oligopoly
market structure dominated by a few firms
board of directors
decision-making body of a corporation
dividend
portion of profits paid out to stockholders
perfect competition
market structure in which many firms all produce identical products
stock
certificate of ownership in a corporation
monopoly
market structure dominated by one seller
natural monopoly
market that runs more efficiently when one large firm supplies all the output
government monopoly
monopoly created the actions of the government
patent
exclusive right to sell an invention
monopolistic competition
market structure in which many companies sell products that are similar but not identical
non-price competition
a way to attract customers through physical characteristics, location, service level, or image
collusion
an illegal agreement among firms to set price or limit production
cartel
organization of producers that agree to coordinate prices and production levels
antitrust laws
laws that encourage competition
horizontal merger
when two or more businesses that make similar products combine
conglomerate
a combination of three or more businesses that all produce unrelated goods
vertical merger
when two or more businesses combine different stages of the production process
trust
an illegal grouping of companies which discourage competition
copyright
an exclusive right to sell a work of art such as music, book, etc
sole proprietorship
business owned and managed by a single person
general partnership
business ownership owned by two or more persons who have equal decision-making authority and have unlimited liability
limited partnership
type of partnership with a least one general partner who has unlimited liability and a limited partner with limited liability
limited liability partnership
type of partnership in which all partners are limited partners
business franchise
semi-independent business organization that pays fees to a parent company in return for the exclusive right to sell a product in a certain area
corporation
legal entity owned by individual stockholders
bond
formal contract issued by a corporation that includes a promise to repay borrowed money with interest (IOU)
cooperative
business organization owned and operated for the benefit of its members
nonprofit organization
an institution that functions like a business, but does not operate for the purpose of generating a profit
professional organization
organization that works to improve the image, working conditions, and skill levels of people in a particular occupation
subsidiary
acquired company that is not forced to abandon its identity