Cournot Competition, Contestability, and Hit-and-Run Entry and Exit in a Teaching Experiment

We describe a computerized experiment which can be used to introduce students to imperfect competition in courses on Introductory Economics, Industrial Organization, and Strategy & Management. In addition to introducing students to strategic thinking in general, the experiment serves to demonstrate that firm profits fall as the number of competitors is increased in a market, and that firms enter profitable markets. The authors have used the experiment in undergraduate classes on strategy and management as well as in MBA courses with great success