Oligopoly is a market structure characterized by a small number of relatively large firms that dominate an industry (Oligopoly, 2000). It can contain 2 to 20 firms that dominate it. As the number of firms increase, it becomes monopolistic competition where dominance is controlled by one firm. An oligopolistic firm is relatively large compared to the overall market, has a substantial degree of market control, and has significantly greater capital than a monopolistically competitive firm.
Key features of an oligopolistic firm include relative size and extent of market control of interdependence among industry firms, the actions of one firm depends on and influences actions among others, and it tends to be a prime source of innovation that promotes technological advances and economic growth. The three major characteristics are a small number of large firms, identical or differentiated products, and barriers to entry where the market is controlled through barriers to entry,…...

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Bibliography

Oligopoly. (2000). Retrieved from AmosWeb encyclopedia:  http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=oligopoly 

United States Fluid Milk Manufacturers. (2012, June 1). Retrieved from Manta: http;//www.mantna.com/mb_35_C101A02Y_000/milk_processing_pateurizing_homogenizing_bottling_

Concentration Ratio. (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia:  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/concentrationratio.aspx#axzz2H1xEIDvb 

Guitierrez, C.S. (2006, May). Concentration Ratios: 2002. Retrieved from Department of Commerce:  http://www.census.gov/epcd/www.concentration.html

Common good

One of the important characteristic of oligopoly is the interdependence of one firm on the others. When faced with touch economic problems or government regulations, the only way for the industry to survive is by innovation. When one firm innovates, it benefits the other firms in the industry in a big way and this can lead to co-operations and mergers. In most cases, consumers benefit a lot from innovation in terms of the products and services they enjoy and this is likely to bring more business and profits to the industry as a whole. This is why other firms may be willing to lend resources to benefit the common good. When one company innovates, it benefits the industry as a whole and this can act as a booster to the other firms as well. An example is the five banks that rule the UK banking industry. When they were…...

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Resources

A firm operating in an oligopoly market has all the resources and technology it needs to innovate. A good case in point is the U.S. cellular industry that is dominated by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile. They had the resources to look for higher speeds for customers and the end result of this innovation is the 4G speeds for internet access. These vast amount of resources give these firms the confidence to spend money on innovation.

In short, an oligopolistic firm has the most incentives to innovate when compared to other firms. Their vast resources, interdependence on other firms and competition are some of the reasons for them to come up with unique products or better marketing techniques that will benefit the firm, industry, consumers and the economy at large. Though these firms are the price setters rather than the price takers, the consumer can enjoy a better service or product due to the innovation of an oligopolistic firm and this is sure to benefit everyone involved.

hereas in monopolistic competition it is expected that competitors will match innovations in the long run, that is not necessarily the case in an oligopoly. The firm against which you are competing might not be able to match your innovation capabilities, and that would result in your firm being able to earn profits in the long-run from innovation. If, however, there are low barriers to entry, then new firms could enter the market and match your innovation. Therefore, only when the oligopoly is protected is there an incentive to invest in innovation for long-run economic profit. It is expected that the other firm will attempt to match the innovation, because firms in oligopolies respond to each other's moves, but that firm may be incapable of doing so, and would eventually lose market share as a result.
The reason that innovation flourishes in oligopolies is that the firms in oligopoly industries…...

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Works Cited:

Investopedia. (2011). Microeconomics Investopedia. Retrieved November 21, 2011 from  http://www.investopedia.com/exam-guide/cfa-level-1/microeconomics/oligopolies.asp#axzz1eNA3wlFt

Ice Cream and Oligopoly
The concept of an oligopoly market in economics means that there are few top sellers of a certain product, as opposed to many competitive companies. These sellers are generally in high competition with each other, but have tremendous power in pushing their products to consumers. Because there are few sellers in the market, they tend to be hyper- aware of each other and have a high level of interactivity, and therefore require the necessity of strategic planning. When one seller makes a change, it will directly affect the others in the market, thereby affecting the competition in some noticeable way. This can be likened to a water balloon- when you push one side in, the other sides expand to accompany the change and maintain homeostasis. Similarly, all sellers in an oligopoly market are directly affected when one makes a strategic change.

In this article, an oligopoly market is…...

Oligopoly and a Monopoly: Viewed in Light of the AT& T. And SBC Prospective Merger
Since the Gilded age of the robber barons ended with the enforcement of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, corporate monopolies have had a bad name in American commerce. However, a monopoly is not synonymous with the abuse of consumer welfare. A monopoly is simply is the exclusive control by one group, often a company, of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service, although it arises frequently from government support or from collusive agreements among individuals, in the words of Milton Friedman. ("Monopoly," Answers.com, 2005) Sometimes, monopolies are conferred, often in the case of limited natural resources such as oil, or in industries with difficulty physical or economic barriers to enter the market. This was previously true of the telephone communications industry. The monopolistic right to dominate the industry was granted by the government,…...

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Works Cited

AT& T. Official Website. (2005) Retrieved 18 Jul 2005 at  http://www.att.com/ 

Dewey, D. (1990) The Antitrust Experiment in America

Freyer, T. (1992) Regulating Big Business: Antitrust in Great Britain and America, 1880 -- 1990.

"Monopoly." (2005) Answers.com. Retrieved 18 Jul 2005 at  http://www.answers.com/topic/monopoly-1

monopoly and an oligopoly. In addition the merger of SBC and ATT ramifications will be discussed.
Difference Between Monopoly and Oligopoly

The Difference Between a Monopoly and an Oligopoly:

The term monopoly is used to define a market situation where there is only one provider of a type of product or service. This market situation is typified by a lack of competition, within the marketplace. In addition, there is typically a lack of viable substitute goods ("Monopoly," 2005).

In contrast, an oligopoly defines a market situation where the market is dominated by a small number of sellers. Interactivity is a key character of an oligopolistic market, as the handful of major competitors are quite aware of each other's actions. Strategic planning, for these organizations, takes into consideration the likely responses of the other major market shareholders. The four-firm concentration ratio is used to determine if an oligopoly exists. If the top four firms…...

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References

Government-granted monopoly. (6 Mar 2005). Retrieved July 28, 2005, from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government-granted_monopoly .

Monopoly. (28 Jul 2005). Retrieved July 28, 2005, from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly .

Oligopoly.(14 Jul 2005). Retrieved July 28, 2005, from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly .

Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
The subject of competition is an interesting one. The general idea in economics seems to be, the more competition the better. "Good competition" results in a greater likelihood in overall efficiency and low prices.

There are several main types of competition, these include, perfect competition, the most competitive market possible (and, presumably, the one of greatest value to the consumer), monopoly, the least competitive market (and the one of greatest value to the monopolistic producer), monopolistic competition, a market characterized by the presence of some amount of competition between a relatively small group of companies/producers, and, finally, oligopoly, the market condition when a few companies form, through a kind of collusion, a kind of pseudo-monopoly.

The first type of competition is perfect competition. Although touted and wished for by many as the perfect economic system, its existence, much like the existence of "a perfect world,"…...

Oligopolies
Part 1) One proposed merger is Omnicare's bid to purchase Pharmerica (FTC, 2012). The FTC has defined the industry as "long-term care pharmacy" and these are the two largest firms in that industry. The FTC has sued to block this proposed takeover. Pharmerica is the only national competitor for Omnicare. Firms in this industry work with institutions to provide pharmacy services. The industry has some fragmentation, but there are only two national players in Omnicare and Pharmerica. The FTC feels that the combined entity would have such strong bargaining power that consumers would not have adequate choice, prices would rise and suppliers would also suffer from this extreme leverage.

From Omnicare's point-of-view, the merger would give it a dominant position in its industry. Pharmerica is resisting the takeover, as this is a hostile takeover. Pharmerica would likely be absorbed into Omnicare to the detriment of its own operations. Suppliers are major…...

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Works Cited:

FTC.gov. (2012). FTC sues to block Omnicare's bid to buy rival pharmacy provider Pharmerica. Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/01/omnicare.shtm 

Investopedia. (2011). Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. Investopedia. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hhi.asp#axzz1lFGk3bQ3 

Sentementes, G. (2011). I, robot, in the pharmacy. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from  http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-04-18/business/bs-bz-bronfein-pharmacy-20110418_1_institutional-pharmacy-robots-michael-g-bronfein

In perfect competition, only normal profits are made in the long run and monopolistic competition trends towards a relatively equal distribution of income (Hartzenberg, 2005). This relationship implies that the further the market is from perfect competition, the further the distribution of income will be from equal. An oligopoly, therefore, will not deliver equal distribution of income.

In perfect competition, distribution of income is equal because all factors of production are earning their opportunity costs. An oligopoly sees adjustments to barriers to entry and exit, as well as a constriction of information. This reduces buyer power. If buyers have a lower degree of pricing power, the seller will take more of the income. Income distribution, therefore, is tilted in favor of the firms in the oligopoly.

orks Cited:

Sakai, Y. & Yamato, T. (1989). Oligopoly, information and welfare. Journal of Economics. Vol. 49, 1, 3-24.

Hartzenberg, T. (2005). Economics:…...

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Works Cited:

Sakai, Y. & Yamato, T. (1989). Oligopoly, information and welfare. Journal of Economics. Vol. 49, 1, 3-24.

Hartzenberg, T. (2005). Economics: Fresh perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

market structures and the pricing strategies which are specifically related to each of them. The introductory section of the paper gives an overview of the four major types of market structures and explains the main features which draw distinguishing lines between them. These major types of market structures are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly, and oligopoly. The second section discusses the pricing strategies which are used by competitors in each of these market structures in order to compete with the other competitors or operate in a profitable and competitive fashion. A case study has also been included which gives a real life example of the market structure and pricing strategies of a specific company. The paper concludes by giving summary and key findings from the whole discussion.
Introduction to Market Structures

Market structure refers to the number of competitors operating in a particular industry and the level or intensity of competition…...

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References

Boyes, W.J., & Melvin, M. (2012). Economics, 9th Edition. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning

Gitman, L.J. & McDaniel, C.D. (2009). The Future of Business: the Essentials, 4th Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning

Hall, R.E., & Lieberman, M. (2010). Micro Economics: Principles and Applications, 5th Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning

Mankiw, N.G. (2011). Principles of Economics, 6th Edition. Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western

Market Behavior
One industry that has seen a shift in the market model is the smartphone industry. During the mid-2000s, this industry was an oligopoly, populated basically by two firms that emerged from the old PDA market. Palm and RIM (Blackberry) operated as a duopoly, catering primarily to business customers with early smartphones. Apple joined the industry with the iPhone, and was quickly followed by a number of other players. The organization of the industry is somewhat unique, as some firms are vertically integrated providers with operating systems and hardware integrated (Blackberry, Apple) and other firms have a number of hardware manufacturers working in conjunction with operating systems makers. Thus in operating systems there remains almost an oligopoly with two or three major firms and a couple of other minor ones, whereas on the hardware side the industry is fully in a state of monopolistic competition.

Short Run and Long Run Behaviors

During…...

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Works Cited:

Ha-aburda, H. & Yehezkel, Y. (2011). Platform competition under asymmetric information. NET Institute Working Paper. Retrieved May 9, 2012 from  http://archive.nyu.edu/bitstream/2451/31399/2/11_05.pdf 

Kokovin, S., Parenti, M., Thisse, J-F. & Zhelbodko, E. (2011). Monopolistic competition with big firms. Google Scholar. Retrieved May 9, 2012 from  http://d852eff6-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/mathieuparenti/home/research/KPTZ.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpH5Fs5HfC7W-DaU_jYLfshpIWuFjGQCtwDfIlgmj8XZQjc6ooKbOToLXP9dRdEkSMqCS3FwU-WOisyNmvlPGWdewkrOq-OL-nY4y7rJEDKgYcUsXNwq7m3JMiSWKrhtM4Is8Y-uys6Gtdw6GUAnSX_Xs5P4Dk7UKBmzE9KRySQadZg8JhrIirYITG4tkbdGRW7B4m1KuzWLj1MU3t3s4aCiZn7Z3CgXyu5CyRzRvOHGirSCKg%3D&attredirects=0 

Thierer, A. (2012). Bye Blackberry: How long will Apple last? Forbes. Retrieved May 9, 2012 from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/04/01/bye-bye-blackberry-how-long-will-apple-last/

Market Patterns
One industry that has shifted in the past few years in terms of its structure is the smartphone operating system market. A few years ago, most of the early smartphones were based around proprietary operating systems. Palm and Blackberry dominated the market. Apple joined the industry with the introduction of the iPhone, but more recently other firms have entered the market as well, including Google (Android), indows, Symbian and other systems. The market has moved from a stable oligopoly of four firms basically between two firms into a market that is much closer to monopolistic competition. However, there is the risk that as operating systems shake out, the market could return to an oligopoly of just three operating systems (est & Mace, 2007).

In the short-run, firms in this industry will seek to gain market share through differentiation. The products are slightly differentiated from each other -- they perform the…...

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Works Cited:

West, J. & Mace, M. (2007). Appropriability, proximity, routines and innovation. Druid Summer Conference 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2012 from http://www2.druid.dk/conferences/viewpaper.php?id=1675&cf=9%20{^

Seppala, (no date). Monopolistic competition. University of Illinois. Retrieved February 4, 2012 from http://www.econ.uiuc.edu/~seppala/econ102/lect15.pdf

Watkins, T. (no date). The transaction cost approach to the theory of the firm. San Jose University. Retrieved February 4, 2012  http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/coase.htm 

Blodget, H. (2011). Android is destroying everyone, especially RIM -- iPhone dead in water. Business Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2012 from http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-04-02/tech/30089528_1_android-phones-google-s-android-smartphone-market

firm concentration ratios for the following industries are: fluid milk (311511), women's and girl's cut & sew dresses (315233), envelopes (322232), electronic computers (334111). The industries that are characterized by a high level of competition include clothing, which is a dominant industry in this country. The high level of competition and the many small business type clothing stores, in competition with larger chain stores, makes the competition widespread (Case et. Al, 2009).
Another industry that has a high level of competition is that of car sales and auto parts. Again, cars are a modern necessity and not necessarily a luxury item. Transportation is a necessity for many individuals. This means that car sales as well as auto parts are items that are sold often, and thus have a high level of output. Agricultural and farming products are also highly competitive. Food is obviously a necessity for everybody, and there are…...

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References

Case, K.E., Fair, R.C., and Oster, S.E. (2009) Principles of Microeconomics (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Smith, F. (2008). Examining Financial Concepts and Business. New York: McGraw Hill.

Taylor, K. (2009). Finance and Business: Growing Trends. New Jersey: Pearson

Five forces' analysis (Porter 1980)
Five Forces Analysis of Competitive Structure

Michael Porters Five Forces Analysis of Competitive Structure is a paradigm for competitive position, which states that overall a company's profitability may be determined as a measure of the industry it is competing in and its strategic position within that industry (Strategy4u, 2004). According to the model some industries by nature will have a higher profit potential than others, primarily because they have a stronger competitive position and are placed within a more profitable industry.

Porter's Model also suggests that profitability is assessed via several factors, including the following: buyers/customers power, supplier's power, and rivalry among competitors, threat of new entrants into the market, and the threat of substitute products (Strategy4u, 2004). The company or industry will have a greater profit potential the less influential each of these items are. For example, if a company sells a product for which there are…...

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Bibliography

Business Insight. "Michael Porter's Five Forces Model." 2003. Available: http://www.businessplansoftware.org/porter.asp

Devine, Donald. "Pols Dare Not Challenge Giveaway to Media Gods." Insight on the News, Vol. 13, May 1997. p. 1

Economics A-Z." Economist.com. Retrieved March 27, 2004. Available:  http://www.economist.com/research/Economics/alphabetic.cfm?TERM=PROFIT 

Fellner, W. "Competition among the Few: Oligopoly and Similar Market Structures." New York: A.A. Knopf, 1949, pp. 55-59

Market Model Patterns of Change
Sir/Madam, answers attachment page. But write a APA format, citing quotations a APA format. answers fits 3 pages.

The operating system software industry that was dominated by Microsoft was a monopoly till quite some years back when other players came into the market and disrupted the monopoly. These players include Linux with their various operating system software such as edhat and Ubuntu and Apple with their Macintosh operating system.

The general pattern of change in this particular market model was that of monopoly to oligopoly. There are several short-run and long-run behaviors in the monopoly and oligopoly market models. In monopoly, there is only one market player who has full control over the market. However, in oligopoly, there are several market players who hold different market shares depending on their marketing strategies, brand awareness, product specification, product diversification, etc. Soberman & Gatignon, 2005()

The short-run behavior in a change…...

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References

Brooks, G.R. (1995). Defining Market Boundaries. Strategic Management Journal, 16(7), 535-549.

Chintagunta, P.K. (1996). Investigating the Effects of a Line Extension or New Brand Introduction on Market Structure. Marketing Letters, 7(4), 319-328.

Soberman, D., & Gatignon, H. (2005). Research Issues at the Boundary of Competitive Dynamics and Market Evolution. Marketing Science, 24(1), 165-174.

In conclusion, Mexico operates under a mixed economic system that combines market economy and planned economy elements. This system promotes innovation, balances social responsibilities, and maintains a diverse economic structure. However, drawbacks such as excessive taxation, government monopolies, and ineffective regulations can hinder economic growth. The market structure in Mexico consists of dominant firms in sectors like telecommunications, cement, electricity, and petroleum. This structure impacts output, prices, and profitability, affecting consumers and producers differently based on the type of market power involved, such as oligopoly and monopoly. The COVID-19 pandemic has had both positive and negative impacts on households and....