Understanding slow Internet adoption: 'infomediation' in ship-broking markets

Debate on the impact of the Internet on socioeconomic and business environm ents has been dominated by technological determinist perspectives, narrowin g the range of discourse around the implications of these new technologies. One important and neglected dimension is the impact on market relationship s. Technological determinism suggests that the transactional efficiencies a ssociated with the new medium should have a major impact on market structur es. If that argument is correct, the case should be stronger in broking mar kets where information exchange, information mediation and communication fl ows are paramount. However, an examination of various broking markets revea ls significant differences in the implications of this technological innova tion. Drawing upon participant observation research conducted in 1998-99 in the shipbroking market, the paper explores the limitations of the technolo gical determinist perspective and puts forward a model to explore the chang ing nature and dynamics of market relationships generated by information fl ows via the Internet. Application of the model helps to locate the reasons for slow adoption of the Internet in ship-broking markets.