Confusopoly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scott Adams introduced the word confusopoly in his book The Dilbert Future. The word is a combination of confusion and monopoly (or rather oligopoly) and Adams defines it as "a group of companies with similar products who intentionally confuse customers instead of competing on price".
Examples of industries in which confusopolies exist (according to Adams) include telephone service, insurance, mortgage loans, banking, and financial services.
Why a Confusopoly could exist in a Market Economy
Companies allow or encourage these conditions because by making something confusing, market forces are less likely to affect them. New players will have greater obstacles to overcome in order to penetrate the market. Established players have to do less work to remain "competitive." In short: the more you can make something indecipherable to your customers, the more you can obfuscate the real product, the more you can confuse and make it harder to directly compare, the harder it is to compete against you.
