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Superpoly: monopoly in the

twenty-first century

Monopoly in the
twenty-first
century

Jennifer Rowley
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Abstract

751

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose that the traditional definition of monopoly needs to be
extended to accommodate twenty-first century marketplaces. The concept of superpoly is defined and
discussed. Superpoly is a development of the concept of monopoly to accommodate market structures in
networked and knowledge-intensive economies characterised by a high underlying level of consumer choice.
Design/methodology/approach A definition of superpoly is offered and each of the seven market
spaces in superpoly are defined and illustrated with reference to Tesco, the UK supermarket chain. A
discussion section explores the issues that arise from over-dominance of one business in each of these spaces
in terms of the positives (typically emphasised by the dominant business) and the negatives (typically
emphasised by other stakeholders).
Findings In order to achieve a state of superpoly, businesses focus on seven interrelated market spaces,
including respectively: commercial space, channel space, consumption space, community space, cultural
space, career space, and communication space. These are the seven spaces of superpoly. The proposed
concept of superpoly suggests that researchers should take a broader perspective on competition and
competitive practices.
Originality/value The article is the first to propose a development of the concept of monopoly and
business dominance for knowledge-based, consumption focussed and networked societies and economies.
Keywords Monopolies, Modelling, Stakeholder analysis, Supermarkets, United Kingdom
Paper type Conceptual paper

Introduction
Monopoly is a fundamental economic concept, which is thoroughly embedded in
theoretical discussions about how markets operate. Furthermore, societies generally
deem monopolies undesirable and have sought to control potential monopolies by
regulation. When monopolies become too powerful, the state may intervene to forcibly
break up a monopoly, regulate it or convert it into a public-owned enterprise. In a
global marketplace, states may only be able to exercise limited power over monopolies;
however, this does not alter the fact that monopolies are a concern to societies.
As is suggested in the following quotes, monopoly is an economic concept that has
its roots in a focus on competition:
Monopoly is a circumstance in which one company supplies the entire market. . . .
monopolistic competition occurs when one company has a controlling share of the markets
and other small companies follow its lead in setting prices and producing goods (Blythe, 2006,
p. 20).
In economics, a monopoly is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one
provider of a product or serve. . . Monopolies are characterised by a lack of economic
competition for the good or service that they provide and a lack of viable substitute good
(www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monopoly, accessed 7 December 2006).

The concept of monopoly predates the development of marketing as a distinct discipline

and is grounded in an era in which products, marketplaces, societies, communication and
consumers were very different. In particular, the traditional notion of monopoly focusses
on competition with other businesses. In recent years, several authors have suggested
that todays marketplaces are more complex. For example, Christopher et al. (1991, 2002)

Management Research News

Vol. 32 No. 8, 2009
pp. 751-761
# Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0140-9174
DOI 10.1108/01409170910977960

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and Payne et al. (2005) both propose the six markets model, which identifies six different
stakeholder groups and their associated markets (customer, supplier, internal,
influence, referral and recruitment). They implicitly identify six market spaces in which
businesses operate and thereby identify six different spaces in which businesses can
potentially be dominant or develop and exert a monopoly. This leads to the proposal that
monopoly in twenty-first century markets is a multi-dimensional concept.
The current flurry of activity on corporate social responsibility (CSR) (summarized,
for example, by Jones et al., 2005) suggests that businesses are consciously managing
their reputation and seeking to be viewed as participating in communities and taking
appropriate social and environmental action. According to Wood (1991), the basic idea of
CSR is that business and society are interwoven as opposed to distinct entities. Typically,
CSR involves both internal and external dimensions, which relate, respectively, to
socially responsible practices within the company (such as health and safety at work and
the management of environmental impacts) and socially responsible practices that
extend beyond the company into the local community and the world beyond and involve
a number of stakeholders (such as reducing the consumption of natural resources,
polluting emissions, and waste products) (CEC, 2001).
This article develops the concept superpoly to refer to this new type of monopoly.
Importantly, it is argued that superpoly is more than the sum of monopolies in different
market spaces, since marketing strategies, actions and competences that focus on one
space typically have impacts on other spaces.
The purpose of this article is to define and discuss the concept of superpoly and
thereby to introduce a concept, which will:
.

Enhance theoretical model building concerning marketplaces, competition and

strategy.

Inform policymaking.

Create greater levels of awareness amongst consumers and citizens.

The article deliberately avoids making value judgements about whether or not
superpoly is a positive or negative development. In addition, the use of Tesco as a case
study should not be taken to imply that Tesco is currently in a state of superpoly or
even monopoly. It is, however, in a position of market dominance and its efforts to
dominate all of the market spaces that comprise superpoly and the responses that these
actions have provoked make Tesco a useful example of an organization that is, at the
very least, reaching towards superpoly.
The next section of the article defines superpoly and explains its origins. Discussion
of the issues and challenges for all of the stakeholders of an organization operating
under, or striving towards, dominance follows. The article concludes by urging a greater
awareness of these issues and more in-depth understanding that in a knowledge-based,
consumption-focussed, networked society more rounded appreciation of the nature of
business dominance would serve all stakeholders in the longer term.
The case study: Tesco
Large retailers and supermarkets, in particular, are viewed as having a significant
control over consumer spending and a corresponding impact on the supply chain,
society and the environment. Indeed, campaign groups have been formed to challenge
the environmental and social impacts of the power of such supermarket chains. For
example, the tescopoly campaign is a response to the increasing dominance of Tesco

and other large supermarkets in the UK grocery market. The tescopoly alliance claims,
Tescos success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious
consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide (www.tescopoly.org).
The above statement identifies three stakeholder groups and thereby three market
spaces in which Tesco is currently creating tension suppliers and farmers (channel),
workers (career), and local shops (commercial). Nonetheless, the importance of other
groups such as citizens and consumers, and thereby other spaces in which businesses
strive towards market dominance is overlooked. Simms (2007) and Fishman (2007)
(writing about Tesco and Wal-Mart, respectively) are challenging critiques of the impact
of supermarkets on society which show how supermarkets shape lives everywhere.
They implicitly recognize that large supermarkets exert power and control in market
spaces that go beyond the commercial, career, and channel market spaces.
Observation of the growth and development of Tesco and an analysis of its use of
customer data through Tesco Clubcard suggest that Tesco is suitable for further
analysis. Accordingly, this paper utilizes a holistic single case design to view the
surrounding world to ask how or why type questions (Yin, 1994). Typically, single
case designs are appropriate when the case has something special to reveal, which
might act as a point of departure for challenging received wisdom and prior theoretical
perspectives and assumptions. This is the case here. The purpose of this research is to
analyze an innovative case in pursuit of the formulation of a refreshed statement of the
nature of monopoly in knowledge-based, consumption-driven and networked societies
and marketplaces. Desk-based research has been conducted to gain a thorough
understanding of Tesco and its activities. These characteristics are discussed and
analyzed to illustrate and assert the proposed seven market spaces of superpoly.
Tesco, a major UK-based supermarket retailer has been chosen as the case in this
analysis for the following reasons:
.

Tesco has the largest market share of grocery retailers in the UK (30.5 per cent in
mid-2006 and its share is only slightly less than that of the two largest
competitors Asda (16.6 per cent) and Sainsburys (16.3 per cent) combined (see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4694974.stm).

Tesco has a huge impact on consumption. Tesco accounts for 1 in every 7 spent in
British shops (Finch, 2006a). Tesco is now the dominant supermarket in 81 of
Britains 11 postcode areas (Finch, 2006b). Inverness has been branded as Tesco
town since an estimated 50p in every 1 spent on food is believed to be spent in the
three Tesco stores in the city (see www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco). In 2005, 53.1
per cent of all households in the UK visit a Tesco store in any four-week period.

Tesco has achieved significant business growth competitor Sainsburys is

concerned that Tesco could have up to 43 per cent of the grocery market within
four years and suggest that Tesco has 55 per cent of the land bank of sites in the
process of being developed into new grocery outlets (Finch, 2006c).

Tesco has more sales space in the UK than any other leading supermarket. It
currently has 1897 stores in the UK with 124 store openings planned by early
2008 and an increasing store portfolio in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,
Republic of Ireland, Slovakia and Turkey (see www.tescocorporate.com).

The UK Competition Commission is in the process of investigating the Big Four

supermarkets in the UK: Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons (see
www.mmc.gov.uk).

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Developing the concept superpoly

The definition below supports the subsequent discussion and development of the
superpoly concept using illustrations based on the case study organization. Superpoly
is defined as
A development of the concept of monopoly to accommodate market structures in networked,
knowledge-intensive economies characterised by a high underlying level of consumer choice.
Such marketplaces can be de-constructed into seven interrelated market spaces, including
respectively: commercial space, channel space, consumption space, community space,
cultural space, career space and communication space, the seven spaces of superpoly.

A business achieves superpoly status by enhancing market control through seeking

dominance in all of these spaces, which, in turn, reduces the power and choice of
consumers and other stakeholders. When businesses striving towards superpoly meet
unfavourable conditions in one space, they will turn their attention to other spaces.
Ambitious businesses will use all of the tools at their disposal to achieve a position of
dominance. In particular, this means making effective and innovative use of
communications media, technology, information, knowledge tools and processes.
The following subsections explore the market spaces of superpoly. Some of the
actions taken by Tesco in order to achieve dominance in each market space are
described as examples of the types of measures that businesses may implement to
dominate a specific market space. Not only must businesses seeking domination
manage their presence in as many of these spaces as possible, but also they must do so
with the minimum outlay of resources for the maximum impact.
Commercial space
Commercial space is seen to be the space in which the business competes with other
businesses. Tesco is particularly proactive in opening stores in different formats,
including Extra, Superstore, Compact, Metro and Express (see Table I). Such a range of
formats enables Tesco to maintain a presence in settlements of all sizes and to offer a
convenient solution for a wide range of shopping needs. This means that Tesco is not
only competing with other out-of-town stores and large supermarkets but also with
local stores and garage forecourt shops.
Furthermore, Tesco effectively runs one of the most successful online retailing
businesses. This presence in different formats places Tesco in competition with a wide
Format

Comment

Extra

Hypermarket format designed as destination stores drawing in

customers from across a wide catchment area. Extras are a key
vehicle for growing sales of non-food items
This is the core store format. Superstores offer a full food range,
supplementary services and limited non-food ranges. They are
mostly located out-of-town
Smaller versions of superstores, usually situated in market towns or
on the edge of towns
Pocket supermarkets that focus on convenience food, takeaways
and lunch items; typically in High Street locations
Convenience stores mainly located on petrol forecourts and operated
as joint ventures with Esso Fuels. Ranges are broad and shallow
with the emphasis on fresh food and impulse lines

Superstore
Compact
Metro/high street
Express
Table I.
Tesco store formats

range of businesses, each of which may have positioned themselves on the basis of
location or convenience, including other supermarket chains such as the Co-operative,
Boots for pharmacy, independent greengrocers and butchers, bakery chains such as
Greggs, garage forecourt stores, independent book sellers and book, music and media
retailers such as HMV, W. H. Smith and Amazon. When planning permission refusals
have resulted in difficulties for expansion in the UK, Tesco has turned to growth in
foreign markets (see www.tescocorporate.com).
Channel space
Channel space is the space in which the business manages the organizations in its supply
chain. Tesco has been extremely proactive in managing the efficiency of its supply chain
processes adopting just-in-time models (with the assistance of information and transport
technologies) that, for instance, ensure very short times between picking and display in
store of fresh food. Tesco was an early investor in technology solutions to support the
management of its supply chain. Between 1983 and 1996, it introduced point-of-sale
(POS) scanning, centralised automated ordering, centralized distribution, automated
warehouse control and introduced EDI with its main suppliers. These innovations
reduced lead times with significant consequences for stockholding levels and the
capacity to manage the supply logistics associated with expansion in product ranges.
More recently, Tesco has concentrated on applying lean manufacturing principles
to its supply chain, optimization of transport utilization and the use of Clubcard and
online shopping data to ensure that the right stock is in the right place at the right time
( Jones and Clarke, 2002). Through standards, policies and contracts, Tesco can use its
power as a customer to the food production industry to make exacting demands in
terms of behaviour, processes, timing, and margins. Tesco can be seen to be in
competition for profits with organizations in its own supply chain.
Consumption space
This is the space in which the business strives to influence and control consumption
through its product and service portfolio. Tesco was originally a food retailer or grocer.
Recently, it has extended its control over consumption by expanding its product
ranges. In the food sector, Tesco now offers the following brand ranges to meet the
needs of different tastes and pockets: value, brand (Tesco), finest, healthy living, kids
and organic (see Table II). Non-food products now sold through Tesco stores include:
clothes, consumer electronics, financial services, music, telecommunications, and
budget software. This diversification means that Tesco have positioned themselves to
try to take an ever-larger share of their customers purse. This extended range also
means that Tesco is now a significant player in these areas, and for, example, competes
with banks and insurance companies in the financial service sector.
Community space
This is the space in which the business becomes an integral part of social (in addition
to the commercial) communities. Increase in the number of Tesco outlets automatically
increases the significance of Tesco stores as a meeting place for neighbours and
friends. Initiatives such as Tesco in the Community and Computers for Schools
demonstrate Tescos desire to be seen as engaging with the community. Tesco also
promotes healthy eating, recycling and urban regeneration and support charities.
Recent initiatives include Green Clubcard points, encouraging re-use of carrier bags,
nutritional labels, and Christmas card recycling. Tesco is also a member of the Business

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Range

Comment

Tesco value

Around 1,000 lines. Lines are benchmarked against the cheapest branded
competitor in terms of quality and the cheapest supermarket or discounter
in terms of price
More than 8,000 lines. Product specifications are positioned to achieve
market leading quality at a lower price than the market leader
950 lines. A response to changing lifestyles and designed to capture a
greater proportion of spend from existing customers; reinforces the
affluent image of the product
400 products. Covering both food and non-food, and designed to respond
to the increasing interest in healthy eating and sports and fitness
40 lines. Aimed at children aged 5-10 years, and designed to increase
nutrients in childrens diets
1,200 products. Covers produce, diary, bakery, meat, baby and BWS (beers,
wines and spirits).
150 products. Designed for those with food allergies and intolerances.
100 products. Guarantees that developing world farmers are paid a fair
price, plus a premium to be spent on community projects in healthcare,
education, sanitation and housing.

Tesco brand

756

Tesco finest
Healthy living
Kids
Organic
Free from
Fairtrade

Table II.
Tesco brand ranges

Source: www.tesco.com/talkingtesco/retailing

in the Community Per Cent Club, giving 1 per cent of its pre-tax profits to community
activities. Tesco has adopted community as one of its core steering priorities
alongside customers, operations, finance and people (see www.tesco.com/talkingtesco/
retailing, accessed 5 January 2007; Prynn, 2006). Sir Terry Leahy, Tescos Chief
Executive Officer, in a recently made statement, reinforces this focus:
The battle to win customers in the 21st century will increasingly be fought not just on value,
choice and convenience, but on being good neighbours, being active in communities, and on
behaving responsibly, fairly, and honestly (Butler, 2006).

In addition, deals forged with planning authorities often lead Tesco to make a variety of
other investments in local infrastructure and services, which can make it difficult for
communities to say no to their involvement. Further, Tesco also has its own communities.
Tesco Clubcard is an umbrella membership organization for Tesco customers and there are
opt-in clubs including wine, healthy foods and baby products, which typically also have an
online presence. These clubs are designed to meet a genuine customer need and seek to
promote emotional attachment to the Tesco brand (Humby et al., 2003).
Cultural space
This space is the one in which the business seeks to influence the values and identities
of consumers and possibly communities also. Tesco seeks to influence the values and
behaviour of both their suppliers and consumers. In the context of suppliers, Tesco
indicates that they:
Expect all Tesco suppliers to extend fair and honest dealings to their employees and to all
whom they do business with . . . In 2001, we developed a new course for our buyers and
technical managers to raise their awareness of the Ethical Trading Initiative, ethical issues, and
worker welfare in the supply chain (see www.tescocorporate.com).

Tesco Clubcard is arguably Tescos most powerful weapon in managing consumers

cultural space. By collecting data on customer behaviour, segmenting, targeting, and
improving the offer on a segment-by-segment basis, and using targeted promotions,
discounts and rewards, Tesco can influence customer behaviour. As Humby (2006)
suggests, such data improves a retailers ability to make the whole shopping
experience more compelling, with the right products on the shelves at the right prices
and with the right promotions (Powell, 2006). In turn, such interventions gradually
influence a consumers values and identity within the arena of consumption. Since
consumption is an important arena through which we build our identities, Tesco has an
input into creating our culture. Further, segmentation allows Tesco to capitalize on and
interact with the cultural identity of different sub-groups and sub-cultures.
Communication space
This space is the one in which the business manages its reputation, image and messages.
The strategic challenge in a communication space is being heard and being noticed by
consumers. A business must have superior means of communication with its customers
that allow the business to create a maximum impact for a minimum expenditure. Tesco
manages an impressive integrated marketing communication campaign, including
targeted messages through a range of different media. At the heart of their
communications strategy is the brand and the brand slogan Every little helps.
The brand symbol is bright, positive and ever-present. Clubcard, Tescos reward or
in their terms, their thank you scheme, is underpinned by what Tesco perceives to be
a contract with their customers. This is the active expression of the brands
personality and its values (Humby et al., 2003, p. 50). Customers are invited to become
members of the brand and to be involved in shaping the brand (Humby et al., 2003,
p. 212). The visual identity of Clubcard is consistent with the visual identity of the
Tesco brand. Clubcard is the reminder of Tesco in your wallet or on your key chain.
Co-branding is used in a number of different ways to build visibility, customer
interaction, and image, for both the Clubcard and Tesco brands:
.

Clubcard and Tesco are strongly co-branded and co-promoted.

Customers can collect points from a variety of other outlets.

Rewards, available through Tesco Freetime, include experiences delivered by a

range of other organizations/brands.

These co-branding strategies both build brand presence and create stronger fun and
pleasure connotations to the Tesco brand. Quarterly mailings of Clubcard reward coupons,
together with product coupons are also a significant but targeted and personalized
opportunity for Tesco to talk to their customers. After all, very few people will throw their
reward envelope in the bin as unopened junk mail when it contains reward coupons.
Career space
The business determines employment and advancement opportunities and experiences
in this space. Accordingly, pay, working experience, workplace values and priorities as
well as development and career opportunities shapes not only the lives of employees but
also the lives of their families. Consequently, they have a significant impact on the social
and economic lives of the community from which staff are drawn. Retailers as employers
have replaced the factories and mines of industrial society as major influences on the
community. As an employer in the UK, Tesco is second only to the NHS and was the UKs
largest private sector employer in mid-2007 (see www.tescocorporate.com). Tescos

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activities in these areas embrace careers and training, health and safety, inclusivity
(specifically people with disabilities and older people) and family friendly policies.
In Table III, the market spaces of superpoly are summarized. These seven market
spaces are not, however, independent. Strategies and actions that advance dominance
in one of the spaces often create synergies that allow expansion in other market spaces.
For example, strategies in the communication space are typically intended to build
brand community, thereby placing the business in a stronger position to make its voice
heard and to influence the community space and values in cultural space.
Building a presence in the consumption space through expansion of product
portfolios has potential to increase power in the commercial space by strengthening a
businesss competitive position relative to other businesses. A good example that is
specific to Tesco is their commitment to purchase from local suppliers (www.tesco.com/
talkingtesco/suppliers). By sourcing a significant proportion of fresh produce locally,
Tesco manages channel space by reducing distances from farm-to-store they also
affect the local economy and thereby manage their influence in the community space.
Responses to superpoly
Superpoly, like monopoly, is a result of business dominance in the marketplace. This
dominance is achieved through the management of presence in the seven market
spaces. As with monopoly, whether or not any specific business has achieved a level of
dominance that can be described as superpoly is open to debate. In each of the different
market spaces, there are both positives and negatives associated with one large
business holding a dominant position.
Positives are often embedded in the rhetoric of the business and are marshalled to
manage reputation and relationships in pursuit of business performance. Other
stakeholder groups, acting on behalf of the environment, communities, farmers or
planning authorities, typically argue negatives. Table IV illustrates the congruence
between issues and superpoly market spaces and shows how the seven spaces offer a
framework for ensuring that all dimensions of superpoly have been fully considered.
This reduces the danger of guerrilla skirmishes between powerful businesses and their
stakeholders, which resolve little and leave most fronts intact for further stand-offs at a
later stage.
Protestors, in particular, need to recognie that while they may seek to damage the
brand reputation, the business will recognize the threat and take defensive action to
protect their position. By engaging, they are providing the business with more
knowledge of their stakeholders, which can be leveraged by an effective superpoly to
its own advantage. Even though not all members of any community will agree with

Table III.
The seven market
spaces (7Cs) of
superpoly

Market space

Focus

Commercial
Channel
Consumption
Community
Cultural
Communication
Career

Competition with other businesses

Organizations in the supply chain
Consumption opportunities
Integration into community
Consumers values and identities
Reputation, image and messages
Employment and advancement opportunities of staff

Space

Pros for dominant business(es)

Commercial space

.
.

Channel space

.
.
.
.
.
.

Cons for dominant business(es)

Convenience
Customer has outlet/channel
choice
Consumers benefit from
competitive rivalry
Competitive pricing

Good quality products

Local sourcing
Innovation in the supply chain
Fresher product in store
Wide choice for consumers
Low prices

.
.

Consumption space

.
.
.

Convenience
Brand reliability
More competition drives prices
down and quality up

.
.

Community space

Cultural space

Communication space

.
.

.
.

Career space

Opportunity for customer

interaction in pleasant store
environment
Big stores bring more
shoppers to the area
Business investment in
infrastructure, such as roads,
bridges and disabled access
Adherence to planning
regulations
Sponsorship of community
activities.
Customisation of offer to
enhance value to customers
Enhanced service

Two way dialog

Relationship building and
loyalty
We listen to you
You can trust us
Job creation

Ever present brand dominating

towns and cites
Competing with both other large
chains and small independents
Change the face of commercial
spaces, such as shopping centre
Cartels of a few large players
Choice controlled by one set of
standards
Farmers businesses may fail due
to tight margins and need for
compliance to standards
Impose compliance
Buying power of business too
high, driving down prices paid to
suppliers
Late payment culture damaging
suppliers cash flow
Intensifies competition that may
weaken competitors and thereby
reduce choice
Impoverishes shopping experience
Businesses should stick to what
they are good at
Hijacks existing communities
Traffic pollution and congestion
through deliveries and customers
Insufficient consideration of
environmental impact
Acquisition of land for
development thereby blocking
alternative developments, and the
opening of competitor stores
Big business is able to exert
control over the planning process
Cynical and invasive
manipulation of peoples
behaviours as consumers that has
consequences not just for the
individual purchase, but for
consumption trends, and values
and identities
Communication space dominated
by resources and brand power of
big business. Customer and other
stakeholder groups lack a strong
platform and voice
Low-paid, low skills jobs with few
career progression and
development opportunities

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Table IV.
Market spaces: pros and
cons of market
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everything that an organization does, protestors are in danger of providing the brand
publicity and joining the brand community.
Discussion thus far has been concerned primarily with business and other
stakeholders in this context, a specific reference to consumers is required. While
many consumers may align themselves with the protestors and echo the negatives (for
example, the negative power of supermarkets), there is also a consumer voice (and
behaviour) that supports the large supermarkets. Some consumers are happy with
market dominance, if it delivers to them what they want or what they think they want.
Such consumers might argue thus:
If they are successful, we should be congratulating them and emulating them.
Curbing supermarkets to make them more in line with local shops. . .would be infringing on
consumer rights.
They are an essential part of todays society.
I would love to shop locally at independents, but I get home after 7pm and do not have time to
travel to the high street.
Tesco have built up a strong market position because customers choose to shop there (see
http://www.newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread)

In the light of the above discussion, a critical question emerges. Given that large
businesses operate in a variety of market spaces that influence our environment,
communities, consumption patterns and values, can members of society ever make
informed decisions about what they really want?
Conclusion
This paper defines superpoly as a development of the concept of monopoly to
accommodate market structures in networked, knowledge-intensive economies
characterized by a high underlying level of consumer choice. Such marketplaces are
divided into the seven interrelated market spaces of superpoly. This article suggests that
in todays complex marketplaces, dominant businesses seek to enhance market control
by gaining dominance in all seven spaces, thereby reducing the power and choice of
consumers and other stakeholders. The spaces, which have been defined and illustrated
in this article, are interrelated and the effective business will manage its strategies and
actions in these different spaces with high degrees of synergy. Ambitious businesses will
use all of the tools at their disposal to achieve a dominant position, and, in particular, this
means making effective and innovative use of communications media and technology,
information and knowledge tools and processes.
Superpoly emerges as a twenty-first century version of monopoly. While traditional
monopoly describes the competitive marketplace structure for products, superpoly
embraces other market spaces that encompass the businesses engagement with, and
management of consumption, cultures and communities. Superpoly can be viewed as
both an outcome of consumption and a driver, which is propelling society into new age
of consumption.
The framework proposed in by this paper concerning the different market spaces that
contribute to superpoly can be used by businesses as a checklist to assess their drive
forward to market dominance by making the aware of different market spaces and
negotiating their impact in these spaces. The framework can also be used by campaign
groups, individual consumers, citizens and policy makers to enhance awareness and to

ensure that their interactions with dominant businesses embrace a wider range of issues.
This is to move beyond the guerrilla tactics of individual issue campaigns. A more
transparent and shared understanding of the nature of different market spaces in the
marketplaces of the twenty-first century should benefit both businesses and consumers.
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Corresponding author
Jennifer Rowley can be contacted at: j.rowley@mmu.ac.uk

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