This is what the socialist/communist movements didn't understand - some people are individually ambitious at all costs. In capitalism, they can start businesses. In communism, they join the Party and work up the ranks. The difference is, in capitalism, you theoretically have different people controlling the guns and prisons and courts. In socialism, the ambitious people control the economic production but also everything else.
Anyways, this is a tangent from your project. But I think it's less business culture and more human nature. In a system where you can't generally build/invest/enterprise individually, people who want power don't shrug and say "oh well, I'll work for the common good I guess" - instead the start gathering power through whatever is available.