Concept of business, its economic and legal nature and correlation with related categories

Abstract

The concept of business is not legally defined, but it has become widespread in the economy, law and in the entrepreneurship practice. It applies in parallel with concepts of entrepreneurship, business and trade. Therefore, it is necessary to determine interrelation between these concepts.

Determination of the main aspects of the state’s economic policy and choosing of specific economy or business activity state regulation legal forms, etc., are impossible without understanding of business concept essence.

The article is devoted to researching of the business concept, its economic and legal nature and interrelations with neighbor legal categories. It defines the concept of business according international economic and legal sources. The strategy and the tactics of business also were outlined in this article and as a conclusion was assumed that they are interdependent.

Strategy determines the success (profitability) or failure (loss making), as well as the whole activity or separate operation. At the same time, the strategy can’t exist and be realize without concrete actions (tactics).

According to the research results, was established that the concept of business is complex and multi-valued with not fully explored, economic and legal nature. It should not be regarded as only economic, social or legal phenomenon. In international economic and legal sources business (entrepreneurship) is often defined not only as economic activity, but as a type of economic behavior based on searching for new more effective means of using resources, organizational and economic innovations needs of society as a whole and individual consumers. In general, business refers to a useful economic (economic) activity with main purpose of making profit. Mainly, this is a form of economic activity aimed at maximizing profits.

There are three main approaches to interrelations between the volume and concept of the business and entrepreneurship: 1) the concept of business is broader than the concept of entrepreneurship; 2) the concept of entrepreneurship is broader than the concept of business; 3) the concepts of business and entrepreneurship are synonymous. The most reasona ble, including from current economic legislation requirements point of view, is recognition that entrepreneurship and business are synonymous concepts.

After analyzing economic and legal sources, all approaches diversity to the economic and legal essence of business (entrepreneurship), its theoretical basis, was systematized and reduced to such basic approaches: attributive, procedural, activity, institutional and functional. An analysis of each approach has shown that the in basis for the legal definition of entrepreneurship, as well as in its legal support were put attributive and activity approaches.

The doctrinal approaches to the interrelation of concepts “entrepreneurship activity (entrepreneurship)”, “commercial activity” and “trading activity (trade)” are analyzed in the article. Doctrinal approaches to this question differ radically. Was substantiated that the interrelation between them should be constructed in the following logical sequence: economic activity – business (commercial) activity – trade activity.