial efforts. The first and overarching concern that threatened the e-commerce business in India was consumer reluctance to pay online; to tackle this issue CoD was brought in and revolutionized e-commerce in India. Nevertheless, this stage involved certain risks for the company as the competition increased and the profitability potential may be not as high as expected.

Stage 3: Exploration

Later on, Bansal moved to the exploration stage, which involved innovation, growth, and fundraising as Flipkart’s popularity increased. The company thereafter expanded into electronics, fashion, and many other areas from the pure sale of books. Such strategies as Big Billion Day sales and acquisitions (Myntra, Jabong) helped to fortify the position in the market. Later, Flipkart received massive funding from Tiger Global, Accel, SoftBank, and others propelling the portal's growth. Nonetheless, this stage was riskier to the company due to competition from Amazon, logistical issues, and cash burn. Bansal enhanced several management skills and put in experienced executives to make the firm more organized (Nambisan et al., 2021).

Stage 4: Focus and Expansion

The focus and expansion stage began during the mid-2010s when Flipkart entered the consolidative phase for its most profitable businesses. It integrated key processes, renewed focus on supply chain flexibility, appointed several new senior leaders of Flipkart Wholesale, and scaled up Flipkart Pay Later (fintech). Like in any other close-knit company family, trust was vested in the key individuals, while the superior posts were awarded to loyal hands. With the growth of the startup into a more structured organization, there was a positive change in corporate governance (De Winnaar and Scholtz, 2020).

Stage 5: Harvest or Handover

The last strategy of entrepreneurship is the exit strategy or succession. This for Bansal was in 2018; Walmart purchased 77% of Flipkart for $16 billion; one of the largest Indian startups exits. Although Bansal left Flipkart, he also proceeded further with his entrepreneurial venture by investing in fintech (Navi) and electric mobility (Ola Electric). Where strategic sales, mergers, or acquisitions were not the case in most family business exits so far, Flipkart’s exit was a novel thought that can be best described as a harvest style other than the IPO or the second-generation succession (Morrisette and Schrader, 2007).

Conclusion

This paper highlights how Sachin Bansal’s entrepreneurial journey through Flipkart is a typical example of how academic entrepreneurial theories can be applied. In terms of outlook, his traits or characteristics present him as conforming to the times by noticing opportunities, thinking and implementing disruptive ideas (Christensen) and not giving up easily. These strengths involve gaining consumers' trust through the Cash-on-Delivery option, and growing against competitive giant firms as evidenced by calculated risk taker, and resilience strategies. This strategic move proved highly beneficial for him when Walmart acquired the business.

References

• Alvarez, S.A. and Barney, J.B., 2020. Entrepreneurial opportunities and poverty alleviation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 44(2), pp.267-289.
• Amabile, T.M. and Pratt, M.G., 2021. The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 41, pp.100127.
• Christensen, C.M., McDonald, R., Altman, E.J. and Palmer, J.E., 2020. Disruptive innovation: An intellectual history and directions for future research. Journal of Management Studies, 57(4), pp.1043-1078.
• De Winnaar, K. and Scholtz, F., 2020. Entrepreneurial decision-making: new conceptual perspectives. Management Decision, 58(7), pp.1283-1300.
• Gartner, W.B., 2021. Entrepreneurship as organizing: Selected papers of William B. Gartner. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• McMullen, J.S., 2022. Uncertainty and entrepreneurial judgment. Journal of Business Venturing, 37(5), p.106239.
• Morrisette, S. and Schrader, M., 2007. Affirming entrepreneurship: the best hope for organizations. Development and Learning in Organizations, 21(1), pp.15-17.
• Nambisan, S., Wright, M. and Feldman, M., 2021. The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Perspectives, 35(2), pp.265-288.
• Sarasvathy, S.D., 2020. Effectuation: Elements of entrepreneurial expertise. 2nd ed. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Shepherd, D.A. and Patzelt, H., 2023. Entrepreneurial resilience: Developing the capacity to overcome setbacks. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 19, p.e00368.