Megacorporation, or
megacorp, is a term popularized by
William Gibson derived from the combination of the prefix
mega- with the word
corporation. It has become a term popularly used in
cyberpunk literature. It refers to a corporation (normally fictional) that is a massive
conglomerate, holding
monopolistic or near-monopolistic control over multiple markets (thus exhibiting both a horizontal and a vertical monopoly). Megacorps are so powerful that they can ignore the
law, possess their own heavily armed (often
military-sized)
private armies, hold '
sovereign' territory, and possibly even
act as outright governments. They often exercise a large degree of control over their employees, taking the idea of '
corporate culture' to an extreme. Such organizations are a staple of science fiction long predating cyberpunk, appearing in the works of writers such as
Philip K. Dick (
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?),
Thea von Harbou (
Metropolis),
Robert A. Heinlein (
Citizen of the Galaxy),
Robert Asprin (
The Cold Cash War),
Andre Norton (the
Solar Queen novels) and
David Weber ("the "Honorverse" novels).