CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT

Corporate Environment



Corporate Environment

Introduction

In their lucid look at the book publishing industry, Coser et al. (2002, p. 3) noted that “Ideas are the brain children of individuals; but books, in which ideas are given concrete shape so as to be conveyed to their intended audience, are the products of the collective work of members of publishing firms that specialize in the production and distribution of books”. However, they also observed that “in an age of electronic media, book publishing no longer occupies the pre-eminent cultural position it enjoyed until the Second World War”. However, in the years since Coser et al. wrote their book, the book publishing industry has continued to thrive. It is observe that its economic growth has been impressive over the last 30 years, even during periods of general economic downturn. In the USA, the greatest growth periods, in terms of book title output, were the 1960s and 1970s. Title output grew from 25,784 in 1963 to 53,380 in 1983. It reached a peak in 1987, culminating with 56,027 titles. The three consecutive years saw a decline in the figures, bottoming out in 2000, when total output was only 46,743. In recent years, title output has been hovering at about 49,000.

In terms of dollar sales, the growth was even more spectacular. Revenue escalated sharply from $1.68 billion in 1963 to $3.2 billion by 2003, and was worth $8.6 billion in 1983. Between 1983 and 1991, it almost doubled, to $16.1 billion (Baker, 2004a; Ink, 2004). The growth rate was approximately 6.6 per cent in 2003, but is projected to have only a 4.3 per cent sales increase to $18.16 billion in 2004. It is difficult to generalize about book publishing industry, due to its striking heterogeneity. Its various sectors are significantly different from one another. Each branch operates in a distinctive environment, faced with unique challenges and criteria for success. Yet, it is a common fallacy to think about publishing in terms of popular trade books. As Table I shows, dollar sales of trade books are actually eclipsed by those of college textbooks and professional reference works combined. Despite its remarkable growth, little research has been carried out on the industry. Except for a few books describing the industry in broad, general terms, little academic research has been conducted on it. This could attributed to the fact that book publishing is a less glamorous industry compared to others such as automobiles and computers. In addition, the integrity of the book as It is know it has not changed much over the past five centuries. It is a ubiquitous and unobtrusive item; printed words on pieces of paper bound together between two covers. The lack of research on book publishing is frustrating and puzzling as it is a unique industry with many singular characteristics that make for interesting study. For example, no other consumer industry produces 50,000 different, relatively affordable products each year; each with its own personality, requiring individual recognition in the ...