Table 1. Types of marketing... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

Types of marketing intermediaries: four distinct types

Marketing intermediaries	Definition
Surrogate consumer	“As an agent retained by a consumer to guide, direct, and/or transact marketplace activities.” (Solomon, 1986, p. 208) “These experts perform various activities on behalf of their clients such as collecting and filtering product-related information, determining the consideration set, weighing alternatives, making recommendations customized to the client’s needs and desires, and conducting transactions on behalf of clients.” (Aggarwal, Cha, & Wilemon, 1998, p. 243) “As agents employed by a consumer or a retail firm to identify a need, access product information, evaluate alternatives, and/or make purchases on behalf of the consumer” (Forsythe et al., 1990, p. 447)
Opinion leaders	“Opinion leaders influence the adoption process by acting as social role models whose innovative behavior is imitated by others.” (Aggarwal, 1997, p. 393) “An opinion leader is a person who is frequently able to influence others’ attitudes or behaviours.” (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard, & Hogg, 2006, p. 374)
Expert sources	“Is a source as the possession of domain‐specific knowledge that is acquired through experience or training and that leads to superior, reproducible performance in domain‐related tasks.” (Larrick & Feiler, 2015, p. 697) “Expert is a person who is experienced at making predictions in a domain and has some professional or social credentials.” (Camerer & Johnson, 1991, p. 196)
Supplier-affiliated	“Individuals or businesses who create or do not dispel the impression that they are acting on behalf of the consumer, despite their legal representation of the seller.” (Hollander & Rassuli, 1999, p. 104)

Marketing intermediaries	Definition
Surrogate consumer	“As an agent retained by a consumer to guide, direct, and/or transact marketplace activities.” (Solomon, 1986, p. 208) “These experts perform various activities on behalf of their clients such as collecting and filtering product-related information, determining the consideration set, weighing alternatives, making recommendations customized to the client’s needs and desires, and conducting transactions on behalf of clients.” (Aggarwal, Cha, & Wilemon, 1998, p. 243) “As agents employed by a consumer or a retail firm to identify a need, access product information, evaluate alternatives, and/or make purchases on behalf of the consumer” (Forsythe et al., 1990, p. 447)
Opinion leaders	“Opinion leaders influence the adoption process by acting as social role models whose innovative behavior is imitated by others.” (Aggarwal, 1997, p. 393) “An opinion leader is a person who is frequently able to influence others’ attitudes or behaviours.” (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard, & Hogg, 2006, p. 374)
Expert sources	“Is a source as the possession of domain‐specific knowledge that is acquired through experience or training and that leads to superior, reproducible performance in domain‐related tasks.” (Larrick & Feiler, 2015, p. 697) “Expert is a person who is experienced at making predictions in a domain and has some professional or social credentials.” (Camerer & Johnson, 1991, p. 196)
Supplier-affiliated	“Individuals or businesses who create or do not dispel the impression that they are acting on behalf of the consumer, despite their legal representation of the seller.” (Hollander & Rassuli, 1999, p. 104)

Source(s): Table by the authors