Final answer:
Shareholders own a corporation and participate in major decisions, enjoying limited liability. This is distinct from sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies where ownership and liability differ.
Step-by-step explanation:
Shareholders are the owners of a corporation, a type of business structure where the ownership is divided into shares of stock. These shareholders have a say in how the company is run, generally through voting on major decisions and electing a board of directors. Corporations can be either private or public, with the latter having publicly traded stock. Shareholders enjoy limited liability for the company's debts but can benefit from its profits (and suffer from its losses). Unlike corporations, a sole proprietorship is owned by an individual, a partnership is run by two or more individuals collectively, and a limited liability company combines features of both corporations and partnerships.