Physical and digital: Not a question of either/or. A qualitative study exploring how Norwegian bookstores adapt to the digital age in an established book market

Abstract

The literary landscape in Norway and internationally is changing as a result of digital technologies that cause literature to be produced, distributed, obtained and read in new ways. This master’s thesis aims at understanding how Norwegian bookstores are affected by digital changes in the market, and how they adapt to these changes. In relation to digitization, the bookstores face big challenges, as well as great opportunities, which cause them to implement different approaches to offering new digital products and services. Their approaches to doing this have been explored by studying the Norwegian bookstores ARK, Tanum, EBOK.no and Storytel. Semi-structured elite interviews have been conducted with employees in the administration of the bookstores. Data and statistics from industry reports have been used as supplements. The Norwegian book market is fairly well established, the printed book is the dominant format, and the public’s opinion signalizes that the digital development of the market is rather slow. Still, the bookstores are operating to offer new digital products and services, and modern exclusively digital bookstores have emerged. The bookstores’ approaches can be linked to product, process, position and paradigmatic innovation. However, this study indicates that the digital offers are provided in parallel with physical formats in bookstores. The market consists of multiple book formats offered in hybrid bookstore formats; it is not a question of either/or, as both physical and digital products and services and physical and digital bookstores, can and are offered side by side.