The Immergence of E-BOOK Market

Table of Contents
Page
Executive summary

Acknowledgements

01 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

1.2 Scope

1.3 Method

1.4 Limitations

1.5 Background

02 Discussion

2.1 The History of E-Book Publishing of Sri Lanka.

2.2 The Changes in the Law in favor of Online Book Retailers of Sri Lanka.
2.3 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers.

8, 9
10,11,12,13

[Using PESTLE Analysis]

2.4 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers.

14, 15

[Using Porters Five Forces]

2.5 Suggestions to Equalize E books and Hard Copies

16,17,18,19

03 Conclusions

19

04 References

20

05 Corporation of Team Members.

21

01 Introduction

1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this report is to analyze the immergence of Online Book Retailers to Sri
Lanka. Here the effect of changes in Law and other environmental factors are taken into
consideration.
1.2 Scope
It was important to consider the prices of E-books considerate to Hard copy of books and
the effect in the market structure because of the new entrant.
1.3 Method
While researching facts for the report it was important to take a look at the First E Book
website launched in Sri Lanka.
THE BOOK HUB
[http://www.thebookhub.lk/]
1.4 Limitations
The content of this report should not be very deeply studied.
The history of E-Books was not able to find.
Additional information difficult to locate.

1.5 Background

The BOOK HUB is spearheaded by Etilsalat, MicroImage and M.D.Gunasena.

About Etisalat: As one of the most powerful players in Sri Lanka's telecommunications
industry, Etisalat continues to discover new horizons and explore new possibilities in the domain.
Etisalat further offers Sri Lanka's most cutting edge Internet solutions with the launch if its
3.75G technology. Standing at the top of the ladder in innovation, quality and customer service,
they have surpassed 4 million subscribers in a record time since their launch and Etisalat remains
dedicated to increasing its subscriber base and taking the company to greater heights.

About M.D Gunesena M.D. Gunasena & Company (Private) Limited, one of the longest
standing and most respected publishers in Sri Lanka, with roots that date as far back as 1913. M.
D. Gunasena being synonymous with education in the country brings the publishing expertise
and industry representation to the online book store.

About Microimage Microimage, a leading award winning technology innovator in Sri Lanka
engineered the entire BookHUB application platform consisting of BookHUB eBookStore,
eBook reader for PC and popular smart phone platforms.

(MicroimageMobileMedia, 2011, <http://www.mimobimedia.com/Press/bookhub_launch.html>

website)

02 Discussion

2.1 The History of E-Book Publishing of Sri Lanka.

Book is designed to serve as an instrument of communication and it also conveys the meaning of
some other system of visual symbols. In the ancient time people use many ways to communicate.
One of the main ways was writing. Babylonian clay tablet, the Egyptian papyrus roll, the
medieval vellum are the ancient books or chronicles which were used in those days. By the
spread of literacy, social development and the invention of the printing machine publishing of
books had begun. "The Gutenberg Bible is the first book printed and distributed all over the
world.
In late 1990's the EBook had found, and that project was known as "Project Gutenberg".
EBooks are normally distributed on the internet and it can be view via computer, smart phones or
mobile devices. Nowadays most of the books are converted to EBooks and sell in online market.
Most of the retail book sellers have been purchasing EBooks online, because it's cost effective
and easy.
The book publishing of Sri Lanka was begun in 1734 by the establishment of the first printing
press by Dutch Administration. The first Sinhalese printing book was also printed in that
machine. The main influence of the book publication of Sri Lanka was the colonization.
Nowadays by the advancement of the technology, Sri Lankan book market also established a
EBook store online which is known as 'The Book HUB'. They use all the hardcopy books and
convert them to EBooks. They are even available in main three languages in Sri Lanka; Sinhala,
English and Tamil. It's a huge competition for hardcopy book sellers.

2.2 The Changes in the Law in favor of Online Book Retailers of Sri Lanka.
Internationally Copy right laws are strictly carried on. It is the same here in Sri Lanka.
With the advancement of technology and sophisticated access means, most for the resources have
been changed to online or internet accessed media. The usage of Tablets and Smart phones have
created and advancement in technology with time.

Also, mentioning the availability of Audio Books and Books with 3D media makes learning
more interesting and enjoyable.
There are several laws being implemented for eBooks. Few are;

Copy Right Laws.

Registration for Copy right laws.
Terms and conditions of access and download.
Terms of Register to the Book Hub.

1) Copy Right Laws.

In Sri Lanka the present Intellectual Property Act No 36 of 2003 was the repeal of the Code of
Intellectual Property No 52 of 1979 and is active.
Briefly this law states that it is prohibited to copy ones work and publish it as your own work. If
on some circumstance you go beyond the law you will be fined and may even be banned from
the publishing order.
2) Registration for Copy right laws
To register the copyright of an eBook, send the application form (available at ebooksite.com/ebook-copyrights.html), $30 application fee, and a copy of the eBook, which will not be
returned to you. ( eHow.com,2012)
To register one ebook that should be under Copy Right Laws you have to register and get the
certificate. Then only your book will not be able to copy by others. There are conditions that has
to be agreed on to successfully register.
3) Terms and conditions of access and download
You should first have an Account in the BOOK HUB with a E-Mail address and then your
Account should posses a minimum amount of cast for you to purchase books.
The Book Hub concept is a facility that would enable a user with any mobile connection to
buy e-books using their pre-paid or post-paid mobile connections, (The Nation [Nations.lk]
Online Newspaper, 11th November 2012)

Downloads are on protection level that is those are under copy right laws and cannot be copied
to any document.

2.3 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using PESTLE Analysis]

The PESTLE Analysis is a tool that is used to identify and analyze the key drivers of change in
the strategic or business environment. The abbreviation stands for Political, Economic, Social,
Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. The tool allows the assessing of the current

environment and potential changes. The idea is, if the project is better placed than its
competitors, it would be able to respond to changes more effectively.
The PESTLE Analysis tool can be used for business planning, strategic planning, marketing
planning, product development, and organizational planning. The PESTLE tool provides its users
with factors that need to be well researched and brainstormed.
Application of PESTEL Analysis to e-Book store
Political FactorsEvery project has both internal politics and external politics. The internal politics like team
jealousies, cohesive projects, and personal interests occur in all projects and must be
considered.
The external politics refer to those which the stakeholders do not control. These events include
all political events like employment laws, tax policies, trade restrictions, trade reforms,
environmental regulations, political stability, tariffs, etc.
Economic factorsThis factor takes into consideration all events that affect the internal and external economic
environment. The internal or micro-economic events relate to the project viability and internal
soundness of the project. Financial models and accountanting techniques need to be used during
the evaluation phase to ensue the viability. The external or macro-economic events include
interstate taxes, embargoes, interest rates, economic growth, recession, inflation rate, exchange
rate, minimum wage, wage rates, unemployment, cost of living, working hours, credit
availability, financing availability, etc.
Sociological factorsThe sociological factor takes into consideration all events that affect the market and community
socially. Thus, the advantages and disadvantages to the people considered.
Use of e-books has become the new trend among the people and it is more beneficial.

Users regard convenience, accessibility, and enhanced functionality as the primary benefits of
eBooks. Print books are perceived to have an advantage in ease and enjoyability of reading, and
users do not expect them to disappear in the near future. However, users anticipate that in five
years time, they will prefer the electronic versions of some books and expect that their transition
to eBooks will be fastest for research-related activities and for reference works.
eBooks are best suited for research purposes or in a search environment where the user needs to
locate specific information. Users are not reading eBooks cover-to-cover in the traditional sense
but instead approach them as a resource for finding answers to research questions. eBooks have
the potential to stimulate new forms of book content usage and will require libraries to think
differently about how to accommodate the needs of users as their eBook collections grow.
Viewing eBooks through the lens of traditional print book usage might cause libraries to miss
important opportunities for enhancing the user research experience.

Advantages of using eBooks to the society

In most cases, eBooks are cheaper than paper books.
Instantly available worldwide - just download the eBook instead of waiting for "snail mail" or
local release.
Full Text Search available - Search our entire database of eBooks for a specific phrase or
keyword.
Convenient - imagine loading several novels and a few magazines onto a portable reading device
before you go on holiday.
Quick to download - the average novel takes only 3-4 minutes.
You can build a whole library of digital books.
Users can do research and create or organize content.
eBook reading software is free and easy to download from the internet.
Technological factors-

 This factor takes into consideration all events that affect technology. Since technology often
becomes outdated within a few months after it is launched, it is important to consider this. This
factor could also take into consideration all barriers to entry in certain markets and changes to
financial decisions.
For a long time E-books were being read on normal PCs but now the trend has changed
currently ebooks are sold in these formats alsoPDF for Digital Editions
ePub for Digital Editions
iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch
For a Computer, Choose PDF
If you only expect to read your ebook on a computer (not on a phone or special ebook device),
then you should choose a PDF-based ebook. This is because PDFs display the pages of a book
exactly as they were designed by the book publisher. In other words, a PDF will usually maintain
the design integrity of the original printed book. With other formats, pages can look different
sometimes radically different when displayed.
For a Hand-Held Device, Choose Something Else
PDFs sometimes display awkwardly on small screens, while some ebook formats are designed
especially for reading on smaller screens. If you have a smart phone, PDA or special ebook
reader device, then you should choose a format suitable for that device.
Ebook Corporation has developed an application specifically for eBooks.com customer to read
ebooks on apple devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch). This application can be downloaded and
installed on your Apple device from App Store for free(www.ebooks.com, 2012)
Environmental FactorsThis factor takes into consideration ecological and environmental aspects that could be either
economic or social in nature.

Legal FactorsThis factor takes into consideration all legal aspects like employment, quotas, taxation,
resources, imports and exports, etc.
The books available in e-book stores are almost exclusively from major publishing houses who
have legal obligations to their authors. These obligations in turn mean that there are limits on the
ways that ebooks can be distributed and used.
Some books are not allowed to be sold in certain places. This is almost always because the
publisher who supplied the ebook to us only has a right to sell that book in clearly defined
geographical territories. So you might find that the ebook you want to buy isn't available in your
country as an ebook. There will be another local publisher who holds the right to publish in your
country, and it's likely that your local publisher hasn't released is as an ebook.This is common
with consumer book categories like fiction, biography, personal growth, etc. Scholarly, technical
and professional books tend to be published globally by a single publisher.
Printing and Copy & PasteAs a rule, it isn't possible to print the whole of a book in a single sitting. There are printing and
copying restrictions placed on most commercially distributed ebooks.It's the publisher of a book
who determines how much of an ebook (if any) you can print or copy & paste. Some publishers
are very liberal in this and enable you to print the whole ebook, while others are the reverse and
allow no printing or copying. In general, a reasonable amount printing and copying are enabled
by most publishers.(Brightthumbpm.com,2012)
2.4 The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using Porters Five Forces]

The rapid developments in information and communication technologies have now presented
publishers with a unique opportunity to enrich the lives of book loving people in all around the
world. Therefore especially the e-books have now becoming a global trend as the rise in smart
phones and mobile devices where leading the consumers to look satisfy an ever increasing

segment of their needs through them. These e-books are being so popular because the books
which are in online store are lower in price than the physical version of the same book. So the
readers can enjoy the convenience of being able to purchase books from anywhere.

1 Competitive rivalry within an industry

For more industries, this is the major determine of the competitiveness of the industry. When
considering about the whole world, there are so many online sources available, therefore the
competition between these retailers in the industry is high. But in Sri Lanka it is low, because
there are only few people who using to this technology to publish e-books. Most of people are
still in to hard copies. Therefore there is a big competition in the industry of printed paper books.
2 Bargaining power of suppliers
Mainly these e-book stores are focus on providing opportunities for the authors who have so far
found it a tough task to have their books to publish in the country, so by using these technologies,
authors can make their books available electronically. Already there is a big competition among
the hard copy publishers. For this reason, author, the main supplier should aim on this industry to
fulfill consumer requirements, needs and wants and low purchasing price categories more than
hard copy industry. Because buyers are more fragmented and purchase most appropriate
products. It will be mostly effective to increase the bargaining power of suppliers.

3 Bargain power of Customers

This depends on the personal factors of the customer, such as age, occupation, income and life
style. When people searching for books in online, there are so many options available for them,
therefore most of them are going for the low price products and freely downloaded facility
products, so in this situation the bargaining power of the customer is high. Education of Sri
Lanka depends on English, Sinhala and Tamil languages therefore e-book industry products
should include all three mediums. Buyers are more concentrated about the authors who already
published high quality products. Also they are already addicted to find products which can easily

to buy from everywhere. Increasing of using new technology among the people, e-book industry
should maintain to absorb high quality products from good authors who are popular in the book
industry.
4 Threats of the new entrants
In addition to considering existing rivals, organizations should also consider the potential for
new entrants to emerge. So the threat of new entrants in the e- book industry is strong because of
the low entry costs. The companies only need to find suppliers and publish their books on online
stores. But the entry cost may be high when publishing the hard copy because when comes to
printing, packaging, storing and distributing. Therefore the threats of the new entrants will be
high in hard copy industry.
5 Threats of substitutes
The existence of close substitute products increases the propensity of customer to switch to
alternatives in response to price increase. As for e-book industry, the main substitute is hard
copies. But the threats from those substitute products are not much strong because in present
days most of the people are trying to focus on new technologies, therefore finding a book from
an online book store is cheaper for them than getting from a bookshop. So the threat of
substitutes is low. When technologies are changing rapidly, existing firms use technological
substitutes, such as some publisher distributes CD with combined with the hard copy. Therefore
it will be a disadvantage for the e-books. In the other hand, although purchasing is easy to do by
using e wallets, credit cards and mobile service providers, but it is more risky than doing using
cash.
2.5 Suggestions to Equalize E books and Hard Copies
What are the benefits and advantages of EBooks
1. EBooks are delivered almost instantaneously. You can purchase, download and start reading
them within minutes, without leaving your chair. You don't have to go to a bookstore to buy
them, neither wait for them for days, weeks and sometimes more to arrive in the mail.
2. No trees are required to manufacture paper for the pages of eBooks.

3. When you need certain information, you can get it immediately, by downloading an eBook.
4. Many eBooks are sold nowadays with bonuses, which you usually do not get with a printed
book. This adds value to your purchase.
5. EBooks take up less space. You practically don't need any space to store them. You don't need
a library or a room for them. You can store hundreds and thousands of eBooks on your computer
or reading device.
6. EBooks are portable. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you, on CD, in
a laptop, notebook or any eBook reader, without worrying about their weight.
7. With today's technology you can read eBooks everywhere, on the bus, train, airplane, and
while standing in line.
8. EBooks are more safely stored and carried from one place to another, than ordinary books.
They also withstand time more than books.
Disadvantages of E books
Availability Disadvantages
1 Many titles that are available in traditional print books are not yet available in an electronic
book format. This problem is compounded by the fact that as of 2010, the electronic books on the
market are manufactured and licensed by different companies, each of which has access to its
own range of titles. Many mainstream best sellers are available in electronic format, but if you
tend to read even slightly more exotic titles or academic literature, you will not be able to find
much suitable material in e-book format at present.
Technological Disadvantages
2 As of 2010, electronic books still present a variety of technological problems that need to be
solved. Reading e-books can create eye strain because it is more difficult to read words on a
computer screen than on a page. Devices made specifically for reading e-books present other

issues. Some models do not come with replaceable batteries. As a result, you must replace the
entire device when the battery dies.
(eHow.com,2012)
Benefits of E-Books
1 EBooks are good for the environment. EBooks save trees. EBooks eliminate the need for
filling up landfills with old books. EBooks save transportation costs and the pollution associated
with shipping books across the country and the world.

2 EBooks, faster to produce than paper books, allow readers to read books about current issues
and events.

3 EBooks are easily updateable, for correcting errors and adding information.
4 EBooks are searchable. Quickly you can find anything inside the book. EBooks are globally
searchable: you can find information in many eBooks.

5 EBooks are portable. You can carry an entire library on one DVD.

Advantages of Hardcopies
1 Bookstores are everywhere offering easily attainable copies.
2 Books are cheap and can usually fit any budget.
3 Paper books are there all the time; whenever you want them (no power source is necessary).
Disadvantages of Hardcopies

1 Books are bulky and can often be heavy.

2 A light Source is needed for reading.
3 The notes you make in printed books are there forever, you cant erase or Change the
highlights made
(www.bitrebels.com,2012)
Suggestions to Equalize EBook and Hardcopies
1 Add new rules to EBooks
When People download EBooks using the internet we can add new rules to them
E.g.: Limit the number of eBook downloads
2 Add price to all the EBooks
Some EBooks are given freely. When people downloading EBooks. We can increase the price of
all the eBooks.
3 Rural Area Problems
In rural areas there are no modern technologies. Then they cant use EBooks. Because of that we
have to promote Hardcopies. Because they only have Physical Libraries.
4 To Promote Hardcopies
We can give discount and many offers to customers.
E.g.: When they buy three books we can give another one book free of charge.

03 Conclusions
Due to the fast development of sophisticated technology advancement the publication media has
transformed to Online or Internet Access media.
Lowering costs of printing and paper this media comes with a pile of features like Audio Books
and e-Books that can be downloaded and read.
Still there is a majority of Hard Copy retailers in Sri Lanka terms must be taken to equalize the
retail book market.
The Book Hub being new to our Island might take some time for users to actually be aware
and to gain user knowledge.
Yet there are things to think about in such advancements. Laws implemented and view of the
society taken to account which was discussed in this Research Report

04 References

eHow.com, 2012. Advantages & Disadvantages of Electronic Books. Available at:

<http://www.ehow.com/list_6157579_advantages-disadvantages-electronic-books.html> [Assessed on: 5th
November 2012]
Bit Rebels, 2012.eBooks.Available at:< http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/the-great-debate-e-booksvs-the-printedC-copy/> [Assessed on: 3rd November 2012]

RobinGood,2012. Ebooks Usage Trends And Statistics. Available at:

http://www.masternewmedia.org/ebooks_usage_trends_and_statistics/[Assesed on: 3rd November
2012]

MicroimageMobileMedia, 2011, BOOKHUB. Avaiable

at:<http://www.mimobimedia.com/Press/bookhub_launch.html>[Accessed on 2nd November
2012]
Wijerathne,V.,2012. Mobile payments for Etisalat Book Hub.The Nations [Online],
19th February 2012.Available at: < http://www.nation.lk/edition/business/item/2840-mobilepayments-for-etisalat-%E2%80%98book-hub%E2%80%99.html >[Accessed on: 1st November
2012]
Components of a PESTLE Analysis,2012 Bright Hub PM, Available at:
<http://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/51754-components-of-a-pestle-analysis/>
[Accessed on: 1st November 2012]

05 Corporation of Team Members.

1) Kenneth Peiris 2012104

Introduction.

Changes in Law in favor of Online Book retailers.

Conclusion.

2) Najith Kalhan 2012107

The History of Online Book retailing [E-Books]

3) Hasanjaya Bandara 2012065

Suggestions to equalize the retail book market in Sri Lanka.

4) Sathya Gamage 2012094

The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using PESTLE
Analysis]

5) Charukshi Perera 2012___

The Threat from Online Entrants on Hard Copy Book Retailers. [Using Porters
Five Forces]