Abstract
Through a combination of research and reportage, this paper examines the immediate impact the 23 June 2016 pro-Brexit vote in the UK has had on scholarly research, its funding, the reputations of British universities and the scholarly publishing business. It documents industry speculation about what Brexit’s long-term impact on the academic community could be. And through interviews with executives at a variety of six small, medium and large publishers of UK scholarly journals, the paper explores publishers’ business plans in the wake of the UK’s decision to separate from the European Union (EU). While academia nearly uniformly sees Brexit as disastrous for the funding of research in the UK and the ability of British researchers to collaborate with their EU colleagues, publishers see business opportunities in the pound’s sharp decline in response to the pro- Brexit vote and on the whole believe that Brexit will have little negative long-term impact on their publishing business. Some are, however, concerned about the quantity and quality of the articles that will be available for publication as well as their potentially diminished impact. There is also uncertainty as to the legal and regulatory ramifications of Brexit on scholarly publishing and the new global competition it may engender. The paper examines how publishers can protect their businesses, increase the value of their content and differentiate their brand in the wake of Brexit’s financial, political, regulatory and academic uncertainty.