Disintermediation

Disintermediation is a buzzword in the field of economics, which generally describes the loss of individual stages of the value chain. Disintermediation describes a loss of importance of intermediaries ( brokers between different actors ) in an economic system.

Disintermediation in the information market

The possibility of direct communication of market participants by means of the Internet in the Information Society promotes disintermediation digitizable and not digitized goods in the global information market. This includes, for example, the direct sales of information goods such as movies, music, books, newspapers, magazines, computer and video games through electronic market systems such as eBay or Amazon. To disintermediation and the dissolution of classifieds, jobs, real estate ads from the newspaper medium is one way to focus on online information platforms such as Craigslist, Monster Worldwide or Zillow.

Disintermediation in the financial sector

Especially in finance is the term application. He represents a relative loss of importance of financial intermediaries in a financial system ( banks ( financial intermediaries ) as a mediator between subjects with capital requirements and capital surplus ) in favor of the increasing importance of the capital market.

The discussion of the occurrence of disintermediation is particularly in relation rather than on the market for structured finance products where the risk is seen by the increasing use of such financial products (eg financing through the issue of so-called asset -backed securities ) directly subjects with capital requirements, the intermediation function of banks is off and these are either not or only as a service provider such as 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 conjunction with value chains then it is called disintermediation, if some node ( agent ) of this chain omitted - for example, the elimination of intermediaries ( wholesale, retail and discount stores ) through direct sales.

Disintermediation in media theory

The German literary and media theorist Roberto Simanowski (* 1963) applies the concept of disintermediation also on the Internet. He thus describes the cessation of nodes in the network, the advent of the great hubbub.

The Scriptures allow a public discourse about things that are waiting by their fixation repeatedly to counter-arguments. Texts respond to texts. In order to counteract this hubbub but something or to separate the important from the less important messages have, evolved over time, a so-called " police of discourse ". Editors, publishers, editors formed a barrier between the text and the public, a filter Foucault as a " shortage of speaking subjects" criticized. There is, in a democracy always places where texts that have been rejected by others, can be published, but must also be a barrier exceeded. The place that had been established in the 90s and at first glance abandons any barriers of the publication, the Internet. A virtual space was created, to which, if he can afford it, almost everyone has access. This is called Simanowski disintermediation, ie Polizeilosigkeit, which anyone can publish texts with Internet access.

With disintermediation Simanowksi describes the loss of middlemen, which means that information going to the public, no assessment is carried out. So the reader is facing an oversupply of good or less good text and information, and must decide what is useful and what is not itself.

Re-intermediation

Re-intermediation is another buzzword that in contrast to the complete elimination describes only a displacement of individual stages of the value chain. Reintermediation describes a re-introduction of middlemen and thus a shift in the role of mediator in the value chain to another, the new carrier.