Investigating Oligopoly in the Reference Publishing Market: Observations and Reflections

1
Investigating Oligopoly in the Reference
Publishing MarketObservations and Reflections

• Dr. Matthew Saxton, Assistant Professor,
• University of Washington
• Original Research
• UCLA, Winter Quarter 2000

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Oligopoly - Definition

• In the case of oligopoly a small number of
  companies supply the major portion of an
  industrys output... Thus, the actions of the
  individual firms have an appreciable effect on
  their competitors.
• McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Economics, 2nd ed.

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Characteristics of Oligopoly

• A form of imperfect competition
• High obstacles to entry
• Stable prices
• Concentrated vs. differentiated oligopoly
• The New Palgrave A Dictionary of Economics

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Library Journal Reference 1999Supplement
November 15, 1998

• 183 Reference Publishers
• 10 non-profit associations
• 11 university presses
• 74 small specialty presses
• 88 large presses

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Sources of Information

• Directory of Corporate Affiliations
• Books in Print
• IAC General Business File

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Oligopoly?

• Just three companies (listed below) own 25
  (N22) of those 88 presses listed in Library
  Journal plus an additional 18 presses not
  listed
• Pearson PLC
• Reed Elsevier PLC
• The Thomson Corporation

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Pearson PLC

• Charles Scribners Sons
• Dutton
• G.K. Hall Library Reference
• Howard W. Sams
• Jossey-Bass
• Macmillan Multivolume Reference

• Macmillan Single Volume Reference
• Penguin Putnam Inc.
• Plume
• Que Corporation
• Schirmer Books
• Simon Schuster
• Twayne Publishers

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Reed Elsevier PLC

• R. R. Bowker
• Chilton Research Services
• Congressional Information Services
• Elsevier Science Inc.
• Excerpta Medica
• Greenwood Press

• The Lancet
• LEXIS-NEXIS Inc.
• Marquis Whos Who
• Martindale-Hubbell
• OAG
• Reed Elsevier Inc.
• Shepards

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The Thomson Corporation

• Gale
• Information Access Company
• Institute for Scientific Information
• Janes Information Group
• Medical Economics Company
• Petersons

• Predicasts
• Primary Source Media
• Research Institute of America
• St. James Press
• TAFT Group
• UXL
• Visible Ink Press
• West Information Publishing

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Areas of Competition

• Reed Elsevier vs. Thomson in
• Business
• Law
• Medicine
• Science
• Pearson vs. Thomson in
• Literature

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Business Reference

• Dow Jones
• Dun Bradstreet
• Moodys
• McGraw-Hill
• Standard Poors

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Additional Interesting Bedfellows

• Bertelsmann and Random House
• Berkshire Hathaway and World Book Inc.
• Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam Webster
• Lagardere and Grolier

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Notable Independents

• H. W. Wilson
• Hoovers Inc.
• Rand McNally

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Periodical Indexing Five Competing Publishers

• IAC Searchbank
• EBSCO Inc. Ebscohost
• H. W. Wilson Wilson Online
• U.M.I. Proquest
• OCLC First Search

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Conclusions

• Evidence does not conclusively suggest that an
  oligopoly in reference publishing exists.
• Further research
• Comparative, trend data needed
• Examination of subject domains
• Examination of frequently purchased titles
• Examination of frequently used titles

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Further Reading

• Mary Brandt Jensen, Who Owns What Now? - Law
  Publisher Genealogy, Against The Grain 10 (April
  1998) 52-54.