a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one person
unlimited liaibility
a legal concept that holds a business owner personally responsible for all the debts of the business
Partnership
a voluntary association of two or more persons to act as co-owners of a business for profit
General partner
a person who assumes full or shared responsibility for operating a business
Limited partner
a person who contributes capital to a business but has no management responsibility or liability for losses beyond the amount he or she invested in the partnership
Corporation
an artificial person created by law with most of the legal rights of a real person, including the rights to start and operate a business, to buy or sell property, to borrow money, to sue or be sued, and to enter into binding contracts
Stock
the shares of ownership of a corporation
Stockholder
a person who owns a corporation's stock
Dividend
a distribution of earnings to the stockholders of a corporation
Board of directors
the top governing body of a corporation, the members of which are elected by the stockholders
Limited liability
a feature of corporate ownership that limits each owner's financial liability to the amount of money that he or she has paid for the corporation's stock
S-corporation
a corporation that is taxed as though it were a partnership
LLC (Limited Liability company)
a form of business ownership that combines the benefits of a corporation and a partnership while avoiding some of the restrictions and disadvantages of those forms of ownership
Not-for-profit corporation
a corporation organized to provide a social, educational, religious, or other service rather than to earn a profit
Joint venture
an agreement between two or more groups to from a business entity in order to achieve a specific goal or to operate for a specific period of time
Merger
the purchase of one corporation by another
Horizontal mergers
a merger between firms that make and sell similar products or services in similar markets
Vertical merger
a merger between firms that operate at different but related levels in the production and marketing of a product