Customer Values Of International Book Fairs

Since the establishment of Frankfurt Book Fair in the 14th century,the book fair has gone through more than 700 years as a kind of economic activity.It once took part in the important responsibility of book distribution channels and information distribution centers of the industry.However,with the development of social media,the number of exhibitors has been decreasing,as well as the activity itself.What strikes me as paradoxical is that more and more digital publishers and media practitioners are contending to be included while traditional publishing exhibitors are leaving.This seemingly contradictory phenomenon is questioning:is the international book fair worthwhile to exhibitors?This paper decomposes this question into three small parts:what customer values are achieved by exhibitors through international book fairs;how these values are generated;and what factors influence customer value in specific situations.In order to answer these questions,the author stipulated the scope of the objects to be discussed after analyzing the existing research.Subsequently,the author implemented 18 semi-structured interviews and quantitative analysis according to the instruction of laddering theory,and constructed the hypothetical hierarchical value map of an international book fair.Based on this map,the author discussed the key elements of the international book fair's customer values,the relevance between different values,the self-inflicted factors that influence the exhibitors' access to the value from the international book fair,as well as a new perspective based upon the relationship marketing theory as in the end.This study reveals that exhibitors would obtain 33 value elements through international book fairs,including 19 attribute elements,9 consequence elements and 5 value elements.There are some key drivers at each level.For example,the number and quality of exhibitors among attribute elements,the relationship expansion among consequences elements,brand promotion and the relationship value among value elements This imbalance does not only come from each value level itself but also other value levels.That is,within the same level,there are differences in the ability to associate with value elements of other levels.In addition,the degree of participation of exhibitors,the nature of exhibitors,and the exhibitors' positions do affect the customer value of international book fairs.Individuals with multiple identities could get different values in different situations.At last,the author finds out that under the relational marketing theory,the business achievement and information collection are complimentary of a great relationship network,rather than separate existence from each other.To sum up,this article combines customer value theory with the international book fair,and points out possible directions for follow-up studies.At the same time,it has practical significance for both exhibitors and organizers,the expectation to provide meaningful ideas for the transformation of the International Book Fair in the Digital Age.