Monday, December 29, 2008

WHAT IS MARKET STRUCTURE?

Economist use the term market structure to refer to the type of market a firm operates in. Producers supply a variety of products. The markets in which they operate in differ in many ways. For example, a wheat farmer in selling his products faces a different type of market compared to an hotelier selling rooms to tourists.

For one thing the product is very different. The wheat farmer is selling wheat which is very similar to the type of wheat sold by other farmers in the region. It is hard to change the quality of the wheat. He is also very dependent on nature, climate, etc.

The hotelier may have many competitors on the same road. (For example, on Orchard Road itself, there are big hotels lining both sides of the road.) However, the hotelier can make his hotel very different from his neighbours. He can have different types of rooms, a different level of service, different types of restaurants, or even a helicopter service to make his hotel more competitive and to cater to a different group of customers.

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