Introduction In capitalist economies, markets are dominant institutions. The modern capitalism is the consequence of expansion of markets as frameworks for the production and allocation of commodities. The question whether to engender market economies with societies elicits a heated sociological debate among early economic sociologists such as Max Weber and Swedberg. Structuring a market requires one to look into the forms of interactions involving buyers and sellers. Markets vary in terms of regulatory frameworks. Some are open while others are not necessarily open to all actors. All in all, there is a philosophical understanding that markets are rooted in the essentially competitive and exchange nature of political, cultural, and socioeconomic factors. Markets are social structures that continually expand over time to accommodate more actors and commodities. The relationships extend geographically. A growing body of scholarly work presents divergent discussions on the description of a market. While some portray the market as a free arena where buyers and sellers are unrestricted to acquire the goods and services they require, Max Weber presents a different perspective of the same concept. The crucial element of a market is seen as the exchange of products and services among actors who have conflicting interests and abilities. Max Weber posits that the expansion of markets occurs at the same time with the limitations in its openness particularly for manufacturers and vendors as against workers and consumers. This paper examines the perception and conceptualisation of Max Weber on markets. Social and Economic Basis of Markets In his work of Economy and Society, Max Weber dedicates a brief section to the concept of markets. According to Max Weber (1978), a market exists where competition prevails for opportunities of exchange among prospective actors, who can be said to be pluralistic in nature. Max Weber identifies two principal components of a market namely the economic aspect of exchange and social action of competition (Swedberg & Weber 1998). Many researchers reveal that social market economies form the framework for free and open societies. This aspect brings about solidarity in the market. However, economic systems greatly influence the prosperity of this underpinning to promote an even-handed social setting. Markets that are guided by social equality bring about fair competition amongst buyers and sellers. Nonetheless, Gane (2012) reveals that such markets should be controlled to prevent some players from exercising dominance. In this manner, the applied market strategies should promote the development of new products to motivate suppliers while creating a wide range of choices for consumers. A market presents buyers involved in competition with equal opportunities to buy commodities regardless of their status quos. On the other hand, sellers engage in rivalry against each other as they determine their suitability to selling such commodities (Tribe 2012; Gane & Kalberg 2013). In this regard, Weber posits that the exchange of goods and services in the market takes place between the buyers willing to offer the highest prices to sellers who can gi