The Immergence of E-BOOK Market

Table of Contents

Page

Executive summary 2

Acknowledgements 3

01 Introduction 5

1.1 Purpose 5

1.2 Scope 5

1.3 Method 5

1.4 Limitations 5

1.5 Background 6

02 Discussion 7

2.1 The History of E-Book Publishing of Sri Lanka. 7

2.2 The Changes in the Law in favor of Online Book Retailers of Sri Lanka. 8, 9

2.3 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. 10,11,12,13

[Using PESTLE Analysis]

2.4 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. 14, 15

[Using Porter’s Five Forces]

2.5 Suggestions to Equalize E books and Hard Copies 16,17,18,19

03 Conclusions 19

04 References 20

05 Corporation of Team Members. 21

01 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this report is to analyze the immergence of Online Book Retailers to Sri

Lanka. Here the effect of changes in Law and other environmental factors are taken into

consideration.

1.2 Scope

It was important to consider the prices of E-books considerate to Hard copy of books and

the effect in the market structure because of the new entrant.

1.3 Method

While researching facts for the report it was important to take a look at the First E Book

website launched in Sri Lanka.

THE BOOK HUB

[http://www.thebookhub.lk/]

1.4 Limitations

The content of this report should not be very deeply studied.

The history of E-Books was not able to find.

Additional information difficult to locate.

1.5 Background

The ‘BOOK HUB’ is spearheaded by Etilsalat, MicroImage and M.D.Gunasena.

“About Etisalat: As one of the most powerful players in Sri Lanka's telecommunications industry, Etisalat continues to discover new horizons and explore new possibilities in the domain. Etisalat further offers Sri Lanka's most cutting edge Internet solutions with the launch if it’s 3.75G technology. Standing at the top of the ladder in innovation, quality and customer service, they have surpassed 4 million subscribers in a record time since their launch and Etisalat remains dedicated to increasing its subscriber base and taking the company to greater heights.

About M.D Gunesena M.D. Gunasena & Company (Private) Limited, one of the longest standing and most respected publishers in Sri Lanka, with roots that date as far back as 1913. M. D. Gunasena being synonymous with education in the country brings the publishing expertise and industry representation to the online book store.

About Microimage Microimage, a leading award winning technology innovator in Sri Lanka engineered the entire BookHUB application platform consisting of BookHUB eBookStore, eBook reader for PC and popular smart phone platforms.”

(MicroimageMobileMedia, 2011, <http://www.mimobimedia.com/Press/bookhub_launch.html>

website)

02 Discussion

2.1 The History of E-Book Publishing of Sri Lanka.

Book is designed to serve as an instrument of communication and it also conveys the meaning of

some other system of visual symbols. In the ancient time people use many ways to communicate.

One of the main ways was writing. Babylonian clay tablet, the Egyptian papyrus roll, the

medieval vellum are the ancient books or chronicles which were used in those days. By the

spread of literacy, social development and the invention of the printing machine publishing of

books had begun. "The Gutenberg Bible” is the first book printed and distributed all over the

world.

In late 1990's the EBook had found, and that project was known as "Project Gutenberg".

EBooks are normally distributed on the internet and it can be view via computer, smart phones or

mobile devices. Nowadays most of the books are converted to EBooks and sell in online market.

Most of the retail book sellers have been purchasing EBooks online, because it's cost effective

and easy.

The book publishing of Sri Lanka was begun in 1734 by the establishment of the first printing

press by Dutch Administration. The first Sinhalese printing book was also printed in that

machine. The main influence of the book publication of Sri Lanka was the colonization.

Nowadays by the advancement of the technology, Sri Lankan book market also established a

EBook store online which is known as 'The Book HUB'. They use all the hardcopy books and

convert them to EBooks. They are even available in main three languages in Sri Lanka; Sinhala,

English and Tamil. It's a huge competition for hardcopy book sellers.

2.2 The Changes in the Law in favor of Online Book Retailers of Sri Lanka.

Internationally Copy right laws are strictly carried on. It is the same here in Sri Lanka.

With the advancement of technology and sophisticated access means, most for the resources

have been changed to online or internet accessed media. The usage of Tablets and Smart phones

have created and advancement in technology with time.

Also, mentioning the availability of ‘Audio Books’ and Books with ‘3D media’ makes learning

more interesting and enjoyable.

There are several laws being implemented for eBooks. Few are;

Copy Right Laws.

Registration for Copy right laws.

Terms and conditions of access and download.

Terms of Register to the Book Hub.

01) Copy Right Laws.

In Sri Lanka the present Intellectual Property Act No 36 of 2003 was the repeal of the Code of

Intellectual Property No 52 of 1979 and is active.

Briefly this law states that it is prohibited to copy ones work and publish it as your own work. If

on some circumstance you go beyond the law you will be fined and may even be banned from

the publishing order.

02) Registration for Copy right laws

“To register the copyright of an eBook, send the application form (available at

ebook-site.com/ebook-copyrights.html), $30 application fee, and a copy of the eBook, which will

not be returned to you.” ( eHow.com,2012)

To register one ebook that should be under Copy Right Laws you have to register and get the

certificate. Then only your book will not be able to copy by others. There are conditions that has

to be agreed on to successfully register.

03) Terms and conditions of access and download

You should first have an Account in the BOOK HUB with a E-Mail address and then your

Account should posses a minimum amount of cast for you to purchase books.

“The ‘Book Hub’ concept is a facility that would enable a user with any mobile connection to

buy e-books using their pre-paid or post-paid mobile connections,” (The Nation [Nations.lk]

Online Newspaper, 11th November 2012)

Downloads are on ‘protection level’ that is those are under copy right laws and cannot be copied

to any document.

2.3 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using PESTLE Analysis]

“The PESTLE Analysis is a tool that is used to identify and analyze the key drivers of change in

the strategic or business environment. The abbreviation stands for Political, Economic, Social,

Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. The tool allows the assessing of the current

environment and potential changes. The idea is, if the project is better placed than its

competitors, it would be able to respond to changes more effectively.”

“The PESTLE Analysis tool can be used for business planning, strategic planning, marketing

planning, product development, and organizational planning. The PESTLE tool provides its users

with factors that need to be well researched and brainstormed.”

Application of PESTEL Analysis to e-Book store

Political Factors-

“Every project has both internal politics and external politics. The internal politics like team

jealousies, cohesive projects, and personal interests occur in all projects and must be

considered.”

“The external politics refer to those which the stakeholders do not control. These events include

all political events like employment laws, tax policies, trade restrictions, trade reforms,

environmental regulations, political stability, tariffs, etc.”

Economic factors-

“This factor takes into consideration all events that affect the internal and external economic

environment. The internal or micro-economic events relate to the project viability and internal

soundness of the project. Financial models and accountanting techniques need to be used during

the evaluation phase to ensue the viability. The external or macro-economic events include

interstate taxes, embargoes, interest rates, economic growth, recession, inflation rate, exchange

rate, minimum wage, wage rates, unemployment, cost of living, working hours, credit

availability, financing availability, etc.”

Sociological factors-

“The sociological factor takes into consideration all events that affect the market and community

socially. Thus, the advantages and disadvantages to the people considered. ’’

Use of e-books has become the new trend among the people and it is more beneficial.

“Users regard convenience, accessibility, and enhanced functionality as the primary benefits of

eBooks. Print books are perceived to have an advantage in ease and enjoyability of reading, and

users do not expect them to disappear in the near future. However, users anticipate that in five

years time, they will prefer the electronic versions of some books and expect that their transition

to eBooks will be fastest for research-related activities and for reference works. ”

“eBooks are best suited for research purposes or in a search environment where the user needs to

locate specific information. Users are not reading eBooks cover-to-cover in the traditional sense

but instead approach them as a resource for finding answers to research questions. eBooks have

the potential to stimulate new forms of book content usage and will require libraries to think

differently about how to accommodate the needs of users as their eBook collections grow.

Viewing eBooks through the lens of traditional print book usage might cause libraries to miss

important opportunities for enhancing the user research experience. ’’

Advantages of using eBooks to the society

“In most cases, eBooks are cheaper than paper books.

Instantly available worldwide - just download the eBook instead of waiting for "snail mail" or

local release.

Full Text Search available - Search our entire database of eBooks for a specific phrase or

keyword.

Convenient - imagine loading several novels and a few magazines onto a portable reading device

before you go on holiday.

Quick to download - the average novel takes only 3-4 minutes.

You can build a whole library of digital books.

Users can do research and create or organize content.

eBook reading software is free and easy to download from the internet.’’

Technological factors-

“ This factor takes into consideration all events that affect technology. Since technology often

becomes outdated within a few months after it is launched, it is important to consider this. This

factor could also take into consideration all barriers to entry in certain markets and changes to

financial decisions.”

For a long time E-books were being read on normal PCs but now the trend has changed…

currently ebooks are sold in these formats also-

PDF for Digital Editions

ePub for Digital Editions

iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch

“For a Computer, Choose PDF

“If you only expect to read your ebook on a computer (not on a phone or special ebook device),

then you should choose a PDF-based ebook. This is because PDFs display the pages of a book

exactly as they were designed by the book publisher. In other words, a PDF will usually maintain

the design integrity of the original printed book. With other formats, pages can look different –

sometimes radically different – when displayed.”

For a Hand-Held Device, Choose Something Else

“PDFs sometimes display awkwardly on small screens, while some ebook formats are designed

especially for reading on smaller screens. If you have a smart phone, PDA or special ebook

reader device, then you should choose a format suitable for that device.”

“Ebook Corporation has developed an application specifically for eBooks.com customer to read

ebooks on apple devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch). This application can be downloaded and

installed on your Apple device from App Store for free’’(www.ebooks.com, 2012)

Environmental Factors-

“This factor takes into consideration ecological and environmental aspects that could be either

economic or social in nature. ’’

Legal Factors-

“This factor takes into consideration all legal aspects like employment, quotas, taxation,

resources, imports and exports, etc. ’’

“The books available in e-book stores are almost exclusively from major publishing houses who

have legal obligations to their authors. These obligations in turn mean that there are limits on the

ways that ebooks can be distributed and used.”

“Some books are not allowed to be sold in certain places. This is almost always because the

publisher who supplied the ebook to us only has a right to sell that book in clearly defined

geographical territories. So you might find that the ebook you want to buy isn't available in your

country as an ebook. There will be another local publisher who holds the right to publish in your

country, and it's likely that your local publisher hasn't released is as an ebook.This is common

with consumer book categories like fiction, biography, personal growth, etc. Scholarly, technical

and professional books tend to be published globally by a single publisher.”

Printing and Copy & Paste-

“As a rule, it isn't possible to print the whole of a book in a single sitting. There are printing and

copying restrictions placed on most commercially distributed ebooks.It's the publisher of a book

who determines how much of an ebook (if any) you can print or copy & paste. Some publishers

are very liberal in this and enable you to print the whole ebook, while others are the reverse and

allow no printing or copying. In general, a reasonable amount printing and copying are enabled

by most publishers.”(Brightthumbpm.com,2012)

2.4 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using Porter’s Five Forces]

The rapid developments in information and communication technologies have now presented

publishers with a unique opportunity to enrich the lives of book loving people in all around the

world. Therefore especially the e-books have now becoming a global trend as the rise in smart

phones and mobile devices where leading the consumers to look satisfy an ever increasing

segment of their needs through them. These e-books are being so popular because the books

which are in online store are lower in price than the physical version of the same book. So the

readers can enjoy the convenience of being able to purchase books from anywhere.

1 Competitive rivalry within an industry

For more industries, this is the major determine of the competitiveness of the industry. When

considering about the whole world, there are so many online sources available, therefore the

competition between these retailers in the industry is high. But in Sri Lanka it is low, because

there are only few people who using to this technology to publish e-books. Most of people are

still in to hard copies. Therefore there is a big competition in the industry of printed paper books.

2 Bargaining power of suppliers

Mainly these e-book stores are focus on providing opportunities for the authors who have so far

found it a tough task to have their books to publish in the country, so by using these

technologies, authors can make their books available electronically. Already there is a big

competition among the hard copy publishers. For this reason, author, the main supplier should

aim on this industry to fulfill consumer requirements, needs and wants and low purchasing price

categories more than hard copy industry. Because buyers are more fragmented and purchase

most appropriate products. It will be mostly effective to increase the bargaining power of

suppliers.

3 Bargain power of Customers

This depends on the personal factors of the customer, such as age, occupation, income and life

style. When people searching for books in online, there are so many options available for them,

therefore most of them are going for the low price products and freely downloaded facility

products, so in this situation the bargaining power of the customer is high. Education of Sri

Lanka depends on English, Sinhala and Tamil languages therefore e-book industry products

should include all three mediums. Buyers are more concentrated about the authors who already

published high quality products. Also they are already addicted to find products which can easily

to buy from everywhere. Increasing of using new technology among the people, e-book industry

should maintain to absorb high quality products from good authors who are popular in the book

industry.

4 Threats of the new entrants

In addition to considering existing rivals, organizations should also consider the potential for

new entrants to emerge. So the threat of new entrants in the e- book industry is strong because of

the low entry costs. The companies only need to find suppliers and publish their books on online

stores. But the entry cost may be high when publishing the hard copy because when comes to

printing, packaging, storing and distributing. Therefore the threats of the new entrants will be

high in hard copy industry.

5 Threats of substitutes

The existence of close substitute products increases the propensity of customer to switch to

alternatives in response to price increase. As for e-book industry, the main substitute is hard

copies. But the threats from those substitute products are not much strong because in present

days most of the people are trying to focus on new technologies, therefore finding a book from

an online book store is cheaper for them than getting from a bookshop. So the threat of

substitutes is low. When technologies are changing rapidly, existing firms use technological

substitutes, such as some publisher distributes CD with combined with the hard copy. Therefore

it will be a disadvantage for the e-books. In the other hand, although purchasing is easy to do by

using e –wallets, credit cards and mobile service providers, but it is more risky than doing using

cash.

2.5 Suggestions to Equalize E books and Hard Copies

What are the benefits and advantages of EBooks

1. EBooks are delivered almost instantaneously. You can purchase, download and start reading

them within minutes, without leaving your chair. You don't have to go to a bookstore to buy

them, neither wait for them for days, weeks and sometimes more to arrive in the mail.

2. No trees are required to manufacture paper for the pages of eBooks.

3. When you need certain information, you can get it immediately, by downloading an eBook.

4. Many eBooks are sold nowadays with bonuses, which you usually do not get with a printed

book. This adds value to your purchase.

5. EBooks take up less space. You practically don't need any space to store them. You don't need

a library or a room for them. You can store hundreds and thousands of eBooks on your computer

or reading device.

6. EBooks are portable. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you, on CD, in

a laptop, notebook or any eBook reader, without worrying about their weight.

7. With today's technology you can read eBooks everywhere, on the bus, train, airplane, and

while standing in line.

8. EBooks are more safely stored and carried from one place to another, than ordinary books.

They also withstand time more than books.

Disadvantages of E books

Availability Disadvantages

1 Many titles that are available in traditional print books are not yet available in an electronic

book format. This problem is compounded by the fact that as of 2010, the electronic books on

the market are manufactured and licensed by different companies, each of which has access to its

own range of titles. Many mainstream best sellers are available in electronic format, but if you

tend to read even slightly more exotic titles or academic literature, you will not be able to find

much suitable material in e-book format at present.

Technological Disadvantages

2 As of 2010, electronic books still present a variety of technological problems that need to be

solved. Reading e-books can create eye strain because it is more difficult to read words on a

computer screen than on a page. Devices made specifically for reading e-books present other

issues. Some models do not come with replaceable batteries. As a result, you must replace the

entire device when the battery dies.

(eHow.com,2012)

Benefits of E-Books

1 EBooks are good for the environment. EBooks save trees. EBooks eliminate the need for

filling up landfills with old books. EBooks save transportation costs and the pollution associated

with shipping books across the country and the world.

2 EBooks, faster to produce than paper books, allow readers to read books about current issues

and events.

3 EBooks are easily updateable, for correcting errors and adding information.

4 EBooks are searchable. Quickly you can find anything inside the book. EBooks are globally

searchable: you can find information in many eBooks.

5 EBooks are portable. You can carry an entire library on one DVD.

Advantages of Hardcopies

1 Bookstores are everywhere offering easily attainable copies.

2 Books are cheap and can usually fit any budget.

3 Paper books are there all the time; whenever you want them (no power source is necessary).

Disadvantages of Hardcopies

1 Books are bulky and can often be heavy.

2 A light Source is needed for reading.

3 The notes you make in printed books are there forever, you can’t erase or Change the

highlights made

(www.bitrebels.com,2012)

Suggestions to Equalize EBook and Hardcopies

1 Add new rules to EBooks

When People download EBooks using the internet we can add new rules to them

E.g.: Limit the number of eBook downloads

2 Add price to all the EBooks

Some EBooks are given freely. When people downloading EBooks. We can increase the price of

all the eBooks.

3 Rural Area Problems

In rural areas there are no modern technologies. Then they can’t use EBooks. Because of that we

have to promote Hardcopies. Because they only have Physical Libraries.

4 To Promote Hardcopies

We can give discount and many offers to customers.

E.g.: When they buy three books we can give another one book free of charge.

03 Conclusions

Due to the fast development of sophisticated technology advancement the publication media has

transformed to Online or Internet Access media.

Lowering costs of printing and paper this media comes with a pile of features like Audio Books

and e-Books that can be downloaded and read.

Still there is a majority of Hard –Copy retailers in Sri Lanka terms must be taken to equalize the

retail book market.

‘The Book Hub’ being new to our Island might take some time for users to actually be aware

and to gain user knowledge.

Yet there are things to think about in such advancements. Laws implemented and view of the

society taken to account which was discussed in this Research Report

04 References

eHow.com, 2012. Advantages & Disadvantages of Electronic Books. Available at:

<http://www.ehow.com/list_6157579_advantages-disadvantages-electronic-books.html> [Assessed on: 5th

November 2012]

Bit Rebels, 2012.eBooks.Available at:< http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/the-great-debate-e-

books-vs-the-printedC-copy/> [Assessed on: 3rd November 2012]

RobinGood,2012. Ebooks Usage Trends And Statistics. Available at:

http://www.masternewmedia.org/ebooks_usage_trends_and_statistics/[Assesed on: 3rd November

2012]

MicroimageMobileMedia, 2011, BOOKHUB. Avaiable

at:<http://www.mimobimedia.com/Press/bookhub_launch.html>[Accessed on 2nd November

2012]

Wijerathne,V.,2012. Mobile payments for Etisalat ‘Book Hub’.The Nations [Online],

19th February 2012.Available at: < http://www.nation.lk/edition/business/item/2840-mobile-

payments-for-etisalat-%E2%80%98book-hub%E2%80%99.html >[Accessed on: 1st November

2012]

Components of a PESTLE Analysis,2012 Bright Hub PM, Available at:

<http://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/51754-components-of-a-pestle-analysis/>

[Accessed on: 1st November 2012]

05 Corporation of Team Members.

01) Kenneth Peiris – 2012104

Introduction.

Changes in Law in favor of Online Book retailers.

Conclusion.

02) Najith Kalhan – 2012107

The History of Online Book retailing [E-Books]

03) Hasanjaya Bandara – 2012065

Suggestions to equalize the retail book market in Sri Lanka.

04) Sathya Gamage – 2012094

The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using PESTLE

Analysis]

05) Charukshi Perera – 2012___

The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using Porter’s

Five Forces]