Corporation: concept, economic nature and the main types. Corporations in Russia

The core of the economies of most countries in the world are corporations. However, this term can correspond to economic entities with very different characteristics - in terms of scale, structure, development priorities. What are the current approaches to the term "corporation"? How can these structures function in different countries of the world?

What is a corporation?

The term "corporation" can be understood as:

- the merger of several firms to jointly solve complex business problems;

- a large firm or, in some cases, a holding that includes several subsidiaries;

- a political entity with a unified system of management and decision-making - at the city or even state level.

But most often a corporation is understood to be a holding company or an association of businesses, sometimes - monopolistic (for example, in the form of cartels). Corporate relations between the founders of the relevant economic entity, as well as their partners, are usually set at the level of civil-law and labor agreements. The more effective the legal support for the activities of the corporation, the more successful it will be in business, in interaction with competitors.

Correlation of interests in the corporation

Consider this aspect of the activities of the associations in question, as a ratio of interests. Such may be founders of the corporation, managers, ordinary employees. Interests of participants in corporations may vary, but they are united by the fact that they are delegated by a particular person to a higher level.

So, an ordinary employee trusts to defend his interests to the head of the department. Which, in turn, delegates its own, taking into account the decisions taken from the subordinate, the chief, conditionally speaking, the department. After that, the interests are transferred to the level of the top managers of the firm and are considered by them taking into account their priorities. If a person is satisfied with such a scheme of delegation of interests, he, as a rule, successfully integrates into the activities of the corporation.

This feature of the interaction of participants in relevant associations in business predetermines the need to develop norms that regulate their communication with each other.

Corporate standards

The most important condition for the effective development of the corporation is the existence of rules that it is recommended to adhere to its employees in the implementation of their interests. They are usually characterized by a high degree of centralization. It can be noted that the features of finance of different types of corporations have, in principle, the same property. They are managed by the higher-level structures of the firm, the key decisions on their distribution are taken by the company's top managers.

Norms in a corporation, as a rule, are set at the level of local regulations. But it is not always the case. It is possible that they will be informal, transferred from one member of the corporation to another verbally, but be strictly observed. It can be noted that in some corporate structures official norms will be more significant, in others - those that are more correctly attributed to informal ones. It depends on national traditions in the state in which the company is registered, on the policy of the owners, top managers of the firm, on the specifics of the segment in which the organization is developing.

It should be noted that in order to effectively build relationships in business, as a rule, not so much these or other formats of corporate norms matter as there are mechanisms ensuring their compliance.

Consider what the main types of corporations are distinguished by researchers.

Classification of corporations by economic nature

Modern experts classify the associations under consideration into 3 main types of corporations based on the criterion of their economic nature:

- classical;

- etatist;

- creative.

Let's study their specifics in more detail.

Classical corporations are firms that are established with the aim of achieving maximum business efficiency in the form of cost-effective production of goods or services, and also assuming a steady increase in turnover with the subsequent increase in the company's market share. A classical corporation is characterized by a pronounced distinction between the institutions of property and management. There are owners of the firm investing in it, but there are managers responsible for its development. The former, as a rule, do not interfere in the activities of the latter. However, hired managers in a classical corporation are usually accountable to the owners of the company.

The associations in question usually establish a stable culture of interaction between employees. Depending on the degree of influence of the company, it can be extended to other firms and approved there. Under the influence of various factors, the components of the corporate structure, once formed, can be changed. This is possible, for example, due to the influence of the sphere of scientific and technical developments, social technologies, political development.

The evolution of classical corporations

So, the researchers distinguish in modern history 3 stages, within which corporations developed and changed. The types of corresponding associations, thus, appeared new, largely dissimilar to the previous ones.

Thus, in the middle of the 20th century, corporations began to specialize in mastering new technologies as one of the key competitive advantages in business. Large volumes of production began to be delegated to countries where conditions for deployment of appropriate capacities were more suitable from the point of view of profitability conditions. In the states where corporations were registered, there were head offices and technology centers.

In the 1970s and 1980s, global businesses began to evolve with an emphasis on territorial expansion, to occupying as large a share as possible on the international market. This affected the beginning processes of globalization, the unification of standards, the exchange of corporate experience with the participation of entrepreneurs from different countries.

In the 1990s, changes in the social character began to take place in the structure of global corporations, reflecting the revision of employees' own role in business by company employees. So, workers of many firms ceased to consider themselves as hired professionals, they began to feel themselves as partners of their employer. Of course, these trends can be traced in different states with a different intensity. These or other types of international corporations and their distinctive features may suggest completely unique characteristics of businesses that do not fit into any global concepts.

Later in the article, we will consider examples of some national corporate cultures, which show that the trends that are formed even in the largest economies, can not always significantly affect the processes occurring in other states.

Ethical corporations

Classification and types of corporations, formed by modern researchers, suggest the isolation in a separate category of etatist associations. What is their specificity?

Etatist corporations emerged as a response to capitalist trends, actively developing and spreading their influence in the world. Their founder and main ideologue is the state. It is assumed that it determines the basic norms of the corporate culture of these associations, forms economic and social priorities in the development of the relevant structures.

Unlike capitalist classical corporations, etatist associations are established in order to solve, mainly, urgent social and political tasks. For example, ensuring the employment of citizens. Where a classical capitalist does not dare to start production because of the high costs of building infrastructure, a state entity that establishes an etatist corporation may well initiate the construction of a new factory in order to employ citizens residing in the corresponding territory.

In the associations in question, the official norms regulating corporate behavior of employees are extremely important. Such companies developed mainly in the USSR and other socialist countries. At the same time, in the respective states, the essence of the term "corporation", the concept, the economic nature and the main types of economic associations were often not considered in the context of real social policy, since they were regarded as belonging to the capitalist system.

Thus, the associations in question can have not only an economic, but also a socio-political institutional basis. In this sense, their significance can be much higher from the point of view of the development of the state than in the case of classical structures.

Creative corporations

Another major category of corporations is creative associations. They belong to the youngest structures. There were creative corporations in the late 20th century. Their emergence and distribution is mainly due to the development of communication infrastructure - first of all, the Internet. People have a need for communication, in the exchange of information, digital products capable of forming emotions.

Consequently, there was a demand for businesses, ready-made products such as games, websites, programs, multimedia content, and deliver. Creating such solutions requires a creative approach - when you need to develop a product that does not resemble the already existing ones that competitors have, or that has significant advantages over already marketed solutions.

There are a variety of creative corporations. Types of relevant structures are represented in the "offline", "online" versions. There are large, but there are small creative firms. Given the large volume of the online market, competition between them can be very mild. What is not too typical for classical corporations.

The above associations in business - the results of the evolution of the economy, society, technology. But none of them can not be considered obsolete, in most developed countries you can find any represented in these categories of corporations. The types of relevant associations can be classified according to many other criteria. Their specificity depends on the specific approach applied by the researcher or formed at the national school of economics.

The essence, types of corporations can be studied by using a wide range of methods. Among them - the identification of legal features of the corporation. That is, those that are based on the provisions of the legislation of a particular country. It will be useful, therefore, to consider the official, traceable at the level of state laws, the approach to the classification of the associations under consideration.

Classification of corporations in the Russian legislation

So, the main types of corporations in the Russian Federation by legislation are business associations, NGOs, associations, cooperatives, partnerships. If it is a holding company, in Russia the corresponding structure is most often referred to as a group of companies. There are also state corporations in the Russian Federation, in a sense, a subset of etatist ideologies, but rather, according to capitalist concepts, the definition of priorities in economic development.

The Russian economy is largely integrated with the world economy. Therefore, the definitions of the term "corporation", concept, economic nature and main types of relevant associations adopted in the Russian Federation can in practice be interpreted in accordance with current international definitions.

For example, the term "concern" is widely used in Russia and abroad. Depending on the context, it can be understood differently among Russian managers. What can the concern be like in the Russian Federation as a kind of corporation? Specificity of financial activities of Western European firms - in particular German ones, predetermines the frequent use of the term in question to identify the largest multinational associations in Europe. In turn, American firms, albeit with a large scale, are often referred to as corporations, or financial groups.

Thus, the term "corporation", the concept and its types can be interpreted differently depending on the traditions adopted in this or that cultural environment of management. It will be useful to get acquainted with the experience of building corporate businesses abroad. Let's study it on the example of some of the largest economies.

National types of modern corporations

Types of corporations can be classified based on national traditions of building relationships between the participants of the respective association. So, it is useful to consider the experience of Japan. The fact is that in this state corporate norms play an exceptionally significant role. At the same time, those who are unofficial are often the most strict.

One of the key characteristics of the Japanese corporation is the priority of collective interests over individual interests. A person comes to work in a particular firm, as a rule, not considering the transition to another in the short term. This allows him to consistently realize his qualities and, possibly, provide career growth. Another reason that the prospect of switching to another firm may seem to the Japanese employee is not very attractive - the fact that the structure, types of corporations that compete with the current employer, most likely will not fundamentally differ from those that characterize the firm in which Man works. Most likely, the employee will perform the same functions and receive the same salary.

Another thing is the American corporate tradition. It is characterized, in turn, by the priority of the individual over the collective. Man, of course, delegates some of his interests to a higher level, but their volume is usually much lower than if he worked in Japan. This is due to the fact that corporate culture in the US can vary significantly between companies. And this can stimulate active migration of specialists of different levels from one firm to another.

Despite the fact that the American and Japanese corporate culture have a number of obvious differences, this does not prevent specialists from US firms from successfully cooperating with entrepreneurs from Japan. In general, the understanding of the essence of the term "corporation", the definition, types of relevant associations studied by the American and Japanese schools of management, can be based on the same principles. Thus, the corporate models of the US and Japan in a number of contexts will differ in content, but in form will be very close. And this may be enough to build effective cooperation.

The noted types of international corporations and their distinctive features suggest that, in principle, in any country, unique conditions that determine the development of relevant associations in business can form. Especially - when it comes to states with relatively little experience in building capitalist relations. For example, in Russia. It will be useful to study the most remarkable characteristics of corporate culture in the Russian Federation.

Russian corporate culture

What types of corporations in Russia formed during the period of building capitalism in the country? According to many experts, the Soviet traditions are quite strong in the Russian Federation, especially when it comes to large backbone enterprises with state participation. These have a certain similarity with the Japanese concepts of building a corporate culture - when a person is required to view himself as a carrier of predominantly corporate interests while in employment.

Citizens of the Russian Federation, finding employment in this or that firm, like the Japanese, in many cases are willing to work in it indefinitely, without considering the prospects for switching to another company. But there are types of corporations in Russia, which, in turn, are much closer in their structure to American concepts of building relationships in business. Typically, these are small and medium-sized enterprises, often - family businesses. The national Russian corporate tradition is still being formed. The way it will look in the foreseeable future depends on many factors - social, foreign economic, foreign policy.

Summary

So, we have studied the essence of the term "corporation", the concept and types of corresponding associations from the point of view of the concepts common among modern researchers. The type of structures considered is represented by the widest range of their varieties. The concept, signs of the corporation, types of corporations in different historical periods were studied taking into account political, socio-economic factors, processes in the scientific and technical sphere.

In the national traditions of management, approaches to understanding the specifics of corporations may also differ. But this is not always the case, yet global trends in many areas of business are very noticeable, at least if we talk about the forms of corporate associations. Criteria for classification of the structures under consideration are quite numerous. One of the most common is usually considered a concept, according to which corporations are divided into classical, etatist and creative. These types of corporations differ in the number of institutions in structure, in structure, in development priorities.

In modern developed economies, it is possible to find firms corresponding to any of the categories considered by us. But it is worth noting that in some national economies the share of classical and creative corporations is more prominent, in others - the etatist ones. The characteristics of the country's economy depend on what stages the state has already undergone in economic development, what social and political tasks it poses for itself.