Pathfinder-Project TIME
Start-up for the "Print Reloaded" project - An Analysis of recent Business Models Using the Printing Industry as an Example for Bilateral Markets (Prof. Piller/Prof. Brettel)
The failure of the "Financial Times Deutschland", as an example from the print industry, illustrates that companies can not maintain their business - despite huge financial efforts - if the fundamentals for their business model do not or no longer exist. Special conditions, for example regulatory provisions, and market penetration by digital technologies, for example media reception on mobile devices, result in huge competitive pressure on the market. This can cause the cutoff of magazines and publishing houses.
The print industry is highly interesting for scientific business model analysis for two main reasons:
- The print industry market is a classical example for bilateral markets. First, the sale of the magazines to the readers, and second, the disposal of advertising space. This principle constitutes the structure of many business models in many different industries, for example the smartphone app market.
- Print media still has a prominent position for the information procurement, preparation and processing in Germany. These roles are important pillars for a democracy. The continous failure of busines models in the print industry therefore might have far-reaching effects for the german general public. Information divesity and quality might suffer and this might result in a loss of opinions in the general public.
The question therefore arises if and how successful future business models in the printing industry can sustain and develop.
The research project`s objective is to empiricaly analyse the theoretical principles of successful and less successful business models in the print industry.