ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTEGRATIVE INTERACTION AS A PATTERN FOR BUILDING INTEGRATED BUSINESS STRUCTURES

Abstract

The article offers a comprehensive study on the essential characteristics of integrative interaction as a pattern for building integrated business structures. Based on a deepened understanding of an integration concept, it is argued that regardless of the scope of integration, this term could be considered twofold: either as an association, one way or another (often of equal single-profile business entities at the same level), or as an affiliation with a larger actor or with an existing association, sometimes its acquisition. In each case, integration is carried out to gain competitive advantages, obtain a particular benefit, and according to certain criteria. A literature review of the vast body of economic theories and approaches demonstrates that the integration concept is employed at all levels: local (refers to production processes within a single microeconomic unit); at a microlevel (within several business units); at the national level (within a certain state); at a mesolevel (within several border states); at a macrolevel (in a certain region), at a megalevel (within the global economic area). The in-depth-study of the essential characteristics of integrative interaction as a pattern for building integrated business structures allowed to consider integration as a polygamous category from the following perspectives: as an integration of individual units, activities, functions, elements; as a structural element of social development; as a management concept of cooperation; as a strategy and tactics of market behavior in competitive environment; as a strategy for integrating efforts, actions and opportunities; as forms of association (interaction) or as a system-based business unit; as a novel management approach; as a model for creating and developing integrated structures, implementation of innovative organizational patterns; as the process that leads towards a contingence state (launching, developing, evolving, strengthening of ties); as the processes of building and developing interaction, partnership and cooperation.