Organizational Fields and the Book Industry

peter brantleyinternet archivesan francisco ca

concept of an “organizational field”(defined)

often complex groups orsets of actors involved.

stable industry indicates stable network

for both organizations and people

Disruption in core aspects: production,means, distribution of goods/services –creates conflicts

good example:digital rights for backlist titles

rights to the latent rents were never arbitrated

confusing enough issue to be amajor component of GBS proposal(“Author-Publisher Procedures”)

authors X agents X publishers

roles suddenly become vague,technology makes apparent buried conflicts in contracts

outcome:

rosetta, wylie v. random house

well what is interesting ... ?books enter digital market.

the present condition of the book industry:

a new threshold, for industry-wideno dominant paradigm for product

the automotive industry:imagine planes vs. cars(what if planes offered personal commuting alternative – wow!)

ebook characterization is happening in shadow of historical print pattern

the efforts to build a new market stasis-

determine the primary “axis of competition”:product | pricing | services

deep technology shiftsusually remove the ability to focus on a single axis

digital (creation, distribution)have {many} {new}

implications for ubiquity and control of products, services

fields that have become disrupted are naturally subject to the formation of new emergent biases in conduct.

(there is no existing practice)

any newly introduced stressesproduce unexpected outcomes evolving by positive feedbacks,counters are weak.

such as a tendency for progressive furthering ofemerging monopolies

international rights will force new emergent practices

uncertainties are easily introducedfor digital books vs. print products

National historical book price fixing lawssubject to stress from international firms because digital stresses different vectors

tensions exacerbated by complexities international vs national legal regime –changes in law difficult to negotiate

something could emerge in EU or GATT / WTO context

strikingly uncertain right now in an international context:

who will sell what to whom for what

this does not even touch on definition of redistribution or secondary markets nationalor international in context!

e.g. consider digital first sale!

an issue common to software (shrink wrap licensing) less an issue for music, movies in the past (although might change)

or LENDING ...

not as straightforward as buying adigital copy and putting it on shelf

digital lending requires a newcoordinated technology infrastructure with access-based accounting systems quite different than traditional lending

and ...

publisher recalcitrance to provide lending inventory to libraries due to perceived loss of a new revenue opportunity

might force establishment of new large library consortia acting as theirown platform services providers –

many outcomes might emerge.

“Hold Hands”, wickenden, Flickr

in organizational fields like publishingthat have had a long period of stabilityimplicit rules formed to govern action

typically bluffs are not called and brinksmanship is avoided

(consider wylie v random house–agent and publisher work it out)

one can see this in technology:

patents are usually cross licensed -not worth divisive shoot_foot_self

lawsuits typically signal a breakdown in normative practiceswithin an organizational field

the core publishing industry dependenciesestablished a rich set of interactions:

author / agent / publisher / selling-agent

as historical patterns erodethe early stage survivors of market disruption to rebuild using existing networks

(e.g., R_Nash’s Cursor Books)

author / agent / publisher / selling-agentincreasingly subject not to redefinition but re-articulation

Not “what is a publisher” Now “what is publishing”

as industry, publishing is lucky it has laid claim to an obvious higher-goal:

disseminating information

this reference point acts to reduce friction, mitigating damage from rent seeking

networks alter dramatically when powerful new entrants impact adisrupted organizational field –

1) technologies have changed, and 2) new domains have entered field

that would be Silicon Valley:

Apple Google Amazon

New entrants are not bound by any extant dependencies.

Network “damage” occurs when new org field actors first interact.

Odds of engendering wholly unexpectedconsequences is dramatically multiplied.

New actors predominately occupy distinctorganizational networks, in different fields

It is this “asteroid from outer space”characteristic that makes the industryraw and exposed for the first time indecades

out of field (technology) disruption demands engagement with different industrial sectors, for radical change.

transmedia and web based delivery are examples where new entrants better able to produce, distribute

trying to mold oneself like plastic sheet wrap around disrupting agents

(Absorb the Mongols!)

is not a strategy for long term survival

Google's entrance into vending books (as opposed to mining them for data)

is only part of a larger product portfolio to convenience its existing partners and to place pressure on valley competitors.

on the bright side ...

we have stunning new rangeof opportunities to build newservices

peter brantley

co-founder, open books alliancedirector, bookserver project

internet archivethe presidio, san francisco, ca

@naypinya (twitter) peter@archive.org