A market structure comprises a number of interrelated features or characteristics of a market.
These features include number of buyers and sellers in the market, level and type of competition, degree of differentiation in products, and entry and exit of organizations from the market.
Among all these features, competition is the main characteristic of a market. It acts as a guide for organizations to react and take decisions in a particular situation. Therefore, market structures can be classified on the basis of degree of competition in a market.