Re-intermediation in the Fashion Industry: A Qualitative Study on Brokers in the Dongdae-mun Fashion District

Kim, Min-Joon; Na, Nuri; Lee, Joong-Seek

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/98871 Copy

Description

Title

Re-intermediation in the Fashion Industry: A Qualitative Study on Brokers in the Dongdae-mun Fashion District

Author(s)

• Kim, Min-Joon
• Na, Nuri
• Lee, Joong-Seek

Issue Date

2017

Keyword(s)

• Intermediary
• Infomediary
• Human agent
• Re-intermediary
• Human Factors in information

Abstract

Traditionally, middlemen had a large role in physical markets, serving as intermediaries by evaluating and distributing products. However, the rise of online markets and intermediaries have diminished their roles. This study investigates the change of intermediaries' roles in the presence of infomediaries, and the conditions that necessitate the re-introduction of the middlemen as ``re-intermediaries''. We observed a group of brokers who work in the Dongdae-mun (DDM) fashion district in Seoul, Korea through multiple qualitative research methods including observations, contextual inquiries, and in-depth interviews. Our findings show that the reliability and depth of information relayed by human sources, along with the subjective nature of fashion have contributed to the brokers playing a major role again, despite infomediaries. The DDM fashion district relies heavily on the brokers' evaluations on trends, fashion, and product popularity, in addition to their traditional role of distributing goods in a quick manner.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

iConference 2017 Proceedings Vol. 2

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98871

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2017 is held by the authors.

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