The Market Structure Of The Smartphone Industry

An oligopolistic market is one that has several dominant firms with the power to influence the market they are in; an example of this could be the supermarket industry which is dominated by several firms such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose etc... Furthermore an oligopolistic market can be defined in terms of its structure and its conduct, which involve various different aspects of economics.

1) An Oligopolistic market structure is a structure where very few large businesses sell a particular standard Good or differentiated Good, and to whose market entry proves difficult. This in turn, gives little control over product pricing because of mutual interdependence (with the exception of collusion among businesses) creating a non-price competition meaning they are the ‘price setters’. A good rule to help classify an

An oligopoly is “a market situation in which relatively few sellers [like Burger King, McDonald’s] compete and high start-up costs form barriers to keep out new competitors [like Five Guys Burgers and Fries]” (Boone and Kurtz, 2012, p. 80). Within this competitive fast food burger industry, the main product being offered is a hamburger.

Oligopolies are a type of market structure evident in Australia, which is comprised of 2 or more firms having a significant share of the market. In an oligopoly the few firms sell similar but differentiated or homogenous products and is characterised by a large number of buyers making it a form of imperfect competition. This market structure is evident through the Big Four Banks, Phone Industry - Vodafone, Optus and Telstra.

Oligopolies have been around ever since there is trade. However, it has only recently gained grounds in this age of globalisation. Never before has oligopolistic competition been so fiercely contested across so many industries.

There are many models of market structure in the field of economics. They include perfect competition on one end, monopoly on the other end, and competitive monopoly and oligopoly somewhere in the middle. In this paper, we will focus on the oligopoly structure because it is one of the strongest influences in the United States market. Although oligopolies can also be global, we will focus strictly on the United States here. We will define oligopoly, give key characteristics important to the oligopoly structure, explain why oligopolies form, then give an example of an oligopoly in today’s economy. Finally, we will discuss the benefits and costs in this type of market structure.

An Oligopoly refers to a market structure where-by the suppliers have formed some form of cartel and are acting in unison. In such a case the suppliers have the power to determine the price of the commodity and may set any price.

There are four types of market structures: Monopolistic Competition, Monopoly, Oligopoly, and Perfect Competition. Monopolistic Competition is also known as competitive market. In this market structure, there are a large number of firms that produce similar but somewhat differentiated products for the same target customers. The market share is also divided among large number of firms making it difficult for one firm to become the market leader. On the other hand, Monopoly is a type of market structure in which only one firm controls the whole industry. There are strict barriers to entry for new firms due to governmental restrictions or the monopolistic power of the firm itself. In Oligopoly, the whole industry is dominated by a few large scale firms that set prices, introduce innovative products, and use heavy campaigns to attract buyers. All other small scale firms follow the changing market patterns set by these oligopolistic firms. Lastly, perfect competition is a market structure in which there are a larger number of firms that produce similar as well as differentiated products for

Market structure is the physical characteristics of the market within which companies react. This means that there are different kinds of market structure based on how companies work together within a particular industry. Location and product have the most to do with determining the market structure. There are four defined market types. The first market structure is called the perfectly competitive market. The second market is called a monopoly market structure. The third market is called monopolistic competition market structure. The final market is called oligopoly market structure. Each market structure is different and both benefits and disadvantages

An oligopoly exists when a few firms control most of the industry. There are many industries in the American economy that are controlled by oligopolies. The automotive industry, Smartphones, cellular service providers, film companies, and toothpaste are all industries considered oligopolies. Each of these industries is dominated by just a few corporations. To the average consumer, it can sometimes be unclear just how much a single corporation controls. Companies will regularly merge under one parent company yet retain their individual names. This leads to the appearance of choice yet, no matter what, our money is going to one of the same few companies. Due to the amount of control these corporations have over the industry, they can often behave in an almost monopolistic

The organization and characteristics of a specific market where a company operates is referred to as market structure. While markets can basically be classified by their degree of competitiveness and pricing, there are four types of markets i.e. perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly, and oligopoly. In perfect competition markets, many firms are price takers whereas monopolistic competition markets are characterized by the ability of some firms to have market power. In contrast, oligopoly markets are those in which few firms can be price makers while monopoly market is where one firm can be a price maker.

Oligopoly has been derived from Greek implying "few sellers". According to Sloman & Sutcliffe (2001) oligopolies are a type of imperfect market wherein a few firms share a huge proportion of the industry. Therefore industries such as oligopolies have dominance of small number of manufacturers which may produce either differentiated or almost similar products. Nevertheless there are differences between perfect oligopolies and imperfect oligopolies. While perfect oligopolies are characterized by firms that produce almost identical products like tea or CDs, imperfect oligopolies differentiate themselves through niche products such as motor cars and aircrafts. Oligopolies are marked by interdependence of firms operating in the market which either collude or compete among themselves. In collusion, firms consent to avoid competition amongst them. A formal collusion is a cartel wherein firms act like a monopolist and earn maximum profits. (Wellmann, 2004, pp: 1-2)

In the opinion of Baumol and Blinder (2011, p. 235), "monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by many small firms selling somewhat different products." The authors in this case further note that the output of each entity is small in comparison to the market's aggregate output of competing but closely related products. With that in mind, the mobile phone market exhibits some key characteristics of monopolistic competition. In this market, customers in need of mobile phones are presented with a wide range of options to choose from. For instance, a customer who enters a mobile phone handset shop has the option of purchasing a Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry or even an LG handset. All these products despite being closely related are also largely differentiated. As Tucker (2010, p. 268) notes, "the key feature of

While a monopoly usually involves one firm with significant control on the market, an oligopoly contains a few firms. An oligopoly is a market structure where a few companies selling identical or differentiated products control the marketplace. The few players in an industry are usually quite large compared to the market for the product, thus giving these few players an advantage at market control. There are barriers to entry in oligopolies that include patents or government grants, ownership of resources, cost prohibitive barriers, brand equity and diminishing average cost.

•Oligopoly: This is an industry with very little firms in the market. If they conspire, they weaken output and raise profits the way a monopoly would and should do. For example the mobile phone industry is an oligopoly what with so many companies for example Apple, LG and Samsung all competing together. Supermarkets are oligopoly’s as they make supernormal profits as well.