The Changing Role of Major Stakeholders: A Review of Publisher, Vendor, and Institutional Adaptation in the Scholarly Communication Ecosystem

This article reviews the changing roles of major stakeholders in the scholarly communication ecosystem, focusing on publishers, vendors, and academic institutions. The rapid growth of digital technologies, open access initiatives, and evolving researcher expectations have significantly transformed traditional scholarly communication practices. Through a critical review of existing literature, this study examines how these stakeholders redefine their responsibilities and adopt adaptation strategies to remain relevant in a dynamic academic environment. The analysis highlights key strategies such as business model innovation, service redesign, policy reform, and technological integration as central to effective adaptation. The findings indicate that publishers increasingly function as service providers, vendors play a vital role in technological infrastructure and analytics, and institutions adopt more active roles in research dissemination and support. This review concludes that sustained collaboration and continuous adaptation among publishers, vendors, and institutions are essential for developing an efficient, accessible, and sustainable scholarly communication ecosystem.