Final answer:
Competitors are organizations that produce substitute products. Market structures vary from monopolies with no substitutes to oligopolies and monopolistic competition with various similar products and strategic competitive behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Competitors in a market include organizations that produce substitute products, as they offer consumers alternative choices similar to the organization’s product, influencing market dynamics, competitiveness, and strategic behavior. Allies of the organization or firms without market impact are not typically considered competitors. When analyzing market structures, it is essential to distinguish between different competition levels. A market with a single firm and no close substitutes is a monopoly. When multiple firms offer various but somewhat similar products, we see either monopolistic competition or oligopoly, depending on how many firms dominate the market and the barriers to entry. Monopolistic competitors can freely enter or exit the market and often compete through product differentiation and advertising, while oligopolistic markets, like those for commercial aircraft or soft drinks, are characterized by strategic decision-making between a few dominant firms, high barriers to entry, and potential elements of both monopoly and perfect competition.