The Change of Middlemen in E-Business Age

摘要

The middlemen play an important role in market when the transaction cost is low, but they are ignored by standard literature because of its improper basic model. Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) can change this situation. But TCE neglects the effect of technology on reducing transaction costs. E-business based on Information Technology can cut down transaction costs, so the popular view is that direct trade between buyers and producers will replace middlemen. In this article, we think that the middleman will still stay in the market and even play more roles in E-business age than before.