Intermediary
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2014) |
Anintermediary,also known as amiddlemanorgo-between,is defined differently by context. Inlawordiplomacy,an intermediary is athird partythat offersintermediationservices between two parties. Intradeorbarter,an intermediary acts as a conduit for goods or services offered by a supplier to a consumer, which may includewholesalers,resellers,brokers,and various other services.
Diplomacy[edit]
In diplomacy andinternational relations,an intermediary may convey messages between principals in a dispute, allowing the avoidance of direct principal-to-principal contact.[1]Where the two parties are geographically distant, the process may be termedshuttle diplomacy.Where parties do not want formal diplomatic relations, an intermediary state may serve as aprotecting powerfacilitatingdiplomacywithoutdiplomatic recognition.[citation needed]
Law[edit]
In law, the job of an intermediary involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law, intermediaries can facilitate communication between a vulnerablewitness,defendantand court personnel to acquire valuable evidence. Intermediaries can facilitate communication between a vulnerablewitnessordefendantand court personnel to acquire valuable evidence and to ensure all parties have a fair trial.[citation needed]
Trade and barter[edit]
In trade, an intermediary middleman acts as a conduit for goods or services offered by a supplier to a consumer. Typically the intermediary offers someadded valueto the transaction that may not be possible by direct trading. Examples of intermediaries arewholesalersandresellers.[citation needed]
Common usage includes theinsuranceandfinancial servicesindustries where e.g.mortgage brokers,insurance brokers,andfinancial advisersoffer intermediation services in the supply of financial products such asmortgage loans,insurance, and investment products. In relation toenergy supplies,third party intermediaries provide energy-related advice, assistance in purchasing energy and management of energy needs.[2]
Inbarter,the intermediary is a person or group who stores valuables in trade until they are needed, parties to the barter or others have space available to take delivery of them and store them, or until other conditions are met. In a larger sense, an intermediary can be a person or organization who or which facilitates a contract between two other parties. Theinternetis creating opportunities to automate the role of an intermediary in many industries.[3]
Trading intermediaries can be classified as merchant intermediaries or as accountant intermediaries. Bailey and Bakos (1997) analyzed a number of case studies and identified four roles of electronic intermediaries including information aggregating, providing trust, facilitating and matching.[4][5]
See also[edit]
- Disintermediation
- Innovation intermediary
- Internet intermediary
- Non-Registered Intermediary
- Registered Intermediary
- Retail
References[edit]
- ^"Intermediary" definedat theCambridge Business English Dictionary.
- ^Ofgem,Third Party Intermediaries: what your small business needs to know,published May 2015, accessed 25 January 2021
- ^"The Best Online Sites for Bartering".HowStuffWorks.2011-12-06.Retrieved2020-01-21.
- ^Bailey, J. P., & Bakos, J. Y. (1997). An Exploratory Study of the Emerging Role of Electronic Intermediariations and Policy, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1(3), pp.7-20.
- ^[dead link]BaileyBakos99.pdfArchived2015-09-24 at theWayback Machine(Spring 2000) fromUniversity of California, Berkeley.