Types of Companies

A company is understood as an economic and social unit made up of both material and technical elements (premises, tools, real estate, etc.) as well as human elements, it is focused on meeting the needs of goods and services, through production, marketing , or management of goods and services, this being understood within a line tending to obtain economic benefits, as a result of their participation during the production process or acquisition of goods and services by the user or client.

Types of companies

Companies are classified according to the field in which their activities are carried out, the type of specific activity they carry out, the number of owners they have, their economic and commercial capacity (also understanding the economic area they cover), as well as belonging to or no, to the private or governmental sphere.

Types of companies depending
on whether they belong to the private or government sphere

Government or state companies. They are companies that belong to the state or their administration is under the care of the state, usually they are companies that have to do with an essential or strategic area for the government of a country, such as energy companies, military industries and others like some financial entities.

Private businesses. Most of the companies fall into this category, regardless of the branch in which they operate, or their internal system of government, administration, capital and profits of the same, they focus on the private sphere having state interference only as soon as regarding the legal provisions corresponding to the country.

Types of companies according to the size or
economic and commercial size they have

Mega companies or multinationals.-They are companies that own movable, immovable and economic assets, in two or more countries, generally with large plants of specialized workers (more than 250 employees), they are companies that usually cover several branches of a sector, such as food , IT, transport, the manufacture of a range or line of related products, transport companies, financial companies, etc., for example energy companies that specialize in hydrocarbons and their derivatives, which usually have a larger market. extensive than the national, that is, they are international. These companies usually have associations with other companies in the sector, or absorb smaller companies, in the same sector or in a branch related to their field of action, with which they acquire the market that they occupied.

Medium- sized companies.- They have a number of specialized workers that range between 100 and 250 employees, they cover a national or local market of high economic importance, they have the power to invest both in equipment and in the specialization and training of workers. Although its production or service is extensive, it only reaches the national market, unlike the previous ones, which can cover more than one market.

Small companies.- Usually they have less than 50 employees, their products or services cover a part of the market, be it a regional market or part of the national one, but not completely. Its capital is scarce so there are usually no large investments in machinery and technology, and its production is focused on the supply, maintenance and conservation of a market, rather than expansion.

Micro-enterprise.- Micro -enterprises are considered to be those economic units (factories, shops and other businesses), which have a small capital, a job position of less than 10 employees and the goods or services they provide do not have a larger scope than the local .

Types of companies according to the number and type of owners they have

Sole proprietorships.- They are companies that have as their owner, a single person and not a company, the owner of the company is responsible for responding to the legal, fiscal and economic obligations of the company, as well as is the main beneficiary of the economic and material goods of the same.

Family.- They are usually companies that start moderately, with a head of the family as a leader, they are usually classified initially in a similar way to personal companies, but as they grow over the years, they become company companies.

Corporation companies.- They are companies that are constituted of a social capital in a common fund, which is divided into shares, while the administration of the same is in charge of a management composed of members elected, changed or renewed by shareholders’ meetings.

These corporations are divided into two, open corporations and closed corporations. In closed corporations, their members usually define their bylaws as they see fit, while open corporations often have more than 500 shareholders and at least a tenth of their capital is attached to less than 500 shareholders. of 100 people, and the shares are subject to the stock market law, so they are offered publicly.

Partnership companies.- In this type of company, the characteristic is that in the event of any commercial or economic difficulty, the partners that comprise it have the duty to respond, in addition to their capital contributions, also with their personal assets. .

Limited partnership company.- In limited partnership companies, the partners can manage in their own right, but generally the administration of the company is delegated to a partner or a third party designated for it. The members of the company are financially responsible for the company, according to the amount of their contributions or a higher sum, (if it is stipulated in the bylaws of the company), so they do not run the risk of total loss of their assets. in case of problems in the company, but they do have the duty to contribute their corresponding amount in case of debts.

Limited partnership companies.- They are those where there are two kinds of partners, on the one hand the capitalist partners who contribute precisely the capital, and on the other the managing partners who are in charge of administering and carrying out most of the work, although the capitalist partners can also manage jointly with the managers.

Types of companies according to the branch to which they are dedicated

Types of companies in the primary sector.- These are companies that have primary activities as their field of action, such as livestock, agriculture, fishing, mining, oil companies (dedicated to oil extraction and not petrochemical ), that is, his approach deals with primary productive activities.

Companies of the secondary or transformation sector.- This field includes companies that are dedicated to transforming raw materials into a variety of products, such is the case of the textile, petrochemical, iron and steel, construction industries, and specialized companies, such as household appliances, automobiles, etc.

Companies in the tertiary and services sector.- These types of companies include commercial companies, hotels, banks and finance companies, insurance companies, carriers (air, land and shipping companies), which are no longer focused only on the production of a certain well, but they focus on providing a personal service, that is, they focus to a certain extent on the human element as the ultimate business goal.