Supra competitive pricing
Encyclopedia
Supracompetitive pricing is pricing
above what can be sustained in a competitive market. This may be indicative of a business that has a unique legal or competitive advantage, or possibly of anti-competitive behavior that has driven competition from the market.
An example of a unique legal advantage would be a drug company that is the first to discover and successfully manufacture a medication to treat a certain disease. Initially, as the only market player, the drug company may be able to charge supra competitive prices until other companies catch up. In this case, the regulatory hurdle for drug approval may prove a substantial barrier to new competition. However, other companies may not be able to enter the market due to another barrier to entry, intellectual property
(IP) rights. The drug company may have a patent on the new formulation, barring competitors until the patent expires unless they can license rights from the IP owner. An example of a competitive advantage may be a large company with a trusted brand name and a substantial marketing budget that simply overwhelms a local competitor by driving demand for its product over the competitor's product, at least in the short term. Supracompetitive pricing may also result following a period of predatory pricing
, which has potential antitrust
implications for the predator.
Pricing
Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a...
above what can be sustained in a competitive market. This may be indicative of a business that has a unique legal or competitive advantage, or possibly of anti-competitive behavior that has driven competition from the market.
An example of a unique legal advantage would be a drug company that is the first to discover and successfully manufacture a medication to treat a certain disease. Initially, as the only market player, the drug company may be able to charge supra competitive prices until other companies catch up. In this case, the regulatory hurdle for drug approval may prove a substantial barrier to new competition. However, other companies may not be able to enter the market due to another barrier to entry, intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
(IP) rights. The drug company may have a patent on the new formulation, barring competitors until the patent expires unless they can license rights from the IP owner. An example of a competitive advantage may be a large company with a trusted brand name and a substantial marketing budget that simply overwhelms a local competitor by driving demand for its product over the competitor's product, at least in the short term. Supracompetitive pricing may also result following a period of predatory pricing
Predatory pricing
In business and economics, predatory pricing is the practice of selling a product or service at a very low price, intending to drive competitors out of the market, or create barriers to entry for potential new competitors. If competitors or potential competitors cannot sustain equal or lower prices...
, which has potential antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
implications for the predator.