Textbook publishers in a networked world

Textbook publishing houses, like many other businesses, are scrambling to ! stay relevant in a world increasingly inter-connected by computers, modems and the Internet. Yet conventional wisdom aside, their transition into the networked world -by what means and with what level of success -has yet to be systematically researched. Also lacking quantified answers are the important questions of the receptiveness of students and professors to the textbook publishers' forays outside of their traditional ink-and-paper boundaries, and whether their new-product innovations really improve education. This paper attempts to lay groundwork for future research of textbook publisher initiatives to secure a pivotal role in the burgeoning field of online learning. And, as often is the case with exploring emergent phenomenon, it draws upon press accounts of publishers' efforts to use the Internet, and its World Wide Web graphical interface, to position themselves for corporate growth, profit -and survivalin a networked world.