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Investigates various benefits and challenges that retail firms perceive in global sourcing, and how those benefits and challenges differ in terms of firms' demographic and managerial characteristics. Data were collected from 148 apparel retail firms. Three benefits factors (competitive advantage, quality assurance and service enhancement) and four challenge factors (logistics, regulations, cultural difference and country uncertainty) were identified. The types and levels of benefit factors a firm achieved from global sourcing were significantly different in terms of the product type and import volume. The challenge factors associated with global sourcing were also different in terms of the product type, percentage of imports, experience, and regions of sourcing. Information provided by this study expands our understanding of sourcing activities by apparel retailers which have significant presence in the global sourcing landscape in the USA.

An information intermediary is a human or a nonhuman party designed to assist consumers in information processing. The current study identifies factors determining the likelihood of using human information intermediaries and the effects of using information intermediaries on the amount and the pattern of overall information search. The proposed model is built based on a value‐intention framework and tested in the context of financial investment decisions. The results indicate that a low level of perceived expertise in financial management, a large amount of total financial assets, and a high opportunity cost of time enhance the perceived value of information intermediaries, thus increasing the likelihood of using information intermediaries. We also find that the use of information intermediaries is positively associated with the overall extent of information search and influences the likelihood of using other information sources.