reached when firms proceed by calculating only their own gains without
cooperating with other firms is called a non-cooperative outcome.
The behaviour of firms in an oligopoly is complex. As in other market
structures, it is necessary to think about how individual firm behaviour
affects the overall market outcome. Unlike other market structures,
however, in oligopoly each firm typically thinks about how the other
firms in the industry will react to its own decisions. Then, of course, the
other firms may respond to what the first firm does, and so on. This
behaviour resembles a game of strategy. Economists use game theory
better understand how these firms behave.