View source for Research and development in the book and ebook industries

==Description:==
R&D is an essential part of any company or organization that provides a product or service in a continuously changing market. R&D has not only an economical impact by generating higher profits for companies that successfully adopt it, but it has also a social impact by improving the current services and products the people use. 

The main purpose of R&D is to create new technologies and/or functionalities in order to attract, maintain and pleasantly surprise customers. But the most innovative product doesn't necessarily make it to be a winner in the market. In order to become a market leader, the product must be both intuitive and innovative. Products that are so innovative that are difficult to use will only have to lose. 

R&D also is of high importance in the paper book industry, and it can mean: how to create the perfect study book that not only improves the knowledge transfer but that is also enjoyed by students, how should be the layout and design of a book, what colors should be used to attract more people. But as the ebook industry is developing R&D increases in its importance. Now book publishers have to deal with problems as how to make the paper book more interesting, attracting and accessible than the ebook one. 

Furthermore,in order for paper book industry to maintain and/or increase its market share, it might have to reach potential customers so far not taken into consideration. By this I mean all those foreigners that live in countries where they can't speak the official language (the Spanish or Asians from USA). These people have low access to books in their native language. Therefore, paper book publishers might want to consider attracting these people too, by offering a service which involves printing books on demand, in a certain languages. These "printers" could be accessed from any bookstore, and, by pressing certain buttons (selecting language, size, paper color and quality), provide the wanted book in just a few minutes. 

As far as ebook industry is concerned, R&D can be considered at its beginning. The product of previous research is the ebook reader whose purpose is to provide a reading experience but the quality of this experience is not that satisfying: the battery runs out fast, the resolution is bad, it's too complicated. 

Companies are focused on continuous improvements to keep up with competition but also to attract faster any potential customers. Most probable, R&D will try to come up with a technology that perfectly simulates the reading experience so that it becomes appealing to paper book fans too. This technology will evolve in the next years by bringing better resolution, better features and a more intuitive interface. Other areas where changes will happen are size, weight, functionalities.

==Enablers:==
R&D itself represents an enabler for improving access to books in any form

==Inhibitors:==
1. Poor market study

2. Lack of investments in R&D

3. New products/services so complicated that are rejected by users