University Presses in the Twenty-first Century: The Potential Impact of Big Data and Predictive Analytics on Scholarly Book Marketing

Abstract

The use of ‘big data’ and predictive analytics has transformed a sizeable number of industries, from insurance companies to print and e-book online retailers, and both the mass media and the scholarly literature have covered these developments. Online retailers have used big data systems to capture tremendous amounts of data about consumers and their purchases, which has enabled them to use predictive analytics and collaborative filtering systems to make purchase suggestions to consumers. Unfortunately, many university presses—even the largest presses with substantial endowments—have not been able to capitalize on the formidable marketing assets offered by big data and predictive analytics. In this article, the authors review the published literature and significant data sets, and present suggestions for the Canadian and US university press community to launch a non-profit direct-to-consumer Web site generating continuous-time sales and marketing data.