Business Models of Scientific Journals: Global Trends and Ukrainian Realities

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyze the conceptual foundations of business models of scientific journals in the global and national contexts, including an analysis of global trends and current trends in Ukraine.

Research methodology. The methods of analysis, comparison, abstraction and generalisation were used. The method of analysis allowed us to consider in detail the main aspects and essence of the object of research – business models of scientific journals, to describe trends in the global market of scientific publishing, in particular, to show the dynamics of development of scientific journals and to identify the main trend – the transition to open access and open science. The method of comparison allowed us to distinguish between business strategies of scientific journals, which differ primarily in their purpose – commercial benefits or publication of high-quality research information, to compare current business models, highlighting the positive and negative aspects of their existence. The method of abstraction was important for highlighting the essential characteristics and fundamental features of individual business models, which made it possible to increase the comprehensibility of each of them, to provide a correct picture of the consequences of their application, relying only on the features of the models that are important from a practical point of view. The method of generalisation was used to draw conclusions about the impact of current business models of scientific journals on the quality of published scientific content, the development of scientific journalism and open science in general.

Results. The authors have studied the main business models of scientific journals that have been formed to date; these are the traditional (subscription), Open Access, hybrid and so-called «predatory» models, which are widely used, but can contribute to the dissemination of low-quality scientific information, contain unfounded conclusions and false correlations. The authors summarize the main trends in the global market of scientific publication services, and outline the trends and realities of Ukrainian scientific publications.

As business models are changing rapidly under the influence of digitalisation, this paper highlights the innovations and challenges faced by scientists in sharing scientific information in the digital environment, focuses on the importance of developing open access in the context of establishing cooperation among scientists and improving the quality of scientific content, and highlights the risks posed by the development of the predatory journal model.

Thus, the article compares the business models of scientific journals, focusing on those that are promising or, on the contrary, harmful to the further development of scientific research, and summarises the current changes in the field of scientific journals – the gradual transition to open access journals, as well as the negative trends of today – the spread of ‘predatory’ journals against the background of the high cost and complexity of publishing in bona fide journals, the motives of scientists who turn to «predatory» scientific publications.

The novelty. The conceptual foundations of business models of scientific journals in global and national contexts, including global trends and current trends in Ukraine, are analyzed.

Practical significance. This work is an important contribution to the formation of the conceptual framework for the development of business models of domestic scientific journals in the context of digitalization and changing global trends, which is valuable for scientists, scientific publications, their employees, editors and reviewers, as well as other users of scientific information.

Key words: research activities, scientific publication, scientific journals, indexing, global scientific community, Open Access, «predatory» publications, business models.