Final answer:
Substitutes meet the same customer needs in different ways, such as e-books replacing printed books or tablets reducing the demand for laptops. The presence of substitutes affects a firm's market power and can lead to changes in demand. The correct answer is B) approximately the same different.
Step-by-step explanation:
The products or services provided by a firm's substitutes meet approximately the same customer needs in different ways as the product provided by the firm itself. A substitute is a good or service that can be used in place of another good or service. For example, as electronic books become more prevalent, demand for traditional printed books often decreases. This is because electronic books are considered substitutes for printed books - they meet the same need (reading and information) but do so in a different manner (digitally vs. physically). Similarly, if the price of tablet computers falls, leading to an increased demand due to the law of demand, we might observe a decrease in demand for laptops. In this case, tablets are substituting laptops for certain users.
In the context of market competition, if a product has no close substitutes, the producing firm could be considered a monopoly. However, if there are a variety of similar options available from other firms, even if they are not identical, the firm does not hold monopoly power. The debate over when substitutes are 'close enough' can be quite controversial. So, the correct answer is B) approximately the same different.