BOOK PUBLISHING IN AUSTRALIA: THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF DIGITALTECHNOLOGIES ON BUSINESS MODELS A Thesis Submitted to RMIT University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Xuemei Tian B. JUNE 2008 Declaration I certify that this thesis contains no material, which has been accepted for the award of any other academic award in any institution, college or university, and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, in whole or in part, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. The content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program, and, any editorial work, carried out by a third party is acknowledged. Xuemei Tian ______________________ ______________________ Sign Date Declaration i Acknowledgement The person who coined the phrase “no pain, no gain” was obviously in the midst of a PhD research project when he made the observation.
Although the pursuit of a PhD is based on an individuals’ performance, the demands of the project ensure that there will always be a support team providing essential support and encouragement. During my time there have been many who fell into this category, giving both tangible and intangible assistance. Special thanks to my senior supervisor Professor Bill Martin. It is hard to find the words that can adequately describe the level of support, guidance and encouragement that he has provided.
His enthusiasm to see me succeed has been a constant source of inspiration. He provided the academic impetus which enabled my research to reach its conclusion. Amidst the challenges of supervising numerous students and semi-retirement status, he never failed to ensure that a constant stream of advice and guidance was never far away. Thanks are due also to my second supervisor, Associate Professor Hepu Deng for his support and input.
It would be remiss of me if I failed to give a special thank you to Peter Grof, the RMIT University School Liaison Librarian who provided outstanding support and advice to me in technical areas of the research. There were also many stakeholders within the Australian publishing industry who graciously allowed me access to their valuable time, providing me with invaluable insights into their industry. Their willingness to participate in the research was greatly appreciated. There are many others, both friends and family who have contributed, but to name them all is impossible - you know who you are.
I cannot thank you enough for your thoughts and support. Acknowledgement ii There have been many occasions of sacrifice where leisure pursuits have taken a back seat. My partner Geoff has borne the brunt of these, but has never wavered in his encouragement to see me complete the project. He was there when the tears flowed, when frustration boiled over and threats to quit loomed on the horizon.
He laughed with me in the good times and consoled me in the bad times. Surely this is what love is. Finally, I believe that above all else, you must have faith in your God as it is He that controls your destiny. I know that in the difficult times God never left my side and when necessary, carried me.
Psalms 121:1-2 says: I lift up my eyes to the hills Where does my help come from My help comes from the Lord The maker of heaven and earth. Acknowledgement iii Abstract This research presents findings from an Australian government-funded research project looking at the implications of digitisation for the book publishing industry in Australia. Although digitisation is to some extent synonymous with digital technologies and in fact, the impact of current and emerging digital technologies is clearly central to any such study, the major focus was on business and organisational dimensions, with particular emphasis on current and emerging stakeholders, competition, value propositions and business models, both current and potential. The publishing industry has always been linked inexorably to the dissemination of knowledge.
Publishing and associated printing activities relied on long-standing and proven old technologies to provide a definitive linear progression for the creation of content in print form, providing clear implications for business processes and relationships for the various stakeholders. The emergence and development of digital technology has the potential to provide significant opportunities for publishing in both print and electronic formats, and with advances in electronic commerce, offers the prospect of new value propositions and business models. New digital publishing formats encapsulate a range of characteristics including multiple option infrastructures, various content formats and viewing modes designed to suit customer requirements, editing processes and information updates on the server. These innovations all contribute to reductions in processing time with the speedy, efficient transmission of content resulting in economic benefits to relevant stakeholders.
However, it must be remembered that even the latest digital tools and applications can only be viewed as enabling mechanisms whose acceptance and implementation must align directly with the business strategy and objectives of organisations. Abstract iv This thesis employed both an interpretive research paradigm, using a mixed methodology design, and elements of the design science paradigm. The aim was not to develop theories, but to build business models. The reporting and analysis of results is based on data gathered from two online surveys, one of publishers and one of end users, and from 14 case studies of Australian book publishers.
The results indicate that Australian book publishers continue to take a pragmatic approach to technology adoption, governed by both current market conditions and the failure of earlier technologies to deliver the anticipated results. Although content management and CRM technologies are by now ubiquitous, the most influential technologies currently in use in publishing continue to be the Internet and the World Wide Web. Little explicit interest is currently being shown in such potentially disruptive technologies as for example, the Semantic Web, although evidence for its influence can already be detected, however, there is widespread appreciation of the wider dimension to digitisation and of its potential impacts on organisational structures and strategies. This includes renewed attention to issues of value, and of the potential benefits of providing enhanced customer value through digital content and delivery channels, their consequent implications for changes to value chains, and the emergence of new and transitional business models.
As regards the case studies, it is important to emphasise that what has been reported here are five detailed examples drawn from different categories of publishers. Although the resultant business models depicted can hardly be described as being representative of the Australian book publishing sector as a whole, the five categories covered represent a significant portion of the book publishing sector. Furthermore, whatever the category of publishing, or the target Abstract v markets, products and services concerned, it is clear that all book publishers must adhere to similar stages and processes in building supply and value chains, and in the design of business models. Moreover, as the influence of customers continues to gain momentum, this will undoubtedly impact upon choices in all these areas – from partnerships and delivery channels to formats and value propositions.
As an analysis of the case study data has shown, all 14 companies participating in this research project recognised the potential as well as the inevitability of digitisation, and had embraced the need for new value and supply chains. This research contributes to the literature both by reinforcing many of the arguments for trends in book publishing emerging from around the world, and by its uncovering of specific data on trends in book publishing in Australia and of the implications for value chains and business models. Abstract vi Table of Contents DECLARATION. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.
vii LIST OF FIGURES. xiv LIST OF TABLES. xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vxiii LIST OF PUBLICATIONS – BASED ON THIS THESIS.
xx CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.6 Limitations of the study .7 Structure of the thesis. 7 CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY 2.2 An overview of the publishing industry .3 A brief history of book publishing .4 The book publishing industry .2 Key stakeholders in the book publishing industry.5 Emerging changes in the book publishing industry .1 The globalisation of markets and publishing firms .2 Mergers and acquisitions .4 Consumer- demand shifts. 37 Table of Contents vii 2.2 Internal Forces - Actions of top management.7 Book publishing supply and value chains, and value networks.1 Book publishing supply chains .2 Supply chains in digital publishing .3 Value networks in the digital age. 79 CHAPTER 3 BUSINESS MODELS 3.2 Overview of business models and e-Business models .3 Key components of business models .1 Product-Actor and Network-Centric business model frameworks.2 Marketing-specific business model frameworks.4 Business models, business modelling and strategy.3 The importance of business models .1 Use of business models .2 Business models and change .3 Testing and evaluating business models .4 Business models in the publishing industry.5 Business model in digital publishing.112 CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4.2 Overview of methodology and its selection processes.3 The philosophical perspectives of the research.1 Nature of the research.117 Table of Contents viii 4.1 The positivist paradigm.2 The interpretive paradigm .3 The critical realism paradigm.4 The design science paradigm .4 Rationale for selecting the research methodology .1 The core research methodologies.2 The use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in interpretive research.5 The methodological approach of this thesis.1 Purpose of research – descriptive and exploratory .2 Philosophical orientation – interpretive and design science.3 Methodology – A mixed approach.4 Research strategy model – Concurrent nested strategy.142 CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH DESIGN 5.2 Overview of data collection methods .2 Data collection methods for quantitative research.3 Data collection methods for qualitative research.2 Ethnographic and phenomenological studies.3 Data collection, management and analysis methods in this thesis.3 Data collection methods – Surveys .1 Survey design and data collection .3 Data encoding for the results of both surveys .4 Descriptive analysis of responses to the end user survey .5 Statistical analysis for the end user survey .4 Data collection methods – Case study.1 Case study design .2 Selection and description of cases and participants .3 Selection and description of survey populations .5 Reliability and validity .165 Table of Contents ix 5.6 Case study quality control .168 CHAPTER 6 KEY FINDINGS FROM TWO ONLINE SURVEYS 6.2 Surveys responses, reliability and validity .1 Responses from the survey of publishers .2 Responses from the survey of end users .3 Survey Reliability and Validity .3 General book publishing trends .4 Current possession of critical success factors.4 Markets, supply chains and value chains.2 Supply chain issues .3 Value chain changes.5 Digitisation and business models .1 Anticipated benefits of digitisation .2 Critical success factors for digital business models.3 Current business models.6 Expectations of the Future .1 Areas where digitisation was expected to have most impact .2 Organisational changes anticipated.7 End user behaviour .1 Access to and use of digital technologies and electronic resources.2 Factors influencing use of digital technologies and online resources183 6.3 Expectations for the future .8 Summary of the findings .207 CHAPTER 7 CASE STUDIES: BOOK PUBLISHERS IN AUSTRALIA 7.2 The case study companies and quality control in case studies .3 Background, general position and trends.1 Current position of the Australian book publishing sector.2 Key trends in the Australian book publishing sector .4 Position of general trade publishers .2 Products, services and value propositions .4 Corporate information technology management .225 Table of Contents x 7.8 Value chains and business models .9 Risks, opportunities and the future.5 Position of educational publishers.2 Products, services and value propositions .4 Corporate information technology management .8 Value chains and business models .9 Risks, opportunities and the future.6 Position of professional publishers.2 Products, services and value propositions .4 Corporate information technology management .8 Value chains and business models .9 Risks, opportunities and the future.7 Position of specialist publishers .2 Products, services and value propositions .4 Corporate information technology management .8 Value chains and business models .9 Risks, opportunities and the future.8 Position of university presses.2 Products, services and value propositions .4 Corporate information technology management .
