Purchase Solution

Microsoft's market dominance

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

1. Is Microsoft a monopoly? Is the electric power industry in California an oligopoly? Explain your reasoning for each.

2. Is it Microsoft's faults that they have all the wonderful technical people that can develop these systems?

Second set of questions is international business

1. Please explain why international strategy is important. What is the difference between domestic and international strategic planning?

2. Are there any locations that would benefit from new products more than other countries?

Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary

Microsoft's market dominance is assessed.

Solution Preview

Economic Theory
1. There are two sides you should consider in answering this question. First, does Microsoft fit within the definition of a monopoly?

According to AmosWEB (http://www.amosweb.com), a monopoly is "a market structure characterized by a single seller of a unique product with no close substitutes." In this sense, Microsoft is not technically a monopoly. There are several "close substitutes" in most of its product areas, including operating systems (where Windows faces competition from Apple's Mac OS X, and various UNIX/Linux-like competitors), there are close substitutes to Microsoft products are available.

That said, because of Microsoft's market dominance (roughly 90% of PCs run Microsoft operating systems), it has many characteristics of a monopoly: it is a price maker, and t has an unusual amount of control over its suppliers and competitors. Additionally, because Microsoft also makes many of the products the typical users runs on his or her computer, it has been found to have undue control over those ...

Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Pricing Strategies

Discussion about various pricing techniques of profit-seeking firms.

Elementary Microeconomics

This quiz reviews the basic concept of supply and demand analysis.

Basics of Economics

Quiz will help you to review some basics of microeconomics and macroeconomics which are often not understood.

Economic Issues and Concepts

This quiz provides a review of the basic microeconomic concepts. Students can test their understanding of major economic issues.

Economics, Basic Concepts, Demand-Supply-Equilibrium

The quiz tests the basic concepts of demand, supply, and equilibrium in a free market.

View More Free Quizzes
Related BrainMass Solutions

  • Google vs Microsoft Search

    Google has definitely gained market share with their search engine. The results of their dominance actually are represented in their stock price where I believe Google is trading at 425/share.

  • Microsoft Monopolistic Behavior and its Influence on Market

    In the context of alleged Microsoft's monopolistic practices the smaller companies suffered from losing market share to Microsoft's over dominance in the Operating System (OS) market. Following are some points to consider in this respect. a.

  • Business Ethics - Microsoft (Playing Monopoly Case)

    The case of violation of antitrust laws against Microsoft was merely a result of jealousy and fear among other players in the marketplace, who fear being wiped out by Microsoft's dominance in the industry.

  • Microsoft Anti-Trust Trial

    This can be seen from the fact that in just a few years, the Internet has rendered Microsoft's dominance in operating systems obsolete.

  • Microsoft antitrust trial

    Government interest in Microsoft's affairs had begun in 1991 with an inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission over whether Microsoft was abusing its monopoly on the PC operating system market.

  • Google Doc's impact on the MS Office

    Once consumers are confident about the usage of such web based office tools, the adoption rate is expected to go quite high and thus, Microsoft's dominance in this segment is expected to come down and the revenues are expected to decline.

  • Vertical market software

    204746 Vertical market software Does Microsoft's entry into industry-specific applications signal the end for smaller industry-specific software developers? What changes in strategy by such developers are necessary to compete with Microsoft?

  • Microsoft's equity cost of capital

    Suppose the market portfolio has an expected return of 10% and a volatility of 20%, while Microsoft's stock has a volatility of 30%. a.

  • Is Microsoft Corporation a Monopoly?

    Microsoft's Crumbling Empire. Retrieved from http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-06-03/tech/30089114_1_pc-market-smartphone-market-steve-ballmer on March 24, 2012. Bott, Ed (June 15, 2011).

View More Related Solutions