4.1.4 (HL)—Market leadership

A market leader has the largest share or a clearly leading position under a stated measure. Leadership can create visibility, scale or bargaining power, but it must be defended.

Leaders may lower unit costs through scale and influence standards, yet attract competitors, face regulation and carry expectations for innovation and service.

Define the leadership measure, identify the source of advantage and test whether it is durable.

A streaming platform leads subscriber numbers but a rival leads premium revenue; “leader” depends on the chosen measure.

Market leader does not mean monopoly or best in every segment; state the metric and boundary.