The oligopoly is a type of market that is relatively common in practice. In a supply oligopoly, few suppliers face a relatively high number of buyers. The opposite is the case with a demand oligopoly, because here there are few demanders who can fall back on a large number of providers. A bilateral oligopoly exists when few suppliers meet few buyers.
Oligopoly: Differences to Poly- and Monopoly
In this lesson we explain the most important characteristics of an oligopoly, the different variants and the typical behavior of the individual market participants. At the end of the lesson, we provide you with a few practice questions that you can use to deepen your knowledge.
Why should you know the oligopoly?
According to homethodology, the oligopoly is a relatively common type of market in reality. Oligopolies exist, for example, in the automotive industry, with mineral oil manufacturers and in aircraft construction.
It is therefore important that you identify the oligopoly as such and derive the behavior of the individual market participants, especially the oligopolists, from it.
Features and variants of oligopoly: demand oligopoly & supply oligopoly
A distinction is made between demand, supply and bilateral oligopoly, depending on whether a few buyers face many suppliers, few suppliers face many customers or a few customers face a few suppliers.
However, the individual forms of oligopolies differ so greatly from one another that there is no uniform model that describes how prices are set.
A typical feature of the oligopoly is that the market power lies with a few providers. When setting prices, they not only have to keep an eye on their own prices, quantities and quality with regard to the customer, but also the reactions of competitors.
Demand oligopoly
In a demand oligopoly, there are only a few, relatively large buyers who face many relatively small suppliers. This constellation is also known as an oligopsony. The providers have a comparatively small influence on the pricing process.
Example
An example of this can be found among dairy farmers, of whom there are a large number, but who are faced with only a few dairy farms as consumers.
Supply oligopoly
The supply oligopoly is the most common form of oligopoly. The few providers have a correspondingly high level of market power, but they must always be able to assess the possible reactions of their competitors to their own decisions.
Example
A typical example can be found among aircraft manufacturers, who face a relatively large number of airlines. The German electricity market also shows characteristics of a supply oligopoly. Few electricity suppliers encounter a very large number of customers, with the latter having almost no influence on the pricing process.
Supply oligopoly and demand oligopoly
Bilateral oligopoly
In a bilateral or bilateral oligopoly, few suppliers face few buyers. Accordingly, the market power of the individual market participants is balanced.
Example
The automotive industry provides a good example here: Few manufacturers of exclusive leather seats meet few automobile manufacturers who ask for these seats.
Behaviors of market participants
Price leader
In an oligopoly it can happen that one supplier has a higher market power than all the others. In this case, he will be recognized by the others as the price leader. This means that the price leader adjusts prices first and then all other oligopolists follow suit.
imitation
Another behavior that can often be observed in an oligopoly is imitation. The behavior of the competitor is imitated. If this is the price leader, the monopoly price can also be achieved in the case of an oligopoly with only two providers ( duopoly ).
Cartel formation
One danger with oligopolies is that of cartel formation. So price and quantity agreements are made between the oligopolists. This is particularly common in the case of homogeneous oligopolies. Homogeneous means that the products offered are perfect substitutes from the customer’s point of view and consequently that there are no preferences whatsoever.
Example
The petroleum industry is a good example. If the price is the same, it is irrelevant for most customers which of the five oil companies they fill up with. But the opposite case is also possible, because with oligopolies in particular, a price war for market share can quickly develop, which can lead to predatory competition.