10/01/2019

Ramifications of the Downward Pressure on Pricing

How business models associate with scholarly communications

I have been thinking a lot about downward pressure of pricing for scholarly publications.

The costs associated with publishing content in a professional way is part and parcel to the discussions on which business models should be associated with scholarly communications. Leaving behind the silly arguments about what is an acceptable profit margin or surplus, and who decides what kinds of activities one is allowed to do with those surpluses, I want to explore a bit about what I see as “publisher added value,” look at some numbers that are complicating the issues, and imagine a future world in which these services or activities cease to exist as we collectively race to the bottom in order to cut expenses.

Downward pricing pressure is happening regardless of the business model of the journal. Yes, the Plan S intention to cap Article Processing Charges (APCs) is currently fueling some cost speculation; but we also see pressure to keep year-on-year subscription price increases low, despite the fact that more services are required of publishers and there is more content to review and perhaps produce.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Scholarly Kitchen.