Access to a market by a new supplier. An entrant may be a new firm, or a firm which has previously been active in other markets. It is possible to enter a new market from scratch, but many firms seeking to broaden their activities by entry to new markets do this by buying up a firm which already has market contacts. Barriers to entry are factors making entry difficult. Entry is likely to be both most attractive and least subject to restrictions when a market is profitable and growing rapidly. See also free entry; hit-and-run entry; innocent entry barriers; strategic entry deterrence.