Edinburgh Napier University

  This thesis provides a comparative analysis of the way contemporary processes of global change have affected the development of the publishing industry in nations which can be labelled small. It is centred on the cases of Scotland and Catalonia, nations with comparable political and demographic similarities in size and composition but also disparities in terms of their linguistic distribution and governmental organisation.
The analysis interprets the sectors as a whole, looking specifically at the publication of texts in trade, academic and specialist markets. The research includes an overall qualitative analysis which synthesises a quantitative approach by adapting the interpretive perspective of social network analysis to undertake a survey of each sector in its entirety. This is supplemented with in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders that represent the poles of the sector in microcosm, as identified through the survey data. A model is developed as an analytical framework, which provides a theoretical contribution to the subject area and underpins the structure of the research.
The study identifies the relationship between processes of change at the level of global enterprise and markets and the development and sustainability of materials published at the level of the local, and analyses how this inter-relation contributes to national identity development whilst considering the extent to which these processes affect the dynamics of this industrial activity in the cases of Catalonia and Scotland. Wider conclusions about other comparable small nations are drawn by interpreting the similarities and differences in these two nations. Particular factors for consideration include the linguistic status and socio-political situation of each location. The study also incorporates a diachronic perspective by underpinning the research with a contextual analysis of the historical development of the publishing industry in each nation from the seventeenth century to the present day. This research aids understanding of the position small-national cultures occupy in an increasingly globalised market and is designed to provide the basis for examination into the subject area from other comparable nations by focusing in on particular cultural variables as suggested in the conclusion.