Digitisation of publishing: Exploration based on existing business models

Like other creative industries, the book publishing industry is currently experiencing a shift from analogue to digital technologies and formats. This shift challenges existing business models and impels firms to re-examine their product portfolios and core competencies. Through a qualitative case study of the three largest publishing houses in Norway, Aschehoug, Cappelen Damm and Gyldendal, this paper investigates how digitisation affects business models in the book publishing industry. The paper argues that the publishing houses are two-faced in meeting new digital technologies. The industry has come relatively far in developing industry standards and joint distribution systems. However, the functionality and user experience of digital products is still poor, prices are still high, and the share of Norwegian language digital titles is low. In addition, knowledge acquisition from consumers and lead users are suboptimal. Due to divergence in goals, formats and markets, there is a lack of a common dominant design for digital publishing. This represents a substantial uncertainty for the publishers, who are moving step-by-step into the new digital era and whose exploration of new market opportunities and alternative business models remains anchored in traditional and analogue business models. The paper also discusses how current institutions contribute to preserve the analogue publishing regime.