TAKE IT OR LEAVE: AGILE/NOVELTY BUSINESS MODELS AND VALUE ADDITION IN THE PUBLISHING SECTOR AND FORCES IMPACTING ON THESE MODELS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Despite many predictions about the possible extinction of the book and publishing industry, literary reading is on the increase just like reading on mobile devices is (Rainie, L., Zickuhr, K., Purcell, K., Madden, M. & Brenner, J. (2012). Globally, the publishing industry is estimated to contribute more than 80 billion Euros. This means- of all creative industries-the publishing industry is the second largest after television as reported by Publishing Perspectives (2016). Moreover, in the UK, it holds the first position as it contributes well over 4.4 billion GBP to the UK economy according to the Publishers Association (2016). Commenting, The Publishers Association Chief Executive, Stephen Lotinga, said:These figures show that the UK publishing industry continues to go from strength to strength and the UK's love for print is far from over. While digital continues to be an incredibly important part of the industry, Lotinga argues that it would appear there remains a special place in the consumer's heart for the aesthetic pleasure that printed books can bring.Ironically, with all these successes around, the publishing industry finds itself in a hard environment that is essentially different from the one it had previously survived, and this an environmental is enormously threatening its survival (Hanna, 2010; Cope, B and Phillips, A (2006).THE THREATS AND THE SIEGE:Recently, publishers have experienced enormous pressure particularly due to the increased numbers of innovative players (The Guardian, 2016). More similarly so, declining print sales, at the dawn of the global economic meltdown, which was once described as worse than the September, 9/11, according to Thompson (2010), corroborates such threats. Importantly, the disruptive influences of the internet, resultant reader expectations and the desire for free, affordable and accessible content have likewise brought enormous fears among publishers and booksellers (Faherty, 2014; Shelstad 2011). Because of these fears, traditional publishers have relentlessly fought Amazon- simply for utilising disruptive selling models such as those that have seen eBooks being sold at less than an USD (Jones, 2008). Moreover, these days, a week cannot pass without the media prophesying the extinction of the antediluvian publishers and the book as (Adams, 2012; Charman-Anderson, 2012 & Morrison, 2011) observes. Relative to this, new media scholar Clay Shirky considers publishing not as a job but rather a push button (Curtis, 2012). One thing that must be borne at the back of our minds is that threats to the publishing industry and the book are not necessarily new and inimitable. Well-known publishers have struggled for so many decades due to dwindling sales, pricy authors, poor supply chains and curious business models as (Lichtenberg, 2010) reports. Nevertheless, the rapidity of the recent changes has significantly taken the entire publishing industry by surprise so much so that the whole ecosystem has been shaken up (Cope, B. and Phillips, A. 2006; Mussinelli, 2011). This is the reason many organisations are now debating on what it now means to be a successful publisher in this era (Faherty, 2013). Likewise, Mussinelli (2011) have described the events in the contemporary publishing terrain as a discontinuity; while others have appropriated the weather-beaten analogy of the perfect storm (Shore, 2012). Central to the debates regarding the future of publishing, many business models are now accused of being broken as (Thompson, 2010; Tew, 2011; Greco, Rodriguez & Wharton, 2006) assert. While many traditional publishers passively waited for the coming of the Messianic business model in order for them to establish eBook markets, the business models of the start-ups are those that seemed captivating (Bennett, 2010; Osterwalder, 2010 Shelstad, 2011; Guirey, T., Horne, A., Skinner, B., & Spicer, M. (2012). This scenario may not be surprising considering that most publishers have relied on business models where the consumer buys the book once and for all and it ends there. …