Research on Compound business model of Private bookstores Based on investigation

（Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433）

Abstract. In recent years, there is more and more information that the private stores have went bankrupt. Compound business model of cultural product is the way out of private bookstores. Based on the previous study on consumer motivation theory, the paper uses the statistical method of factor analysis to establish reader’s demand motivation model of compound business model. And from the perspective of supply, the paper extracts four important dimension features of compound private bookstores. The comparison between the demand and the supply indicates that compound private bookstores have disadvantages, and the paper proposes constructive suggestions for the future development of the business model.

Key words: compound private bookstores, private model, consumption motivation, supply, development suggestions

Introduction

Bookstore is a sign of the level of civilization in a country and a city. Good actual bookstores are honored as the cultural card of a city. The private stores with cultural flavor including Halloween in Beijing, Pioneer in Nanjing, Monsoon in Shanghai and Eslite in Taibei are the culturally pure land to be expected by people.

In the last decade, high rent, expensive human cost, discount network bookstores and wide spread digital products make the private bookstores encounter the bankruptcy. The statistic data shows that there are about 100 private stores going bankrupt in China from 2007 to 2009.

However, the background that the culture needs to develop greatly doesn’t allow private bookstores extinct. Rapid development of economy needs the support of strong cultural spiritual connotation. And private bookstores are honored as the habitat of urban civilization and spiritual home of the modern generation. Sine private bookstores encountered bankruptcy, many book lovers hold activities spontaneously to defend actual bookstores. The policy support of the government makes the development of bookstores possible. For example, in Shanghai, Shanghai publication distributing network construction support fund management method and Shanghai directory guide publication distributing network construction were issued by Shanghai press and publication bureau on February 28th 2012, in which 5 million was transferred to support actual bookstores, especially the actual bookstores which have developed professional orientation and brand influence. It is the first comprehensive and matching regulatory documents of the local government supporting the development of actual bookstores.

But the policy support of the government only can solve the problem in short term. Private bookstores need self rescue for survival and development. In recent years, many bookstores have become compound business model and tried to improve the profit and strive for long-term development through the sale of the other relevant cultural products such as drinks and multicultural crafts. As the tendency of future bookstores, compound private bookstores is becoming a branch of cultural creative industry, and the development prospect is greatly concerned by book-industry experts of cultural industry.

From the field investigation and exploration, we find that while satisfying the consumption demand of readers, compound private bookstores have many problems which may hinder the creative development of private bookstores. Therefore, the paper summarizes the disadvantages of compound business model of the private bookstores, and proposes constructive suggestions to promote the development of private bookstores.

Retrospection on Previous Researches

Leibenstein consumption motivation

Leibenstei divides the demand on goods and services into functional requirement and non-functional requirement from the perspective of consumption motivation. Functional requirement means the requirement of consumer on the internal quality of goods and services, and is not influenced by the other consumer’s decisions. If the consumption of the consumer on goods and services is not for the internal quality, it belongs to non-functional requirement. Influencing the external effect of utility is the most important for non-functional requirement. External effect is divided into bandwagon effect, snob effect and Veblen effect.

2.2 Western luxury consumption motivation

While studying western luxury consumption motivation, the foreign scholars, Vigneron Franck and Lester W. Johnson (1999) divided the consumers into public private self-conscious and individual private self-conscious. The influence of reference group was divided into interpersonal influence and self influence. Interpersonal influence affects three luxury consumption motivations of western luxury, display, lead and conformity. Self influence affects two consumption motivations, enjoyment and perfectionist.

Establishment of Reader Consumption Demand

Motivation Model

Motivation factors and measurement items

Based on the existing researches of the foreign scholars about consumption motivation and the characteristics of reader’s consumption of compound private bookstores, we initially establish reader consumption motivation model. Then, the consumption motivation model is modified by deeply interviewing 8 consumers of 4 bookstores for 20 minutes. Finally, we get 10 motivation factors and 27 measurement items, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Reader consumption motivation factors and measurement items

Quantitative analysis and model establishment

The investigation gives priority to questionnaire and is supplemented by interview. The randomly issued objectives of questionnaires are consumers of 12 compound private bookstores near University Road, Fuzhou Road and South Shaanxi Road. 550 pieces of questionnaires are issued, and 516 were recycled, the recycled rate is 93.82%, in which there are 485 pieces of effective questionnaires, and the effective rate was 93.99%.

(1) Measurement item analysis

The purpose of measurement item analysis is to judge the discrimination. The research selects t inspection. The process is that the sum of the scores of the subject is ranked from low to high, 27% of the high scores is the high-score group, and 27% of the low score is the low-score group. The mean numbers of the score of each question of two groups are compared. And the number is called critical ratio. Generally speaking, CR value of the project achieves significant level (P < 0.05), which means that the project can identify the reaction extent of different subject. The greater CR value is, the stronger the resolution capability of the project is. When CR value is very low, it can be deleted.

The paper uses SPSS11.0 to make t inspection on 27 questions, which finds that CR values of all projects achieve significant level (p

(2) Factor analysis

The research uses principal component analysis and maximum variance orthogonal rotation method of factor analysis to establish factor analysis model, for achieving the objective of reducing dimensions.

The factors with eigenvalue greater than 1 are selected, and the other variables are not used. SPSS11.0 is applied to make factor analysis on 27 questions of 485 effective questionnaires. The statistics indicate that KMO value is 0.657, and the concomitant probability of Bartlett spherical inspection is 0.000, which is less than the significant level. So the research data is applicable for factor analysis.

The achieved data receives maximum variance orthogonal rotation, which can get 8 factors (as shown in Table 1), and the accumulated explained variance reaches 78.24%. The measurements items corresponding to factor 1 include buying books in bookstores, liking the writer to publish new books and hoping to get the guidance of experts, network bookstores can’t replace actual bookstores, liking to display the books. The measurement items reflect the motivation of reader buying books, so the first factor is named as book itself. The specific names of the other principal components are shown in Table 1.

(3) Reliability analysis

Reliability means the consistency or stability of measurement result. When internal consistency coefficient Cronbachpsα>0.70, it is high reliability. When it is between 0.35 and 0.70, it is appropriate. When it is less than 0.35, it is low reliability.

The results of the last two columns in Table 1 indicate that the reliability of each scale is greater than 0.8 except for Cronbachpsα, which indicates that the scale to be measured has god internal consistency.

From the above analysis, we can finally get the reader consumption motivation model of compound private bookstores, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Reader consumption requirement motivation

Establishing Four Dimensions of Supply——Based on Researches of Motivation

Establishment of four dimensions

Supply has close relationship with demand. The objective of the supplier (bookstore operators) providing products and service is to meet the requirements of consumer to earn the profit. From the summary on the measurement items of the above eight requirement motivations, we can get the conclusion that in order to meet the requirements of consumer, compound private bookstores should put emphasis on mastering four dimensions, width and depth of books, service quality, creation difference and reader experience.

Figure 3 Four-dimension features of supply and relationship of eight requirement motivations

Measurement criteria of four dimensions and field investigation results

In order to know the concrete actions of the private bookstores, we firstly set specific measurement criteria for four dimensions, and select 32 compound private bookstores in Shanghai for field exploration.

(1)Width and depth of books——highlighting the brand and cultivation, selecting books as foothold and holding on to core value

In order to effectively measure the width and depth from the perspective of readers, we set the question in the questionnaire if there is the experience that you go to many bookstores and can’t buy the expected book.

The statistical results of the investigation analysis indicate that 21% of the subject selects the option of frequency, 21% of the subject selects the option of sometimes, and 28% of the subject selects the option of occasion, and 10% of the subject selects the option of basically no.

(2) Service quality ——enhancing consumption pleasure of reader and making comprehensive convenience service

The investigation indicates that more than half of the bookstore salesman can rapidly tell the consumer if the bookstore has the book and the specific location of the book. But most bookstores don’t provide the notice of stock out and purchase for the readers.

(3) Innovative difference——excavating creative products and services and forming distinctive individual style and feature

The results of investigating the relevant cultural products and services of 32 bookstores indicate that the products and services provided by the bookstores focus on stationeries, drinks, small works of art and postcards. In addition, there are only few bookstores providing featured products and services such as flowers and plants, books rent and lecture salon. We can see that the innovation and differentiation of compound private bookstores is not optimistic.

(4) Reader experience——building comfortable and relaxed reading consumption environment

The investigation indicates that except for the conclusion that interpersonal experience factor reader experience is not ideal, the reader has better experience for the other three aspects including self-enjoy, physical and psychological health and cultural atmosphere have good experience. And the investigation results indicate that there are about 30% of bookstores providing free Wi-Fi for the reader.

Summary and Development Suggestions

Existing problems

We find from the research that the existing compound private bookstores have the following problems. (1) The width and depth of books need to be excavated. (2) Professional services are deficient. (3) Reader experience needs to be enhanced. (4) Homogenization is becoming serious. (5) Intrinsic value is deficient, and the books have the tendency of existing in name only.

Suggestions

(1) Profession firstly, and comprehensiveness secondly

The bookstore firstly establishes their own core advantages to excavate the professional depth of varieties of books and improve the expertise of books. After meeting professional requirements, the bookstore with certain scale may consider expanding the width of the books to meet the requirements of different consumption groups. The bookstores need to take the following measures to realize professional development. (1) Increasing the investment in selecting books, and establishing high-standard team of selecting books. （2） Focusing on the books which can’t be bought on network. (3) Focusing on some large presses and concerning some presses which publishing good books occasionally, and selecting books as widely as possible.

(2) Providing professional and convenient services

The bookstores should consider from the perspective of the consumer, meet the requirements of the readers, provide the services for the reader, and enhance the pleasure of reader consumption to improve the consumption of books.

The specific measures are as follows. (1) Giving professional training to the shopping assistant to make them become professional purchase guidance for the readers. (2) Providing the services including number query, out-of-stock registration and arrival notice.

(3) Focusing on overall harmony of the bookstore

The bookstore is a three-dimensional space. The readers in the bookstore achieve all-dimensionally three-dimensional feeling. The relevant cultural products, atmosphere, decoration and environment must be in harmony with the books, which not only can make readers comfortable, but also can increase the desire of the readers buying books.

The specific measures are as follows. (1) Eliminating the relevant products and services which are not in harmony with the books such as vegetables, fruits and handy. (2) Independent reading space and reader communication space are complemented harmoniously.

(4) Establishing multi-direction links

As the public place, the bookstore can become a good communication space. And the bookstore can make use of the characteristic to establish multi-direction communication links to increase the emotion of the readers for the bookstore.

On one hand, the communication between readers should be enhanced. The specific measures include: (1) Holding lectures and reader communication meeting regularly according to the features of the bookstore, for helping the readers find like-minded friends and build interpersonal connections. (2) Setting reader communication area in the bookstore for readers exploring problems.

On the other hand, the connection between the bookstore and the readers should be enhanced. And the specific measures are as follows. (1) Closing the distance between the bookstore and the readers by forum and e-mail, and meeting the requirements of the readers. (2) Using more publicity to seek emotional resonance and creating the concept of spiritual culture place to cultivate the habit of consumption.

References

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