Monetisation of knowledge: profitable world of academic publishing

 

From Omar Yaakob

The academic publishing industry has evolved into a highly profitable business model.

This industry thrives on publishing multiple journals, within an environment where researchers, under the publish-or-perish maxim, are expected to produce high-quality papers.

Amazingly, the publishers do not need to fund the research works carried out by the authors as they are often financed by governments or institutions that researchers work for.

Publishers can thus access cutting-edge research output without investments in the research process itself.

The publishers make money from the publication process by requiring authors to pay fees, known as article publishing charges (APCs), to publish their work.

Sometimes, alternative arrangements are provided where authors do not require payment of APCs. Instead, readers who want to access these materials are charged certain download fees.

Institutions also often subscribe to bulk download rights at premium prices. With this kind of multiple revenue stream, publishers earn money from several channels – authors, institutions and readers.

To maintain quality and credibility of journals, they have employed a peer review system.

This involves voluntary reviewers who check, validate and suggest edits to the submitted articles. Such reviewers work for free and this helps keep up standards for journals with no additional cost to the publisher.

Essentially, publishers have a profitable product at a very low cost without paying for research, or rewarding authors, and reviewers.

In addition, when published online, the journals incur minimal printing or distribution costs.

In summary, an academic publishing business model has little operating costs but generates a lot of profit.

Publishers get to sell this product made from other people’s knowledge and hard work at huge prices, allowing themselves to make massive profits on a low budget.

This is shown in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business report, which indicates that the academic publishing industry generated US$19 billion in 2020 through publishing companies like Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature and SAGE.

An example of such a profitable business is Elsevier, a big name in academic publishing. It is part of the larger RELX Group, which describes itself as a global information-based analytics and decision tools for professionals and businesses.

RELX reported total revenues of £8.55 billion for the year ended Dec 31, 2022, with a significant contribution from Elsevier at £2.909 billion.

Among other things, Elsevier publishes nearly 2,500 scholarly journals and owns various platforms such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, SciVal, Pure, Interfolio, ClinicalKey, ClinicalPath, Reaxys, SciBite, HESI, Sherpath Shadow Health, Complete Anatomy, Osmosis and Gravitas, to name but a few.

These numbers show how much money is at stake in the academic publishing industry, where companies make huge profits from the work of authors and reviewers.

Most of the income to the companies is generated from APCs, institutional subscription and individual download fees.

Eventually, the funds can be traced to the taxpayers.

An article by The Australian Institute highlighted that up to A$1 billion in taxpayer funding might be directed annually into the coffers of for-profit academic publishers.

Ethical and other considerations are strongly raised within academia. The current system seems to favour publishers, allowing them to benefit from the extensive efforts of researchers and reviewers.

On the other hand, financial constraints may impede the sharing of knowledge among scholars with limited resources, particularly those in low-income countries or institutions.

There is a growing call for a fairer academic publishing system.

Proposals include open access initiatives, alternative publishing models, and greater pricing transparency to ensure that the dissemination of knowledge serves the broader academic community rather than just a few large corporations.

Addressing this challenge is crucial for the future of academic publishing, as it requires balancing profitability with the pursuit of truth. - FMT

Omar Yaakob is a professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and a member of Akademi Profesor Malaysia’s education and human development cluster.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.