Other Ways to Skin a Cat: The Social Identity Jobs-to-be-Done Theory as it Applies to Independent Magazines Surviving Technological Disruption

This cross-disciplinary study of print magazines facing technological disruption asks: Why do we like print magazines? Why are they important to society? What business strategies appear to be working in protecting publications from technological disruption? From a review of technological disruption to magazines since their inception, this study finds that magazines that survived earlier disruptive periods did so through content innovation. However, content is not enough to protect against the most recent technological disruption caused by the Internet and mobile devices. Instead, a combined theory is proposed, called the Social Identity Jobs-to-be-done (SIJ) theory purporting that we seek print magazines for their role defining our social identities. From an analysis of four case studies of independent magazines at the niche, city, national and international level that are surviving technological disruption, it is argued that the SIJ theory can help publishers determine what areas of their business to protect and expand.