Disintermediation
Disintermediation is a concept from the field of economics that generally describes the elimination of individual stages in the value chain . Disintermediation describes a loss of importance of intermediaries (mediators between different actors) in an economic system .
Disintermediation in the information market
The possibility of direct communication between market participants via the Internet in the information society promotes the disintermediation of digitizable and non-digitizable goods in the global information market . This includes, for example, the direct sale of information goods such as films, music, books, newspapers, magazines, computer and video games via electronic market systems such as eBay or Amazon . Disintermediation also includes the removal of classified ads , job advertisements and real estate advertisements from the newspaper medium, to the concentration on online information platforms such as Craigslist , Monster Worldwide or Zillow .
Disintermediation in finance
The term is particularly used in finance . There he describes a relative loss of importance of financial intermediaries in a financial system as intermediaries between economic subjects with capital needs and capital surplus in favor of the increasing importance of the money and capital markets .
The discussion about the occurrence of disintermediation takes place in particular with regard to the market for structured financial products , in which the risk is seen that the increasing use of such financial products (e.g. financing via the issue of so-called asset-backed securities ) directly The intermediary function of banks is switched off by subjects with capital requirements and these either not at all or only as a service provider e.g. B. are involved in the issue of securities .
The term is used in the discussion with different nuances. Whether and in what form disintermediation actually takes place is controversial.
Disintermediation in other areas
In connection with value chains, one speaks of disintermediation when some nodes (intermediaries) in this chain cease to exist - for example the elimination of intermediaries (wholesale, retail and discounters) through direct sales.
Disintermediation in Media Theory
The German literary and media scholar Roberto Simanowski (* 1963) also applies the term disintermediation to the Internet. He describes the loss of nodes in the network, the emergence of the great confusion of voices.
Scripture allows a public discourse about things that, because of their fixation, are always waiting for counter-arguments. Texts answer texts. However, in order to be able to counter this tangle of voices or to separate the important reports from the less important ones, a so-called “police of discourse” has developed over time. Lecturers, publishers, and editors created a barrier between text and the public, a filter that Foucault criticized as a “shortage of speaking subjects”. In a democracy there are always places where texts that have been rejected by others can be published, but here too a barrier has to be crossed. The place that established itself in the 90s and at first glance gives up any barriers to publication is the Internet. A virtual space was created to which, if they can afford it, almost everyone has access. Simanowski calls this disintermediation, which means that anyone with internet access can publish texts.
Simanowski uses disintermediation to describe the loss of the middlemen, which means that information that goes public is not subjected to any scrutiny. The reader is faced with an oversupply of good to less good texts and information and has to decide for himself what is useful and what is not.
Re-intermediation
Reintermediation is another catchphrase that, in contrast to being completely eliminated, only describes a shift in individual stages in the value chain. Reintermediation describes the reintroduction of middlemen and thus a shift in the role of intermediary within the value chain to another, new agency.
Hyperintermediation
The Belarusian media scientist Evgeny Morozov , who works in the USA, brought the concept of hyperintermedation into play. This describes the fact that the elimination of classic intermediaries in the media sector, i.e. the traditional gatekeepers , does not lead to the disappearance of all filter and control bodies in digital communication, but instead new and possibly much stronger filter bodies come into effect. These include, for example, the algorithms of the major search engines or the filter operations of social media platforms: "It's the proliferation — not elimination — of intermediaries that has made blogging so widespread. The right term here is 'hyperintermediation', not 'disintermediation'".
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Evgeny Morozov: How Big Data and Spam Bots Threaten Online Discussion. October 26, 2012, accessed December 7, 2019 .