<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Digitalization is both a major cause of the challenges now faced by several media industries and a source of their potential solutions. Within the book and newspaper industries, the value of the physical product is about to be surpassed by that of digitally delivered content, disrupting the distribution system that these industries have relied on for many decades. In particular, digital distribution has radically changed the way in which consumers engage in unpaid and paid media consumption.</p>
<p>Anchored in the notion of disruptive innovation, and more specifically related to the idea of distribution as disruptive technology, our study investigates Generation Z’s unpaid and paid consumption of digital books and online local newspapers. Drawing on two Norwegian audience surveys, we find that both industries involve at least one disruptive actor. Generation Z relies heavily on Facebook as a distribution channel for news. Pay-walls have a negative effect on the usage of paid online local news, despite the belief that paywalled news is better than free news. In the Norwegian book industry, paper books still have a very strong position among Generation Z. Audiobooks have greater usage than e-books, and we conclude that the real disruptive actor in the Norwegian book industry is the streaming of audiobooks by actors such as Storytel.</p>
</abstract>

Digitalization is both a major cause of the challenges now faced by several media industries and a source of their potential solutions. Within the book and newspaper industries, the value of the physical product is about to be surpassed by that of digitally delivered content, disrupting the distribution system that these industries have relied on for many decades. In particular, digital distribution has radically changed the way in which consumers engage in unpaid and paid media consumption.
Anchored in the notion of disruptive innovation, and more specifically related to the idea of distribution as disruptive technology, our study investigates Generation Z’s unpaid and paid consumption of digital books and online local newspapers. Drawing on two Norwegian audience surveys, we find that both industries involve at least one disruptive actor. Generation Z relies heavily on Facebook as a distribution channel for news. Pay-walls have a negative effect on the usage of paid online local news, despite the belief that paywalled news is better than free news. In the Norwegian book industry, paper books still have a very strong position among Generation Z. Audiobooks have greater usage than e-books, and we conclude that the real disruptive actor in the Norwegian book industry is the streaming of audiobooks by actors such as Storytel.

Digital payments for a digital generation

Nordic Journal of Media Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Disruptive technology in book and local newspaper industries

Digitalization is both a major cause of the challenges now faced by several media industries and a source of their potential solutions. Within the book and...

Theoretical argument:	Newspaper survey items:	Book survey item:
Less Demanding Customers (willingness to pay)	How do you agree or disagree with the statement “I’m annoyed that I have to pay for content in my local newspaper online edition”	What is your impression of the price level of e-books compared to paper books in general?
	How do you agree or disagree with the statement “I think local online news should be free to everyone on the internet”	How much are you willing to pay for the following: Foreign paper book, national paper book, national e-book, international e-book, streaming service for audiobooks (per month)?
Good enough products in emerging markets (satisfaction)	How satisfied or unsatisfied are you with... (a range of media services, including local online newspapers)	Do you find any weaknesses of e-books comparing them to paper books?
	How do you agree or disagree with the statement “I think content which requires payment is better than the free content in my local online newspaper”	What device for digital books do you prefer?
Paid or unpaid distribution	Do you use online local newspapers with a paywall?	Do you have a subscription to any audio book services?
	How do you agree or disagree with the statement “I read less local news online after the local newspaper introduced paywalls”	Have you used any book service that does not require payment?
	How do you agree or disagree with the statement “I use other news sources more after the introduction of paywalls in local newspapers”	Have you used any book service that requires payment?
Disruptive distribution actor	Which of the following media do you use to stay informed about the community (16 media types were listed for the question)	Have you used any of the following book services? (this question contained nine variables including Amazon, Google Books and Storytel)
	How do you normally find local news online (8 options to choose from)

Digital payments for a digital generation

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 125 - 136

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/njms-2019-0008

Keywords
Generation Z, digitalization, book industry, local newspapers, consumption

© 2019 Kampen Kristensen, L. B. & Solvoll, M., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Analytical design of the paper

Digital payments for a digital generation

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 125 - 136

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/njms-2019-0008

KeywordsGeneration Z, digitalization, book industry, local newspapers, consumption

© 2019 Kampen Kristensen, L. B. & Solvoll, M., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Analytical design of the paper

Keywords
Generation Z, digitalization, book industry, local newspapers, consumption