摘要：AbstractThis paper examines the impact that e-books and ecommerce have on the current and future evolution of the book industry, by focusing on its various stakeholders: authors, publishers, online and traditional distributors, and readers. This is an explo ratory research, based mainly on qualitative methods and analysis of secondary data. The developments in the US and several European markets are examined in order to generate hypotheses about the changing roles of the various actors. Brick-and-mortar bookstores are affected as their customers increasingly prefer to shop online for both regular and electronic books. The publisher- author relationship is also transformed, as the writers are now able to publish their works directly to the website of a dist ributor. Although printed books will probably continue to exist, publishers and bookstores need to investigate the changing preferences of their target market and revise the way they produce and deliver content to their customers.
