Competitive advantages in EM-K12
Research Questions
Define the competitive advantages in the field and the barriers of entry
Entry Barriers
"At every stage of production, from paper to printing, economies of scale favor mammoth enterprises. States and many local districts require publishers to post performance bonds, provide free samples, maintain textbook depositories, and field teachers’ consultants. Aggressive sales forces often build tight relationships with district-level textbook purchasers that become habitual over time. Any company that plans to compete nationally in school publishing must be capital intensive and “full service,” that is, it must offer study guides, workbooks, and technology, along with discounts, premiums, and an array of teacher enticements. In some states, including California and Texas, Spanish versions of texts, as well as teachers’ editions, binders, and answer keys may determine which books are adopted." (Sewall 2005, 499)
The textbook adoption process poses a similar entry barrier by "requiring publishers to post performance bonds, stock outmoded book depositories, and produce huge numbers of free samples have all raised the costs of producing textbooks. This has frozen smaller, innovative textbook companies out of the adoption process and put control of the $4.3 billion textbook market in the hands of just four multi-national publishers. (Fordham 2004, 2)
"Publishers now typically spend millions in development and production costs merely to prepare a textbook for the adoption process, and few medium-sized publishers can afford such outlays or the risk of going insolvent if they aren’t adopted. In addition, state committees have repeatedly buttressed the cartel by demanding gilded textbooks and every imaginable supplemental instructional aid." (Fordham 2004, 30)
Bibliography for Item 5 in EM
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