RETHINKING COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES IN THE AMERICAN TRADE‐BOOK INDUSTRY

The American trade‐book industry offers a rather unique challenge for the application of theories and principles of competitive strategy. Despite the mergers with and acquisitions by publishing and entertainment conglomerates: (a) publishing housing (and their imprints, or divisions) continue to be small; (b) profit margins are low; (c) the synergy that was expected by the mergers into multimedia and entertainment companies has not been achieved; and, (d) the trade‐book industry continues to defy the predictions that electronic and other media will totally absorb and eclipse physical books.