Open Access Scholarly Book Publishers in South Africa: The Search for a Generic Business Model—or Two

This article is based on a master’s dissertation proposing a generic business model following a study of seven open access (OA) scholarly book publishers in South Africa. A qualitative research methodology was used, with pre-populated questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The author discusses business models in use at seven local publishers. After comparing customer segments, relationships, partnerships, key activities, resources, channels, value propositions, and revenue streams, two possible scenarios for ideal business models emerge. The first scenario is that of a non-profit dedicated OA publisher doing community service and with dedicated OA funds. The second scenario is that of an OA book publisher with cross-subsidising business streams