From Disruption to Direction: Finding Focus in a Transforming Industry

When I wrote my last From Disruption to Direction piece, I described how European publishers were moving from compliance-driven change to a culture of purposeful innovation. Since then, the pace of change has only accelerated. Artificial intelligence has evolved from an emerging tool to a central force in how we create, validate and disseminate knowledge. Open science has matured from a movement into a market imperative. And the industry itself continues to consolidate, most recently with Oxford University Press acquiring Karger, a development that underscores how even the most established publishers are rethinking scale, scope and strategy.

As I reflect on these shifts and on my journey with Integra over the past year, one realization stands out: disruption is no longer a shock to be managed. It is the environment we operate in. The real question is not whether we can adapt to change, but whether we can direct it toward meaningful outcomes.

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1. The AI inflection point: from tools to trust

Every publisher I have spoken to in Europe this year, whether scholarly, educational or hybrid, has grappled with some version of the same question: “What does responsible AI look like for us?”

AI is now embedded across publishing workflows. It accelerates peer review, enriches metadata, enhances accessibility features, assists with language editing and supports discovery. In many organisations, AI has moved from pilot projects to production systems.

With this integration comes challenges that go beyond technical implementation. Publishers are wrestling with questions about trust, transparency, authorship and accountability.

How the conversation has evolved

The discussion has moved from “Can we use AI?” to “How do we use it ethically and transparently?” Publishers want automation that enhances human judgment, not replaces it. Editorial teams are demanding guardrails that prevent algorithmic bias and maintain editorial standards. Researchers want assurance that AI-assisted manuscripts remain authentic expressions of their work. Readers and reviewers are asking for disclosure: when was AI used, to what extent and who is accountable for the final output?

Building the balance

At Integra, we have seen what it takes to build this balance. Successful implementations position AI as an intelligent assistant rather than an autonomous decision-maker. They augment human expertise instead of attempting to replicate it, and they improve efficiency while strengthening quality assurance rather than compromising it.

Our work supporting publishers with peer review operations and research integrity has reinforced a crucial insight: human oversight remains the ultimate safeguard of credibility. AI can flag potential issues, identify patterns and accelerate processes, but final judgments on quality, originality and scholarly merit must rest with human experts.

That is why I increasingly talk about AI not merely as a productivity tool but as a trust technology. How we design, deploy and govern AI systems will define the integrity of scholarship in the years ahead. Publishers who get this right will not just be more efficient; they will be more credible, more trusted and ultimately more valuable to their communities.

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2. Open science and the rewriting of business models

If AI represents the technological disruption reshaping publishing, open science represents the philosophical one. What began as a grassroots call for accessibility has evolved into a comprehensive rethinking of how research is funded, evaluated, disseminated and valued. The principles of openness—open access, open data, open peer review, open infrastructure—are becoming operational requirements.

Leading the charge

European publishers, particularly in the UK, the Netherlands, the Nordics and increasingly Germany and France, are at the forefront of open access adoption. National mandates, funder requirements and institutional policies have created an ecosystem where open publishing is becoming the default rather than the exception.

With progress comes pressure. Publishers must develop sustainable funding models, diversify revenue streams beyond subscriptions and build operational agility to serve multiple business models simultaneously.

Redefining value

The shift to openness is reshaping what “value” means. In the subscription era, value was primarily tied to access. In an open era, value is tied to trust, discoverability, quality curation and integrity. Publishers who thrive are those who redefine their relevance by being stewards of quality, integrity and community rather than simple gatekeepers of access.

This requires investing in robust peer review, building sophisticated tools for research integrity, creating richer metadata and better discovery mechanisms, and fostering engaged communities of authors, reviewers and readers. It also means providing services that support the research lifecycle rather than merely publishing final outputs.

The sustainability challenge

Most European publishers have chosen to embrace open models. The pressing question now is how to sustain them while upholding editorial excellence, maintaining rigorous standards and supporting the teams that make quality publishing possible. Strategic partnerships are essential here. Organisations like Integra provide operational flexibility, technological infrastructure and scalable expertise that enable publishers to evolve sustainably. The goal is not to impose a single path but to empower publishers with the capabilities and confidence to chart their own course.

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3. Consolidation and convergence: reading the market signals

The acquisition of Karger by Oxford University Press made headlines but also made sense to those watching industry trends closely. It reflects a broader market truth: the future of publishing increasingly lies in strategic convergence rather than pure-play specialization.

Blurring boundaries

We are entering an era in which traditional boundaries between scholarly, educational and professional publishing are becoming porous. Skills, tools and technologies that drive innovation in one sector are informing and transforming the others. Peer review expertise once primarily the domain of scholarly publishers is now applied to educational content validation. Accessibility standards developed for textbooks are being adapted for research monographs. AI tools built for journal production are being repurposed for course materials.

As markets mature and margins tighten, publishers recognise that competitive advantage lies not just in deep specialization but in strategic alliances that provide shared infrastructure, pooled innovation capacity and economies of scale.

Opportunities for independent publishers

For smaller and mid-sized publishers, consolidation brings both risk and opportunity. The risk is being absorbed or marginalised. Many independent publishers worry about losing identity, editorial voice or mission focus.

The opportunity is to maintain autonomy and distinctiveness while accessing enterprise-grade capabilities through strategic partnerships. Integra enables these publishers to leverage sophisticated AI tools, scalable peer review operations, advanced accessibility expertise and robust technology infrastructure without surrendering editorial independence. Think of it as scale without surrender—the ability to compete operationally with larger players while preserving what makes them unique.

This model allows independent publishers to choose depth where it matters most — their communities, subject expertise and editorial vision — while strengthening operational resilience behind the scenes. Rather than diluting identity, the right partnership amplifies it, ensuring smaller and mid-sized presses remain agile, competitive and confident in an increasingly consolidated market.

Philosophical convergence

This convergence is not only economic and operational; it is philosophical. Questions that were once unique to scholarly publishing—how do we ensure access, how do we maintain integrity, how do we measure impact—now echo across educational publishing, professional content and corporate learning. That shared challenge creates opportunities for shared solutions, collaborative innovation and cross-sector learning that did not exist when segments operated in isolation.

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4. A year of partnership: reflections on working with Integra

It has been just over a year since I joined Integra, and the experience has been both inspiring and humbling. What stands out is the organisational culture: a genuine commitment to curiosity, collaboration and deep listening. Before proposing solutions, we invest time in understanding a publisher’s unique context: goals, constraints, culture and aspirations. This is not just good practice; it is a philosophical stance about how partnerships should work.

Diverse publishers, common ambitions

Over the past year I have engaged with a remarkably diverse array of publishers across Europe. They include long-established scholarly societies, dynamic EdTech innovators, large commercial publishers and university presses. Despite differences in size, scope and business model, they share a common ambition: to modernise without losing their soul.

They want to embrace new technologies without abandoning editorial rigour. They want to improve efficiency without compromising quality. They want to grow sustainably without betraying mission or values.

Being the bridge

Integra’s role, as I experience it, is to serve as a bridge connecting operational needs with strategic transformation. Whether we are reimagining peer review to incorporate AI ethically, embedding accessibility into production workflows, building research integrity capabilities or providing surge capacity during peaks, the focus remains constant: enabling publishers to grow sustainably, confidently and authentically.

These partnerships are transformative rather than transactional. We are not simply vendors; we are collaborators invested in our partners’ long-term success. When a publisher launches a new open access program, achieves accessibility compliance ahead of schedule or implements AI governance policies effectively, we celebrate those wins as shared victories.

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5. What European publishers are talking about right now

Across boardrooms, editorial meetings and conference halls throughout 2025, five interconnected themes dominate conversations.

Accessibility as competitive advantage

With the European Accessibility Act implementation approaching, publishers are shifting from reactive remediation to proactive, born-accessible design. Forward-thinking organisations see accessibility not as a compliance burden but as a pathway to innovation, market expansion and social responsibility. Accessible content serves people with disabilities, international audiences, mobile users and anyone consuming content in challenging environments. It improves discovery, enhances user experience and future-proofs content for emerging technologies.

AI governance and editorial policy

Editors are developing AI usage policies at unprecedented speed. These policies cover AI-assisted writing, AI-generated images, automated reviewer matching and algorithmic recommendations. These are ethical frameworks that will define publishing standards for the next decade. Getting them right requires balancing innovation with integrity and efficiency with transparency.

Research integrity in the age of generative AI

There is growing concern about machine-generated submissions, manipulated images created by AI, fictitious references and fabricated data. The scale of the challenge is growing faster than detection capabilities. Publishers urgently seek robust tools and trusted partners to strengthen both early-stage detection and post-publication vigilance. This is not an anti-technology stance; it is a call to harness AI’s benefits while defending scholarship from misuse.

Purposeful efficiency and sustainability

Sustainability has become a business and reputation metric. Publishers are examining operations through a sustainability lens: reducing print runs, optimising supply chains, implementing energy-efficient workflows and choosing vendors with credible environmental commitments. The focus is on purposeful efficiency that reduces environmental impact while improving outcomes, not on short-term cost cutting.

Workforce evolution and skills development

Teams are learning to collaborate with AI and other advanced technologies. This requires new skills: data analysis, AI ethics and governance, digital design thinking and technical project management. Progressive publishers invest heavily in upskilling and reskilling their workforce. They create career pathways that recognise emerging competencies and foster cultures of continuous learning where experimentation is encouraged.

This investment in people is not optional; it is the foundation on which technology and process transformations rest.

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6. From noise to navigation: where we go next

In a climate of continuous change—AI advancement, open science evolution, market consolidation and regulatory shifts—it is natural to feel overwhelmed. But publishers who thrive are not always those with the biggest budgets or the most advanced technology. They are those who find direction amid the noise.

What sets them apart

They invest in trust by building consistency, transparency and rigorous standards.
They build resilient partnerships and choose collaborators for shared values and complementary capabilities.
They align technology with purpose rather than adopting tools for their own sake.
They lead with curiosity, asking “What if?” more often than “Why not?” and approaching change as a problem to be solved.
They balance innovation with integrity, moving quickly without cutting corners.

Co-authoring the future

This transformation is not about controlling disruption; that is neither possible nor desirable. It is about co-authoring the future. Publishers, technology partners, authors, editors, reviewers, librarians, funders and institutions all play vital roles in shaping what comes next.

At Integra, we walk alongside our partners. We help them navigate complexity, build confidence through expertise and support, and enable them to continue their essential work with renewed purpose and strengthened integrity.

Looking ahead

The changes we are experiencing are not temporary. Continuous change, accelerating innovation and evolving expectations constitute the new reality of publishing. The publishers who will define the future are already emerging. They are asking better questions, building stronger partnerships, investing in people and processes, and staying true to their core missions while transforming how they fulfil them.

If you are navigating these waters—whether as a scholarly society, university press, commercial publisher or educational content provider—you do not have to do it alone. The challenges are real, and so are the opportunities. The partnerships, expertise and support you need are available.

The future of publishing is being written now. Let us write it together with purpose, integrity and confidence.

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About the author

Bart Loevens is Vice President, Business Development (Europe) at Integra, where he leads strategic collaborations with scholarly and educational publishers across the continent. A multilingual executive with over 25 years of publishing experience, Bart helps publishers align strategy with innovation by balancing technology adoption, editorial integrity and organisational purpose. He is passionate about building partnerships that enable publishers to modernise sustainably while preserving their unique missions.

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