2 Business abbreviations
As with all academic subjects, Business and Economics employ abbreviations to save time and
space. Common examples include:
AGM annual general meeting
B2B business to business
CEO chief executive officer
CV curriculum vitae
DIY do-it-yourself (retail sector)
EPS earnings per share
GNP gross national product
HRM human resource management
ICT information and communications technology
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPO initial public offering
IOU I owe you
M&A mergers and acquisitions
PLC public limited company
PPP purchasing power parity
PR public relations
R&D research and development
SOE state-owned enterprise
SME small or medium enterprise
RPI retail prices index
TQM total quality management
USP unique selling point
VC venture capital
WTO World Trade OrganisationDepending on the area of study, it is also useful to be familiar with abbreviations for major
companies and organisations, for example (in the UK):
BT British Telecom
FCA Financial Conduct Authority
NHS National Health Service
RBS Royal Bank of Scotland
UCL University College LondonHowever, writers will also employ more specialised abbreviations in texts, which should be
explained in brackets on first use:
Starting from the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, it is argued that...The Technology Readiness Index (TRI) was introduced by Parasuraman (2000).168 Part 3: Vocabulary for Writing