Business and the business environment: types of business, legal forms, objectives and stakeholders
Domain 1 - Business and the business environment
This domain tests whether you can classify a firm, choose a defensible legal form under Spanish company law, and reason about whose interests the firm serves. PAU questions here are usually short cases: a scenario plus "justify the most suitable legal form" or "identify two stakeholders and their conflicting objectives".
Core rules and concepts
- Classification by activity: primary (extractive), secondary (manufacturing and construction), tertiary (services). By size, the EU definition applies: micro is under 10 employees and turnover up to €2m; small under 50 and up to €10m; medium under 250 and up to €50m.
- Sole trader (empresario individual): no minimum capital, unlimited liability - personal assets answer for business debts; taxed through IRPF.
- Sociedad Limitada (SL): minimum capital €3,000, fully subscribed and paid; liability limited to capital contributed; shares not freely traded.
- Sociedad Anónima (SA): minimum capital €60,000, at least 25% paid at incorporation; designed for large capital, shares transferable.
- Cooperatives and labour companies: members or workers hold control; capital is variable; profit distribution follows the statutes.
- Objectives: profit maximisation, growth, survival and satisficing; social responsibility and ESG targets increasingly appear in cases.
- Stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, lenders, unions, community, public administrations - each with different objectives, which generates conflict.
Worked example
Two graduates want to open a design studio with €20,000 saved and are worried about personal risk. An SA requires €60,000, so it is unavailable. An SL requires only €3,000 and shields personal assets, leaving €17,000 to fund equipment. The sole trader option is cheaper and faster to register but exposes their homes and savings, which is unacceptable because they plan to sign a lease and hire two employees. Reasoning order: filter by legal minimums, then liability, then cost and complexity of incorporation. Answer: SL.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing that the SA needs €3,000 or the SL needs €60,000 - the two minimums are commonly reversed.
- Claiming the sole trader has limited liability because the business is small.
- Confusing objectives with mission or vision statements.
- Treating "stakeholders" as a synonym for "shareholders".