The Digital Strategy of Editorial Houses: A Matter of Book Content?[La stratégie numérique des maisons d'édition : une question de genre de livres ?]

Traditional editorial houses are now confronted with the emergence of the online diffusion of e-books. This phenomenon has forced publishing houses to also make their catalogue of printed books available as digital versions. However, it would be inaccurate to envision and report on the digital strategies of publishing houses in a global way since digitisation has very different effects according to the various types of books: dictionaries, illustrated books or novels, for example. The aim of this article is therefore to examine to what extent the type and categories of books influence — or not — in a differentiated way the behaviour of publishers in their digitisation strategies and the design of their e-book catalogues. The expected results should reflect divergent approaches towards proactive behaviour and the appropriation of e-book technologies. Not all publishers are on the path towards publishing in digital formats. Consequently, this article provides a comparative analysis of catalogues of printed books and e-books. It compares the strategy of 104 editorial houses, focusing on a specific country – in this case, France. The most widely diffused book categories with the total number of books available in printed and digital formats have been identified for every editorial house analysed. The analysis is supported and processed thanks to the use of the national systematic databank of French publishers (Electre). The results shed light on the effective influence of the digital book on printed book categories and make it possible to characterise accordingly the strategies of editorial houses in the digital age.