Adaptation Strategies of Small Publishers

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) the operational situations of the small publishing business, 2) factors affecting the success of the small publishing business and 3) the development of small publishing business’s marketing strategies. 200 publishers registered with the The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) were used to be samples for this research. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire with a confidence level of .941. The statistics used were average, percentage, standard deviation. The analysis of relationships and factors affecting the success were used with multiple regression statistics. There were findings as follows 1) The main problem in the business was the inadequate staffing capacity and insufficient skills. The publisher could not grow or expand into another business. If it could be, it might be slow. 2) There were 6 dimensions affecting the success of small publishing business: (1) places and distribution channels seen as the first dimension; for example, selling through the large publishers’ retail stores and independent shops or using new technology and media as a way to publish new works (2) pricing was based on paper quality, contents and buying behavior of readers (3) physical evidence and presentations such as, the advertising of book list and details have been included as one of the important dimensions (4) product; such as, updated contents with variety and modernity, the strength, the ease of portability and author’s pseudonym were also another dimension (5) personnel; outsourcing and skill enhancement for staffs were included as a dimension (6) process of services; for instance, taking the customers’ comments to be improved, planning and getting better were another dimension helping to support the business. From findings, there were 20 factors 3) The dimensions affected the success of a small publishing business. Those factors could be applied to create strategies of small publishing business. The result of appropriateness and suitability evaluated by the experts revealed that the appropriateness and feasibility to apply the strategies were at the most significant level.