Megacorporation

Megacorporations are a form of corporate entity differentiated by their global scale of activities and broad scope of influence, which exceed even those of a multinational corporation (MNC). They are often characterised by monopolistic control over multiple markets—and sometimes even trade in general—and the exercising of quasi-governmental powers, either via control of the government (such as through a private militia or extensive corruption) or through the governing of their own sovereign territory.

Although megacorporations are most frequently a trope of science fiction (particularly the sub-genre of cyberpunk), historical examples have been proposed, including the Dutch East India Company, the (English and later British) East India Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. The term has also been applied to the members of Big Tech, such as Alphabet Inc. (Google), Facebook, and Amazon.

The term was coined by the economist Alfred Eichner in his 1976 book The Megacorp and Oligopoly: Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics. The concept was later popularized by the writer William Gibson in cyberpunk literature, notably in his 1984 science fiction novel The Neuromancer, though Gibson himself did not use the label directly.

In Megacorporation: The Infinite Times of Alphabet (2021), Glen Whelan differentiates the megacorporation from other types of corporation by the relative scale and scope of its actions, as well as more specific characteristics that include monopoly, corporate social responsibility concerns, political-economic hybridity, and existential impacts.

Such organizations as a staple of science fiction long predate cyberpunk, appearing in the works of writers such as Thea von Harbou (Metropolis, 1927), Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth (The Space Merchants, 1952), Robert A. Heinlein (Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957), Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 1968), Robert Asprin (The Cold Cash War, 1977), and Andre Norton (the Solar Queen novels). The explicit use of the term in the Traveller science fiction roleplaying game from 1977 predates Gibson's use of it. The transnationals, and later metanationals in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy are an example of mega corporations that exceed most countries in political influence.

In the Alien film franchise the unscrupulous megacorporation Weyland-Yutani, which seeks to profit from the aliens’ acidic blood, controls much of Earth and the solar system.

In the animated Pixar film WALL-E, the megacorporation Buy n' Large has completely supplanted every planetary government.

In the Avatar series of films, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) is a megacorporation that outmatches most governments in wealth, influence, and military power. The RDA has monopolized ownership of all extraterrestrial colonies and assets, granted in perpetuity by an international committee.