There is an urgent need for strategic alliances, partnerships and joint ventures in the oil and gas business. Russian Federation, especially in connection with the intensification of the development of new fields.
2.1. Goals and objectives of business unions
Commercial organizations, in order to coordinate their business activities, as well as to represent and protect common property interests, can create associations in the form of associations or unions, which are non-profit organizations.
The main goals of associations and unions of entrepreneurs are:
- ensuring the protection of the rights and representation of the interests of its members - industrialists and entrepreneurs, as owners of intellectual and material property, producers of goods and services, employers, employers and taxpayers, in government and other bodies, international organizations;
Development of the social partnership system, assistance economic reforms aimed at increasing production efficiency, achieving sustainable economic growth, stimulating the economic initiative of citizens of all age categories;
Ensuring the protection of the rights and representing the interests of its members in government and other bodies, international organizations;
Development of a system of social partnership, dialogue between business, government and society, promotion of economic reforms aimed at increasing the efficiency of economic activities of business entities, achieving sustainable economic growth, production, trade, services, etc.
Promoting the development of business infrastructure and investment activities;
- promoting the influx of foreign investment, microfinance, development of the banking sector;
The tasks that business unions set for themselves:
Promotion of market reforms, formation and development of the non-state sector of the economy;
Assisting members of the association in developing their business, solving credit, legal, financial, commercial and production problems, normalizing social and labor relations;
Comprehensive protection of association members and representation of their interests in the government, state bodies, public and other organizations;
- analysis and dissemination of positive work experience, technical innovations, consulting and advanced training of association members;
Promoting the development of international relations between business representatives in Russia and abroad.
2.2. Network associations
One of the types of modern network associations is entrepreneurial networks.
An entrepreneurial network can be identified as a group of firms participating in a particular market, united for the purpose of effective use resources and specific advantages for the joint implementation of entrepreneurial projects.
An entrepreneurial network unites a set of network partners. Network partners are organizations that form an entrepreneurial strategy based on the provisions of the network approach and in accordance with the principles of functioning of the entrepreneurial networks of which they are participants.
An entrepreneurial network (like any other network formation) is characterized by:
Having a common goal;
Presence of a clear internal structure;
High degree of interconnection of structural elements;
The presence of a relationship with the external environment.
A distinctive feature of PS is entrepreneurial goal orientation. The PS is always aimed at solving market management problems based on the activation of entrepreneurial initiatives, flexibility, strategic agility and permanent innovation.
Market entities develop and maintain relationships with each other in order to obtain additional resources;
The set of market entities interacting for a long time forms a network of organizations interested in the common final results;
The development of horizontal connections helps strengthen relationships and determines the stable position of partners in the network;
Network relationships allow firms to reduce the costs of creating and implementing innovations.
The main elements of network theory are market actors. Each enterprise is a subsystem in which, depending on the goal pursued and the characteristics of innovation activity, functional units that come into contact with other units can be distinguished.
There is a steady trend towards the activation of network associations, and the most relevant are the entrepreneurial networks that most fully solve the problems of ensuring market adaptability.
An entrepreneurial network can be created on the basis of vertical, horizontal or combined integration of business entities.
Vertically integrated substations unite independent business entities according to the “process chain” principle. In this case, one of the companies performs network management functions: coordinates activities and develops a strategy for the development of the network.
Horizontal integrated substations are associations of firms producing similar products and operating in the same market, various auxiliary industries, and infrastructure elements. The network is managed by a collegial body - the board of directors, which also coordinates current activities and develops the PS strategy.
The combined PS integrates both technologically dependent entities and entities that produce similar products, engage in auxiliary production, and provide centralized services to network agents.
Conclusion
The most powerful corporations have been created in the fuel-extracting industries and the electric power industry (OJSC Gazprom, RAO UES of Russia, OJSC Gazprom Neft, etc.). The situation with corporate governance in other sectors of the Russian economy can be considered to be at an insufficient level.
Corporations perform communication functions that are very important for modern production. Coordinate production relations of their member enterprises, financial settlements between enterprises, mutual supplies of products; manage the range and volume of products produced by enterprises, coordinate the development of new types of products and their components, manage investment processes, achieve improved product quality, coordinate the supply of raw materials, supplies, and components; form the necessary cooperation in production and introduce rational specialization of enterprises.
An important form of enterprise integration are entrepreneurial networks and alliances (they are also called alliances, partnerships, clusters, communities, virtual corporations; in Russian business they are most often considered as business networks), uniting organizations, each of which plays its own specific role in the network. The companies included in the group are considered as subjects of economic relations and partners in a system of interacting organizations. This is a fairly stable, flexible structure that influences the performance results and management system of its member organizations, allowing them to coordinate their actions, attract new partners and even compete with each other. Their union is based on a combination of formal control of contractual relations and informal exchange of services.
Bibliography
1. Skumatov E.G., Lokteva G.E., Asaul A.N. Methodological aspects of the formation and development of entrepreneurial networks. Publisher: Peter, 2010
2. Tepman L.N. Corporate governance. Publisher: Unity-Dana, 2011
3. Seleznev V. Entrepreneurial activity. Publisher: Prospekt, 2011
4. Palamarchuk A.S. Economics of enterprise, textbook. Publisher: Infra-M, 2010
5.Labudin A. Economics for bachelors and specialists. Publisher: Peter St. Petersburg, 2013
Corporate associations are not only a collection of individuals and capital, but also associations of separate legal entities, which are a form of associated membership on the basis of mutual contracts and agreements.
The feasibility of creating corporate associations is based on two factors:
Reducing the overall level of transaction costs per unit of production (transaction costs - costs arising in connection with the conclusion of contracts (including using market mechanisms); costs accompanying the relationship of economic agents)
The positive impact of economies of scale (reducing production costs) when expanding production.
The most common forms of corporate associations in world practice are: Cartel, Syndicate, Trust, Concern, Consortium, Financial Industrial Group, Holding, Union, Association, Franchise.
The most common form of corporate associations in modern Russia are holdings. Holdings are an effective form of organizing business activities, since they allow you to combine the flexibility and mobility of small formally independent organizations and the scale of activity of large corporations.
The most powerful corporations have been created in the fuel-extracting industries and the electric power industry (OJSC Gazprom, RAO UES of Russia, OJSC Gazprom Neft, etc.).
An important form of enterprise integration are entrepreneurial networks and unions (they are also called alliances, partnerships, clusters, communities, virtual corporations; in Russian business they are most often considered as business networks), uniting organizations, each of which plays its own specific role in the network. The companies included in the group are considered as subjects of economic relations and partners in a system of interacting organizations.
The need to create entrepreneurial unions between small enterprises is dictated by their characteristics as objects of management in comparison with organizations of a larger scale.
Particularly great benefits are provided by entrepreneurial unions of companies united in clusters (or, what is the same, groups, clusters) in certain territories that provide them with certain competitive advantages(for example, the necessary infrastructure, means of communication and telecommunications, equipped production areas, etc.).
The basis for creating alliances is the similar nature of technological processes; interdependent development of the economy; synchronous growth of the technical and economic level of related industries; the need for integrated use of raw materials and other resources; diversification.
An important form of enterprise integration are entrepreneurial networks and unions (they are also called alliances, partnerships, clusters, communities, virtual corporations; in Russian business they are most often considered as business networks), uniting organizations, each of which plays its own specific role in the network. The companies included in the group are considered as subjects of economic relations and partners in a system of interacting organizations. This is a fairly stable, flexible structure that influences the performance results and management system of its member organizations, allowing them to coordinate their actions, attract new partners and even compete with each other. Their union is based on a combination of formal control of contractual relations and informal exchange of services.
Here are some examples showing the different reasons and forms of alliances.
On the basis of cooperation agreements (joint activity agreements), an alliance was concluded between OAO LUKoil and JSC ZIL with the aim of developing new types of fuels and lubricants for use in the production and operation of the ZIL automobile.
Two automobile plants (KamAZ and VAZ) voluntarily decided to concentrate production of the Oka small car at the KamAZ site.
The entrepreneurial union was created on the basis of enterprises, including an assembly plant, a design bureau and factories for the production of components used in the production of wide-body Il-86 aircraft.
The creation of a new aviation alliance was announced by Transaero Airlines, which signed an agreement with Krasnoyarsk Airlines, Ural Airlines, Ero Kazakhstan Group and the American Continental Airlines. The union provides for the mutual use of route networks and the sale of tickets at special rates. This allows passengers to spend minimal time connecting flights in 25 cities in the United States and other countries.
There is an urgent need to create strategic alliances, partnerships and joint ventures in the oil and gas business of the Russian Federation, especially in connection with the intensification of the development of new fields. An example would be the organization of development of oil fields of the Northern Caspian in last years. It is known that until the early 1990s this zone was little explored, and only one major oil company, LUKoil, declared the Caspian Sea a zone of its strategic interests. Since 1995, it has spent tens of millions of dollars annually on seismic work in the Russian sector and built exploration drilling capacity. In 1997, the first federal tender was announced for the development of the subsoil of the Severny block, which was won by LUKoil, and in mid-1998 the companies Gazprom, LUKoil and YUKOS discussed the idea of creating a joint venture with equal shares for research of the Russian sector. In mid-2000, almost 50% of all Russian oil and gas companies declared their readiness to develop Caspian resources, and began to actively join forces with other partners. So, in April 2000 oil company Tatneft entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Kalmykia for a period of 25 years. The companies intend to create a joint venture, Kapmtatneft, to develop Kalmneft fields based on Tatneft technologies and offshore fields adjacent to the republic (Oil and Capital, 2000, No. 6, p. 66).
Business unions play a significant role in the activities of small businesses, which are increasingly asserting themselves as an essential component of a civilized market economy and an integral element of the competitive mechanism. The need to create entrepreneurial unions between small enterprises is dictated by their characteristics as objects of management in comparison with organizations of a larger scale. The development of integration processes enhances the interaction of small business structures among themselves and with organizations in the corporate sector of the economy.
Especially great benefits come from entrepreneurial unions of companies united in clusters(or, what is the same, groups, bushes) in certain territories that provide them with certain competitive advantages (for example, the necessary infrastructure, communications and telecommunications, equipped production areas, etc.). Large industrial zones located in cities or other administrative-territorial units and having free capacity due to the restructuring of the domestic economy can be used as such territories. This is where it is beneficial to create clusters of companies in which, from the very beginning, a critical mass of professionalism, art, infrastructure support and information relationships between companies in a certain field (area) of activity can be concentrated.
Such areas that unite companies into unions can include: production of household goods; various industries related to healthcare, production of household products, etc. As foreign and domestic experience shows, when a cluster is formed, all industries in it begin to provide mutual support to each other, the free exchange of information increases and the dissemination of new ideas and products accelerates through the channels of suppliers and consumers who have contacts with numerous competitors (see Porter M. International competition. M., 1993, p. 173).
Research shows that in network alliances there is a shift in emphasis from considering the company as an independent economic unit that forms its development strategy based on the coordination of internal resources with the state of external environment, to the analysis of the system of interacting firms as a single market entity. And this leads to a new interpretation of the company, market relations at the level of specific economic relations, and management methods. A system of relationships develops between partners in a network that links their resources, and in the interests of developing the network, they can mobilize and share resources belonging to individual organizations. Thus, the activities of each participant are integrated into the network and defined by it as a holistic entity. If these conditions are violated, the union may be terminated, and this is not such a rare case in the practice of relations between organizations (Tretyak O. New stage evolution of the marketing management concept//Russian Economic Journal, 1997, No. 10, p. 78-79).
Thus, in May 2000, the management of Alitalia and KLM airlines announced the collapse of the most integrated alliance in aviation, which bordered on unification. The initiator of the break in relations was KLM, which put forward difficulties at Milan Malpensa airport (a hub for the new alliance) and the delayed privatization of the Italian carrier as the main reasons. It was decided to completely stop working together on August 31, 2000 and to close all flights previously operated under common codes from September 1. Former partners are discussing ways to return the 100 million euros that KLM invested in the development of Malpensa, and are negotiating with third parties to join existing alliances (Air Transport Review, May June 2000, p. 2).
The ideas of creating entrepreneurial unions are being discussed at diversified state-owned enterprises of the Russian Federation and in a number of new private firms, which see an opportunity in this way to concentrate their activities on priority areas, and transfer other types of activities to external performers who cope with them more successfully than internal divisions. The need to create entrepreneurial networks is understood by many directors who are concerned about how to connect and bring to a common end result the entire chain of interconnected enterprises.
An example of the formation of a business network is the company INEC (“Information-Economy”), which over 10 years of operation has taken a strong position in the market of information technology and consulting services, primarily due to the formation of a wide business network. The base company INEC first specialized in consulting services, but soon its main activity became development computer programs. This led to the need to form a reliable circle of partners, which over time included: the Institute of Computer Technologies,
VNIIESM, Auditing Company, INEC-Stroy company. This group represents the core service platform. At the same time, the company is developing its partner network, which includes over 100 companies, and among them are powerful competitors of INEC, cooperation with which turns out to be equally beneficial for both parties. An important factor in the group’s competitiveness is the presence of reputable organizations (banks and well-known industrial enterprises) and government institutions of the Russian Federation (ministries and the Central Bank) among its partners and clients.
According to INEC management, the main competitive advantage of the group is universalism combined with deep specialization. Thanks to the network organization of its activities, INEC is a kind of “supermarket”, whose customers can find everything they need plus Additional services anywhere in the country.
The effectiveness of a network organization is achieved through the mutual enrichment of the group’s intellectual potential when developing joint projects, when the mass of know-how in various areas is increased - algorithms, methods, standard solutions.
All this affects the management system of each organization, especially since its boundaries change the usual outlines, and the concept external environment blurred. When forming a management strategy, each organization is faced with the fact that some resources and activities, usually considered internal, practically cannot be controlled by it; at the same time, resources and activities previously considered external actually form an integral part of the organization itself and are subject to its influence and control.
are formed on the basis of voluntary cooperation agreements that unite companies of different sizes and forms of ownership. This is a fairly flexible structure that allows its member organizations to coordinate their actions, attract new partners, and even compete with each other. An example is the union of two automobile plants - KamAZ and VAZ, which voluntarily decided to concentrate the production of the Oka small car at the KamAZ site. Another example is the creation of an entrepreneurial union consisting of an assembly plant, a design bureau and factories for the production of components used in the production of wide-body Il-86 aircraft.
Particularly great benefits are provided by entrepreneurial unions of companies united in clusters (translated from English as “group, accumulation, concentration, cluster”) in certain territories, which provide them with certain competitive advantages (for example, the necessary infrastructure, communications and telecommunications , equipped production areas, etc.) For this purpose, large industrial zones located in cities or other administrative-territorial units and having free capacity due to the restructuring of the domestic economy can be used. This is where it is beneficial to create clusters of companies in which, from the very beginning, a critical mass of professionalism, art, infrastructure support and information relationships between companies in a certain field (area) of activity can be concentrated. Such areas that unite companies into unions can include: production of household goods; various industries related to healthcare, the production of household products, etc. As foreign experience shows, when a cluster is formed, all industries in it begin to provide mutual support to each other, the free exchange of information increases and the dissemination of new ideas and products through supplier channels accelerates and consumers with contacts with multiple competitors.
One of the newest organizational forms is a virtual corporation, which is a network of independent companies (suppliers, customers and even former competitors) created on a temporary basis, united by modern information systems for the purpose of mutual use of resources, reducing costs and expanding market opportunities. The technological foundation of a virtual corporation is made up of information networks that help to unite and implement flexible partnerships through “electronic” contacts.
According to many leading experts in the field of management, the development of network connections between organizations that are part of a virtual corporation may result in a revision of the traditional boundaries of enterprises, since with a high degree of cooperation it is difficult to determine where one company ends and another begins.
More on the topic of Business unions:
- Legal regulation of the status and activities of credit unions
- Court cases involving credit unions: recognition of the legality and non-banking, non-commercial nature of their activities
The most common forms of integration are corporate associations formed as a result of mergers, and so-called “soft” associations in the form of business alliances and networks.
Financial-industrial groups (FIGs) are a type of corporate association in which enterprises and organizations connected by property, financial, production, technological and management relations take part. In our country, the formation of financial industrial groups is carried out on a legislative and legal basis and is aimed at: concentrating investment resources in priority areas of economic development, accelerating scientific and technological progress, increasing the export potential and competitiveness of products of domestic enterprises, implementing progressive structural changes in the country's industry, forming rational technological and cooperative ties in a market economy, development of a competitive economic environment.
Existing financial industrial groups carry out large investment projects, counteract the decline in production, and contribute to monetary stabilization. In addition, financial industrial groups make up for the mechanisms of intersectoral redistribution of resources that were missing during the perestroika period and create real conditions for reliable supplies and sales that meet the quality requirements. The merger of enterprises and organizations into a group strengthens their foreign economic positions in world markets, where many transnational corporations are most often organized as financial-industrial-trading complexes with powerful potential.
Managing new entities created through mergers and acquisitions requires centralization of management functions, strengthening control and the creation of coordination mechanisms production activities(among them: mutual adaptation, direct management, standardization of processes and work results, as well as skills). The main factor for success is the development of a clear strategy for joint activities and reasonable ways to implement it.
An important form of enterprise integration are entrepreneurial networks and unions (they are also called alliances, partnerships, business networks), uniting organizations of different sizes and forms of ownership. This is a fairly stable, flexible structure that allows organizations to coordinate their actions, combine efforts and resources to achieve common goals. Essentially, this is a form of cooperation in which mergers and acquisitions do not occur, but the competitiveness of incoming network education participants is significantly increased. In network alliances, there is a shift in emphasis from considering a firm as an independent economic unit that forms its development strategy based on the coordination of internal resources with the state of the external environment, to analyzing the system of interacting firms as a single market entity. In the interests of network development, partners can mobilize and share resources belonging to individual organizations.
When forming a management strategy, each organization is faced with the fact that, on the one hand, some resources and activities, usually considered internal, practically cannot be controlled by it; at the same time, on the other hand, resources and activities previously considered external actually form an integral part of the organization itself and are subject to its influence and control. Thus, the activities of each participant are integrated into the network and are defined by it as a holistic entity. If these conditions are violated, the union is dissolved, which is often found in the practice of relationships between organizations.
Particularly great benefits are provided by entrepreneurial unions of companies united in clusters (from English - group, accumulation, concentration, cluster) in certain territories, which provide them with certain competitive advantages (for example, the necessary infrastructure, means of communication and telecommunications, equipped production facilities). area, etc.). For this purpose, large industrial zones located in cities or other administrative-territorial units and having free capacity due to the restructuring of the domestic economy can be used. This is where it is beneficial to create clusters of companies in which, from the very beginning, a critical mass of professionalism, art, infrastructure support and information relationships between companies in a certain field (area) of activity can be concentrated. Such areas that unite companies into unions can include: production of household goods; various industries related to healthcare, production of household products, etc. As experience shows, when a cluster is formed, all industries in it begin to provide mutual support to each other, the free exchange of information increases and the dissemination of new ideas and products accelerates through the channels of suppliers and consumers who have contacts with numerous competitors.
One of the newest organizational forms is a virtual organization, which is a network of independent companies (suppliers, customers and even former competitors) created on a temporary basis, united by modern information systems for the purpose of mutual use of resources, reducing costs and expanding market opportunities. The technological foundation of a virtual organization is made up of information networks that help to unite and implement flexible partnerships through “electronic” contacts.
The main conditions for effective management of a virtual organization are: people’s trust in each other as a powerful factor in business development, the competence of participants and the creation of informal teams of qualified specialists, the formation of a common mission.
According to many leading management experts, the development of network connections between organizations may result in a revision of the traditional boundaries of enterprises, since with a high degree of cooperation it is difficult to determine where one company ends and another begins.
In order to coordinate activities, protect common commercial interests and increase the efficiency of capital, enterprises can, on the basis of an agreement, create associations in the form of associations (corporations), consortia, syndicates and other unions.
The basis for creating unions become similar in the nature of technological processes; interdependent development of the economy; synchronous growth of the technical and economic level of related industries; the need for integrated use of raw materials and other resources; diversification.
Main principles formation of economic unions:
1) voluntariness of associations;
2) equality of partners;
3) freedom to choose organizational forms;
4) independence of participants;
5) liability only for the obligations assumed by each enterprise upon joining the association.
According to their legal status, these economic entities can be divided into two groups: operating on a permanent legal and economic basis and associative or entrepreneurial - with the right of free accession and free exit, as well as free entrepreneurship within the association.
The most widespread structures are financial and industrial associations, holdings, syndicates and consortia.
Holding companies are formed when one joint stock company takes over controlling stakes shares of other joint-stock companies for the purpose of financial control over their work and generating income on capital invested in shares. There are two types of holdings:
1) pure holding, i.e., the company’s receipt of income through participation in the share capital of other companies. Headed by large banks;
2) mixed when the holding company is engaged in independent entrepreneurial activity and at the same time, in order to expand the sphere of influence, organizes new dependent companies and branches. It is headed by any large association, mainly related to production.
Giant holdings can control the financial activities of hundreds joint stock companies, including large concerns and banks.
Their own capital and assets are several times less than the total capital of their subsidiaries. Some companies are created with the participation of a large share of state capital, which allows the government to control and regulate the development of certain important sectors of the country's economy.
By structure of participants financial and industrial groups(FIG) resemble a holding. Along with material production enterprises (industry, construction, transport), they include financial organizations, primarily banks.
When forming them, the main task is to combine banking capital and production potential. At the same time, the main income of a bank that is part of a financial industrial group should be dividends from increasing the efficiency of production enterprises, and not interest on loans.
Along with permanent organizational associations, such as holdings, financial and industrial groups, temporary associations of enterprises arise to solve specific tasks for a certain period of time – "consortia". They unite enterprises and organizations regardless of their subordination and form of ownership. Consortium participants retain economic independence and can simultaneously be members of other associations. After completing the tasks, the consortium ceases to exist.
Let us briefly describe other types of business associations:
Syndicate- one of the forms of collective entrepreneurship. This form is mainly associated with the marketing of products and is distributed mainly in the extractive industries, agriculture and forestry.
The main task of the syndicate is to organize joint sales of products. As a rule, a syndicate organizes a single sales service, to which members of the syndicate must deliver products intended for joint sale at a pre-agreed price and quota. The goals of the syndicate are to expand and maintain sales markets, regulate production volumes within the syndicate and prices on external markets.
Industrial units– a group of enterprises and organizations that are located in adjacent territories and jointly use production and social infrastructure, natural and other resources, create common production facilities of intersectoral and regional significance, while maintaining their independence.
Associations– a voluntary association (union) of independent production enterprises, scientific, design, engineering, construction and other organizations.
Corporations– these are contractual associations based on a combination of production, scientific and commercial interests with the delegation of individual powers and central regulation of the activities of each of the participants;
Concerns- these are statutory associations of industrial enterprises, scientific organizations, transport, banks, trade, etc. based on complete dependence on one or a group of entrepreneurs.