Encyclopedia Britannica Publishing Group
Mr. Esposito kindly consented to speak at the Symposium on a late and spontaneous invitation and has offered us permission to reproduce his overheads for this proceedings volume. One of the very compelling papers of the meeting, Esposito's presentation outlined a publishing strategy, embedded in a real case study, with something of value for every participant.
Esposito described electronic publishing initiatives from a for-profit perspective. He emphasized Merriam-Webster's reliance on the well-researched business case as the basis for selecting targets. As a supplier of commodity products, his organization operates with distinctly different cost structures than many publishers and this affects the way in which it perceives and defines products. The Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica publishing organizations look for mass market opportunities and then differentiate product lines to address significant niches.
In the case of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the organization sees no economic incentives and no additional user-friendliness in producing an electronic version of the product. The encyclopedia is different. It offers an opportunity to develop a product with vastly improved capabilities for a mass market audience. A differentiated product line is possible. It meets the publishing organization's criteria for investment of scarce resources.
With these two examples, Esposito made the point that not every paper product is a candidate for electronic media. He emphasized added-value and willingness to pay for it as the primary basis for making strategic decisions. He urged practical experiments.