An oligopoly is a situation in which a small group of organizations dominates a particular market. The actions of these individual “oligopolists” affect one another and can collectively influence prices and production in the marketplace.

Oligopolies can exist both intentionally or unintentionally. For example, Apple and Dell computers dominate the market for laptops because they tend to sell more products than their competitors. But they’re not working together, so the dominance is unintentional. On the other hand, OPEC member countries have joined together and formed a cartel to intentionally dominate the oil market and keep prices high.