In the previous chapter we have ind

In the previous chapter we have indicated that oligopoly is in practice the most
common form of market structure. Most of the products that people consume,
from cars to consumer electronics, cigarettes to cereals, domestic appliances to
detergents, and national newspapers to athletic shoes, are supplied in oligopolistic
markets. This also applies to many services, like supermarket retailing,
travel agencies and, at least in the UK, commercial banking. When we take into
account that many markets are separated in terms of product and spatial
characteristics, we can also include markets like restaurants and car repair, as
seen in the last chapter. However, up to this point our analysis of such situations
332 STRATEGY ANALYSIS
has made some important but unrealistic assumptions. Since one main accusation
frequently levelled at the subject of managerial economics is that it takes