The Publishing industry is being Transformed

Over the past centuries, and even more so in recent decades we have seen technologies transform industries – for example the steam engine transforming an agrarian society to an industrial society and the transistor transforming industrial societies into information societies. At another level, we have observed the transformational impacts of technologies changing industries: consider the music industry and peer-to-peer technology, or how communication is being changed by different economic models on the Internet. The cycle of these technology driven disruptions are becoming more frequent. They are almost part of the daily life in business. These disruptions challenge existing strategies and businesses and create the opportunities for new strategies for established and emerging businesses.


In the at Suffolk University strategic management class (taught by Mitchell Weisberg) students are exploring the book publishing market, and focusing particularly on the textbook segment of the market. The book market is being significantly disrupted by the advent of electronic readers and digital textbooks.