This work investigates the structural dynamics of industrial markets and the behavioral patterns of firms within those environments. Malcolm Sawyer, a noted economist, utilizes neoclassical and post-Keynesian frameworks to analyze how market concentration, competition, and firm size influence overall economic performance. The text provides a rigorous examination of the relationship between industrial structure and the resulting economic outcomes for both the firm and the broader market.

Experts recognize this text as a foundational contribution to the study of industrial economics during the mid-1980s. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a standard reference for students and researchers of industrial organization.