Society and the marketplace are today overflowing with organizations forged for the purpose of providing goods and services to the population. These organizations, the companies, have great differences between them.

This is why classifications can be established to distinguish between different types of companies based on various criteria, as we will see throughout this article.

Company: a simple description

A company is understood to be any organization that offers a series of goods and services , generally for economic and/or commercial purposes, to those who request its services. To do so, they require a certain structure and resources that allow them to maintain it, which can be obtained in different ways.

There are many types of companies, which we can organize according to various criteria . Some of these criteria are the type of activity they carry out, the origin of the economic resources necessary for them to develop their activity, in what territorial sphere they act, their legal constitution or even their size.

1. Types of enterprise by economic sector

One type of classification of companies is related to the economic sector and the group of activity they carry out.

1.1. Primary sector companies

These are organizations that base their economic activity on the collection of raw materials, which allow the subsistence and subsequent processing of these materials. These are essential companies without which the existence of the other two sectors would not be possible. Within this sector we find activities such as agriculture, livestock, fishing and mining.

1.2. Secondary sector companies

Companies in the secondary sector are responsible for processing raw materials into various ready-to-eat goods. This sector includes activities such as construction and industry , both at a manufacturing level and for energy transformation.

1.3. Tertiary sector companies

The tertiary sector is based on all those activities linked to the creation and management of services that allow the welfare of the population to be guaranteed. In today’s western societies, these are usually the most prevalent types of companies in the big city . Within this group we can find companies dedicated to medicine, education, psychology, commerce, tourism and hospitality, social assistance, transport, security, administration or the arts, for example.

2. According to the control of resources

Another way to classify companies is according to the origin of the resources they possess . In this sense we find the following types of company.

2.1. Public companies

These types of companies are those that are managed by the State administration .

2.2. Private companies

In private companies the economic resources p come from private individuals .

2.3. Concerted companies

This type of organization is managed by generally private bodies, although they are subordinated to and partly subsidized by the administration .

3. Depending on the territorial sphere in which they operate

Where a company operates can also be a criterion when classifying companies. We can find the following types.

3.1. Local company

This is one of the most common types of company, which limits its field of action to a single location , such as a city or town. For example, a butcher’s shop.

3.2. Regional company

Its scope of action is limited to a specific region, such as an autonomous community .

3.3. National company

The company in question can operate throughout a nation .

3.4. Multinational enterprise

The company offers its services in more than one country, having a great scope and expanding its business opportunities , although it also means greater investment.

4. According to its legal constitution

Depending on the legal constitution of the company in question, we can find the following types of company.

4.1. Corporate

This is the type of business that involves the creation of a company, i.e. it involves the association of several persons linked by contract. They involve the creation of a legal entity different from that of the different members that make it up . Within corporate enterprises we can distinguish various types of company such as public limited companies, cooperatives or limited liability companies.

4.2. Self-employed

These are companies carried out by a single person , who takes full responsibility and uses his own resources to cope with the opening and maintenance of his business.

5. Depending on the size of the organization

The size of the company, depending on the number of employees, existing capital and turnover, also allows us to establish three types of company.

5.1. Small enterprise

A small company is defined as one in which the number of workers does not exceed fifty, has an annual turnover of less than ten million euros and of which the assets held do not exceed this amount. These are usually small businesses or companies limited to a particular locality.

5.2. Medium enterprise

Medium-sized companies usually have between fifty and two hundred and fifty employees, with a turnover of less than fifty million euros and total assets of less than forty-three million. Regional and even some national companies are usually within this consideration.

5.3. Large enterprise

Multinationals are usually in this group. These are companies with a turnover of over fifty million and total assets of over forty-three million. They generally tend to have more than 250 employees.