The specific force of the business environment is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Competitors
Option (1) Economic environment — Incorrect. Interest rates, inflation and the growth of income affect all firms together. This is a general force.
Option (2) Legal environment — Incorrect. Laws passed by the government apply to every firm, so they form a general force.
Option (3) Political environment — Incorrect. Political stability and the attitude of the government touch the whole business world. This is also a general force.
Option (4) Competitors — Correct. A rival cutting its price or launching a new product hits a particular firm at once. Competitors are one of the four specific forces (with investors, customers and suppliers), which affect one particular firm directly and immediately. The other options are general forces, which touch all firms together.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “(ii) Specific and general forces: Business environment includes both specific and general forces. Specific forces (such as investors, customers, competitors and suppliers) affect individual enterprises directly and immediately in their day-to-day working. General forces (such as social, political, legal and technological conditions) have impact on all business enterprises and thus may affect an individual firm only indirectly.” |