The Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) model, which has been supported by
extensive academic research, asserts that the performance of individual firms is
determined wholly by the conduct of participants in that industry (including themselves),
and that conduct is largely (but not completely) determined by industry structure,
conduct and performance over time. Feedback loops signify the impact that
performance will ultimately have on conduct ad structure (and thus in turn on
performance again), and the impact that industry conduct has on structure. It also
hypothesizes that external shocks, such as changes in technology or government
regulation, alter industry structure, and in turn conduct and performance, over time.