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. Sc., M. BIT.
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JUNE 2008
Declaration i
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
Acknowledgement ii
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 iii
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.
Abstract iv
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.