Investigating Marketplace Accessibility Through A Service Provider Lens

Abstract

Marketplace accessibility refers to the creation, maintenance, and experience of a barrier-free market environment for disabled consumers’ independent market participation. So far, extant research focused on capturing the experiences of disabled customers and their coping strategies. Yet, research on understanding the service provider view is limited. In this study, we address this gap through an ethnographic study of museums and their access programs for visually impaired visitors. By analyzing our findings through a post-human lens, we uncover that service providers facilitate three forms of access: autonomous, embodied, and social. Autonomous access refers to facilitating an independent marketplace experience at the customers’ own discretion. Embodied access refers to providing a safe market environment that allows customers to engage in multi-sensory experiences. Social access enables building and creating a sense of belonging in the marketplace. We further identify, inclusionary challenges that service providers employ to overcome challenges of exclusion inherent in each form of access