MARKET CONCENTRATION IN THE PERSONAL COMPUTER INDUSTRY

Abstract

: The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the present market concentration in the personal computer (PC) industry and compare it with the trends in other manufacturing industries. PC industry specific is that it operates on a global market. The results of the study show that the PC industry is increasingly concentrating. The market power of companies in the PC industry is growing due to merger and acquisition processes and the inability of some companies to maintain large economies of scale. Values of CR4 and HHI indicators for period from 2018-2020 indicate the oligopolistic structure of the PC market. However, due to technological innovations in PC and other competitive industries such as smartphone and tablet industries, PC vendors have less market power than manufacturers in other more stable oligopolistic industries. Moreover, comparison in concentration trends between the global PC industry and U.S. manufacturing industries points to differences in market concentration. Although the number of businesses in both industries is declining, market concentration trends differ as the PC industry shows a constant ascending trajectory of market concentration. Globalization processes that increase concentration and market power in industries characterized by large economies of scale are discussed as well, along with the results of the examination of relationships between market concentration rates and companies’ financials.