Adding value in electronic publishing - taking the reader’s perspective

The value chain, first proposed by Michael Porter, is an abstract model which aids understanding of the role of intermediaries in ‘adding value’ to raw material as it is processed for consumers. This paper sets out an adaptation of Porter’s original value chain model, modified to make it more applicable to the ‘information value chain’ - the processes by which this rather specialized raw material - ‘information’ - is processed between author and reader. As information dissemination moves from physical media to the network, this model provides a way of describing the impact of commodification of some aspects of traditional added value and of identifying where the greatest opportunities to add value will lie in the future.