Product Differentiation and Competitive Selection

Arbeitspapier

By studying the effect of different patterns of demand in an evolutionary selection model this paper shows how product differentiation reduces competitive selection pressure and thus increases the chances for the coexistence of firms. With the example of a duopoly it shows that: (1) a monopoly is the likely outcome of competition in homogeneous products, (2) although product differentiation does not preclude a monopoly it greatly improves the chances for the stable coexistence of firms in the long run, and (3) the more differentiated the products, the more stable the duopoly.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIFO Working Papers ; No. 252

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Current Heterodox Approaches: Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary ; Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
• Subject: product differentiation ; selection ; market niche ; Produktdifferenzierung ; Nischenstrategie ; Wettbewerb ; Duopol ; Evolutionäre Spieltheorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Kaniovski, Serguei
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)
• (where): Vienna
• (when): 2005

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/128810
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET