Publishing in the Information Age: A New Management Framework for the Digital Era

This study details how the recent advancements in digital information technology mark a fundamental and irreversible transformation in the publishing industry. The author aims to provide a concise, easy-to-grasp introduction to this new world of digital publishing. He examines the opportunities it presents, and what it means for managers in the industry; including the fundamental shift from format-based enterprises (eg book publishers) to firms that are developers and managers of intellectual properties in multiple forms, designed to meet customers’ information needs. Throughout the study, Eisenhart, a media executive who has held managerial positions in book publishing, cable television and software firms, focuses on the business strategies that both traditional print-based and new media publishing firms must implement to adapt and thrive. After an introductory chapter that reviews the major changes in the publishing industry, the author examines the Information Age and the new information industry as the foundation for his analysis. He then presents his new framework, the seven M s of publishing, that serves both as the structural backbone and main thesis of the study. The central chapters of the book detail these seven M s: the five value-added M s of Material, Mode, Media, Means, and Market; and the two infrastructural M s of Management and Money. He also outlines 45 core concepts of publishing in the Information Age , within the seven M s. The final chapter presents the author’s vision of the digital publishing enterprise and the paradigm of promise for managers and other stakeholders in the future of publishing.