This study examines the policies of Arab publishers in pricing the printed book in terms of publishing process in order to find out the main factors that are directly involved in calculating its price. The study depended on the field methodology using a questionnaire distributed electronically to the study community of publishers in the Arab region. The total number of returned questionnaires was 34 (22.37%). The results revealed some important factors that affect the pricing of Arab printed book in general. The most important factors are: “Paper’’ (39.2%), and “Binding’’ (36.5%). The study found that the export of books has an impact on the price by 71%, followed by “Loading and transport’’ (34.38%) and “Customs’’ (25%) as the most influential factors. The results explained that the distribution costs had an impact on book pricing by (66.67%) regarding to the “Costs of Agreement with Distributors and Sales Discounts”. Also, the parallel books markets affected the book prices by 76.5% for the “Shops Selling Books” as the first rank. Regarding the author's role in pricing, the study found that 66.5% of Arab publishers confirm that the author does not intervene in this context unless the publishing process based on his own expense (62.5%). The study also revealed the lack of official control over the pricing of the printed Arabic book (100%). The study ended with some recommendations for Arab governments, the Arab Publishers' Union and publishers, so that the printed Arabic book can be accessible to a large readership. |
