enterprise

Enterprise is a term used to describe an organization engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. In everyday usage, it often denotes a business venture or company, regardless of size. The word derives from the Old French entreprendre, meaning “to undertake” or “to undertake a project.”

Enterprises vary in legal form and ownership. They can be private companies, partnerships, sole proprietorships, cooperatives, public enterprises, or nonprofit organizations. Public or state enterprises are owned and operated by the government, while private enterprises are owned by individuals or shareholders. Social enterprises emphasize social or environmental goals alongside financial sustainability.

Functions and roles: Enterprises organize resources such as capital, labor, and technology, assume risk, and pursue opportunities for profit or mission achievement. They contribute to economic growth, competitiveness, and employment. The individual who leads an enterprise is often called an entrepreneur, a person who identifies a need, creates a business model, and mobilizes resources.

Variations in usage: In economics and business studies, “enterprise” can refer to the business sector or to a specific company. In popular language, it can imply a large organization or a project with ambitious scope. The term is also used in computing to describe software designed for organizational needs, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM), though this use is distinct from the organizational sense.