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ABSTRACT
(Henry David Thoreau)
I would like to start my thesis with this expression because it clearly shows what
is happening, nowadays, to the consumer in the publishing market. Thanks to
innovations in technology, he is changing his preferences and his behavior toward
purchases, making pressure to companies that have to do the same.
This work of thesis has the purposes of analyzing how an Italian medium small
publishing house like ELI can be able to enter successfully the American market. The
main point, developed in this work, is the role that technological innovation is playing
during the latter transformation phase of the industry. The thesis consists in six chapters
in which there are analyzed all the factors that are able to determine and influence the
entrance of the Italian publishing company in the American market.
Chapter 1 can provide to the reader some theoretical and academic basis about
international marketing techniques and analyses. What is new, compared to the
and
rapidly increasing its popularity. The analysis of the e-consumer and his or her behavior
becomes, nowadays, fundamental for understanding the book publishing customer.
Chapter II is entirely dedicated to the company ELI. It is a medium publishing
house of Recanati (near Ancona) which mainly creates books and materials for learning
foreign languages. This chapter deals with a deep description of the firm in every
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specific field of its operational system regarding its partners, clients, products,
distribution, communication and promotion strategies put into place until now.
Chapter III presents an analysis of the Italian publishing market and its
components. The aim of this chapter is to provide to the reader all the instruments for
understanding how the Italian publishing market, where ELI currently operates, is
working and which transformations are taking place inside that market. Obviously,
a strong focus on the analysis of this particular educational segment of the market.
Chapter IV describes, with the same parameter of chapter III, the US publishing
market and the reading US students reading habits. In order to sustain better the
entrance of ELI in the American market, it is very important to study that specific
market and understand all the trends and gaps that it is facing. In this way Eli may have
the possibility of taking advantages from them. This chapter describes the grade of
foreign language learning by American students and the most used channels, in order to
have a large view of the American scenario.
The chapter V represents the heart of the thesis because it discusses the e-book
technology and its importance in the publishing markets of both countries, Italy and US.
The chapter, firstly, focuses in the explanation of what e-book is and how it can change
the teaching and learning behaviors and then it observes the differences between Italian
and American publishing market, in terms of usage of digital books. In the last part of
the chapter it is also analyzed the economic prospect of the company and it is performed
a cost and profit simulation in order to recognize which real and economic changes the
e-book can bring to ELI.
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Finally, in chapter VI, there are described all the possible strategies that, thanks
to the previous analysis, might be profitable for ELI in order to enter and become
successful in the American market. Possible strategies might vary from books in paper
format, mixed formats (paper and digital) or fully digital format.
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I. CHAPTER : I N T E R N A T IO N A L G L O B A L M A R K E T IN G A N D E-COMMERCE
1.1. Globalization and Global marketing
The term refers to the activity that since 20 years is affecting the market
and brings companies expanding their business interests into other country markets. If
15-20 years ago, small and medium companies were able to operate only inside their
home (domestic) market and, just in few cases, perhaps in one or two neighboring
countries, nowadays there is a consistent number of them, including the smallest
companies, that are internationalizing their business in overseas markets in order to
expand their market shares and their production. Today, we arrived in a scenario where
companies of all sizes, in various industries and from many countries, are actively
competing in the world markets. The main factors, that made this internationalization
process possible, were represented by the deregulation activities put into place by
governments, the elimination of transportation and entrance barriers, such as tariffs or
quotas between countries and, the most important among these, the global
communication revolution. Satellite television broadcasts have eliminated national
borders in mass media, while, important innovations in the electronic
telecommunication field have made it possible to develop telecommunication networks
which enabled the manager of the enterprise of each country to have a higher level of
information about the overseas market. Moreover, online messaging, via the Internet,
makes global communication instantaneous and virtually cost-free. Nowadays, it is
possible for Headquarters and managers to participate directly in the decision process of
every subsidiary.
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Furthermore, managers can direct operations without the need of being, physically, in
the place but working at any other part on earth, from airplanes or automobiles or even
when they are in vacation: they can be relaxing on the beach and talking on their mobile
phones at the same time.
Thanks to these radical changes in the way of making business, also the marketing was
influenced and literatures started to talk about the so-called global or international
marketing.
refers to all the marketing activities that are coordinated and
integrated across multiple county markets. This integration can involve standardized
products, uniform packaging, identical brand names, synchronized product
introductions, similar advertizing messages or coordinated sales campaigns across
markets in different countries.
1
It is important to underline that, despite the term
luded.
Even regional marketing efforts, such as pan-European operations, can be viewed as
examples of international marketing. What is important, is the integrated effort across
several countries in order to put into place their marketing activities internationally,
with similar principles whether we talk about 10 or 50 countries involved. The
standardization of the product across a certain number of different countries can
influence or take place in all the 4 Ps of the marketing. Thereby, it is possible to have:
o standardization of the product, which means that the company will offer the
same product and with the same characteristics to all, or ,to a group of country
markets where it is operating.
1
Global Marketing: Foreign entry, local marketing & global management; John K. Johhansson. 5-th ed,
2009.
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o Standardization of the distribution. The enterprise, that have its products present
in different markets, decides to use the same distribution channels in order to
make all its customers owning her products. For example, if the company
operates in several European countries and she distributes her products, in Italy,
through mass merchandisers, then she will put into place the same kind of
distribution channel also in the German or French market.
o Standardization of the price. This kind of standardization is considered to be the
most difficult to implement because beyond the classical elements, such as
evaluated by the enterprise and are similar when deciding every other kind of
standardization process, now, the company should also take into account other
important and specific factors, including exchange rate fluctuations, presence of
some kind of tariff barriers, anti-dumping legislations etc. This is the reason why
sometimes the enterprise can also decide the utilization of a combined price
which is standardized for the markets that are more similar to the domestic
market of the company and adapted for the most different markets.
o Standardization of the promotion strategy. A standardized advertisement
message means that the enterprise decided to use not only the same kind of
advertisement for all the markets she is operating in, but she also decided to use
the same marketing instruments, such as research strategy or type of the mass
media that are going to be used during the promotion and communication
activity. Also in this case, the company has to take into account that, in some
countries, mass medias are very different from the domestic one. The enterprise
can run into a scenario where there is not fully availability of all the variety of
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mass media that are present in her domestic market and, consequently, she
cannot apply a standardized communication strategy. Moreover, she should also
take under consideration also some cultural factors, since different signs and
words can mean different things to different cultures.
Finally, as it was possible to understand from the explanation above, it is possible to
conclude that there are some factors that the enterprise have to take into account when
putting into place an international marketing strategy, but thanks to detailed market
researches which, today, are possible due to the Internet, that allows high levels of
information, the company can earn high profits by internationalizing herself.
1.2. A new way of making business
The digital revolution have strongly affected and modified the world of marketing. It
has opened new channels for the product sales and, at the same time, it has provided to
the consumer a high quantity and quality of information with an easier access that
before was unimaginable. Consumers can choose their products considering and
comparing all their possible characteristics like price, nutritional value and
functionality, or, they can decide to take into account a combination of the same
characteristics , for example the price/quality one. They are, now, able to obtain third
specific product through other people experience. Today, in the internet there is a high
concentration of communities in which every individual can express his or her opinion
about a product or a service that he or she had the opportunity to use. In this way, if a
person is going to purchase a product, in the digital area, he or she can first check other
people opinion and, only after, decide if going further or not with his purchase. The
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