British journal pricing: Enigma variations, or what will the U.S. market bear?

Abstract

Dissatisfied with the usual explanations British publishers have offered for the large price differentials between their U.K. and U.S. customers-explanations such as increased distribution costs and currency fluctuations—the author examined 108 journals published by seven major British publishers. He compared their U.K. and U.S. prices and price differentials against four “value indicators”: local use, citation frequency, a listing in Katz's Magazines for Libraries, and OCLC holding libraries. He has found that high prices and high price differentials correlate with high indicators of use/value. He concludes that the data suggest that British publishers are pricing their journals in the U.S. market according to what that market is apparently willing to bear. He further suggests that the challenge for libraries arising from this pricing strategy is to identify on-going mechanisms for measuring value against price, in order to ensure that the price any publisher demands for a title corresponds to the value delivered.