Elsevier Chairman YS Chi: An Interview - The Scholarly Kitchen

Quoting Elsevier chairman Youngsuk (“YS”) Chi:

Q: How far along are you in the transformation of the organization from a financial perspective? What percentage of the business has shifted to data analytics? Is part of the strategy about protecting against loss of revenue from open access (OA)?

[Elsevier chairman Youngsuk Chi]: Our strategy is not really pinned to OA. Our strategy is about growth. Having said that, in the research domain, probably a good two digit percentage of our revenue comes from non-publishing revenue. In the health sector, however, it’s a very large percentage....

[Q]: We manage collections budget from a deficit perspective. What is Elsevier’s approach internally to allowing us to manage our costs? ...

[W]e will make more content open — such as flat content — but if you want more functionality and efficiency you can pay for what you value....

[Q]: What would it take to have Elsevier entirely open in the US through a national license?

Chi: It’s a question of resolve and how difficult it is to assemble so many organizations together. The United States is the most challenging and complicated market from a national licensing perspective...."