Open AccessThe “Consumption Junction” of ICT in Emerging Markets: An Ethnography of Middlemen
Author(s) -
OREGLIA ELISA,
KITNER KATHI R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ethnographic praxis in industry conference proceedings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1559-8918
pISSN - 1559-890X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-8918.2013.00016.x
Subject(s) - china , information and communications technology , consumption (sociology) , mobile phone , ethnography , business , phone , distribution (mathematics) , advertising , marketing , limit (mathematics) , commerce , telecommunications , sociology , geography , computer science , social science , world wide web , linguistics , philosophy , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , anthropology
In rural China and India, a fragmented commercial distribution system and the lack of online shopping can significantly limit the range of consumer choice. In this paper, we look at the role that mobile phone shopkeepers—the middlemen—play in influencing what users can and will buy, but also in training them in using and understanding technology.