Translation is often perceived by the general public to be a seamless and relatively straightforward enterprise, a view conflated in part by the ubiquity of free and, now, relatively functional machine translation tools. However, the translation industry involves myriad complex and inter-related processes and agents each playing a role in shaping the ways in which translations are procured, produced and, ultimately, received and used.
The field of information economics can bring to light novel reflections on these processes and the agents involved. As a subfield of economics, information economics examines the ways in which the circulation of information influences economic decision-making, prices, and behaviour. While concepts such as signalling, information asymmetry and moral hazard, have been touched on in Translation Studies (see, for instance, Chan 2008, 2009; Abdallah 2010; Pym et al. 2012; Pym, Orrego-Carmona and Torres-Simón 2016), my current research looks to draw on additional elements of the conceptual toolkit provided by agency theory (Eisenhardt 1989, inter alia) to understand better the factors that influence the ways in which translation services are procured and provided.
This talk will tease out the relevance of a number of valuable concepts from the so-called principal-agent problem and a subsequent development of this theory, referred to as the principal-professional problem. It will address antecedents – information asymmetry, goals incompatibility, bounded rationality – and the resulting problems of adverse selection and performance ambiguity and how these manifest themselves in the context of translation service procurement.
It will also address the impact of extant and emergent developments specific to the translation industry, such as growing automation and disruptive technology, translation platforms and the Uberisation of vendor recruitment (see Fırat 2021), differences between ‘boutique LSPs’ and ‘super-LSPs’, and the persistent problems of professional status and remuneration (see Lambert and Walker 2022). The examples will discuss the potential effects of information differentials in translation procurement on key project constraints such as cost, time, quality, and risk. The talk will close with a number of insights into the direction of this on-going research, as well as questions for further research. [Go to the full record in the library's catalogue]
This video is presented here with the permission of the speakers.
Any downloading, storage, reproduction, and redistribution are strictly prohibited
without the prior permission of the respective speakers.
Go to Full Disclaimer.
Full Disclaimer
This video is archived and disseminated for educational purposes only. It is presented here with the permission of the speakers, who have mandated the means of dissemination.
Statements of fact and opinions expressed are those of the inditextual participants. The HKBU and its Library assume no responsibility for the accuracy, validity, or completeness of the information presented.
Any downloading, storage, reproduction, and redistribution, in part or in whole, are strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the respective speakers. Please strictly observe the copyright law.
