Springer Nature

Springer Nature is a global academic publishing company formed by the merger of several legacy publishing houses. It is one of the world's largest publishers of scientific journals and a major provider of research books and professional content. The company operates a vast portfolio of imprints and brands, serving the scientific community, higher education institutions, and professionals worldwide. Its operations encompass traditional subscription publishing, open access models, and a range of digital research tools and educational services.

History and formation

The entity was created in May 2015 through the merger of Springer Science+Business Media and the majority of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's science and education businesses, which included Macmillan Education and Nature Publishing Group. This consolidation brought together historic imprints like Springer-Verlag, founded in Berlin in 1842, with the prestigious *Nature* journal, first published in 1869. The merger was a significant event in the ongoing consolidation of the academic publishing industry, following earlier acquisitions such as Springer's purchase of Kluwer Academic Publishers in the early 2000s. The combined group was initially owned by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and BC Partners, with Holtzbrinck later increasing its stake to become the majority shareholder.

Business operations and imprints

The company's operations are structured into several major divisions, each housing numerous renowned imprints. Its Research division includes flagship brands such as Nature Portfolio, Springer, and BioMed Central. The Palgrave Macmillan imprint is a key part of its humanities and social sciences publishing. For educational and professional markets, it operates brands like Macmillan Education, which produces curriculum materials for schools, and Springer Publishing Company, focused on nursing and public health. The company maintains major offices and operational hubs in locations including London, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York City, and Shanghai, coordinating a global network of editorial, production, and sales activities.

Products and services

Its core products are peer-reviewed academic journals, including prestigious titles like *Nature*, Nature Communications, and The Lancet (published under contract for Elsevier). It publishes thousands of book series and monographs annually, including the notable Lecture Notes in Computer Science. The company also offers major digital platforms and databases, such as SpringerLink, which hosts millions of scientific documents, and Nature.com, the online portal for the Nature Portfolio. Additional services include research solutions like Figshare for data sharing and tools for academic libraries to manage content access. It further provides educational resources through Macmillan Learning for higher education markets.

Open access initiatives

The company has been a significant participant in the shift towards open access publishing models. It publishes a large number of fully open access journals, including those under the BioMed Central brand and titles like Nature Communications. It has established transformative agreements, often called "Read and Publish" deals, with numerous consortia and institutions such as the Max Planck Society and the University of California. The company also supports open access for books and is a partner in initiatives like the Open Access 2020 initiative. Its SpringerOpen platform hosts a broad collection of open access journals across STEM and HSS disciplines.

Criticism and controversies

Like other major academic publishers, it has faced criticism related to the high cost of subscriptions, which has contributed to the serials crisis affecting university libraries. Its profitability and article processing charges for open access have been scrutinized by advocates of the open science movement. The company has been involved in debates over copyright and licensing, particularly regarding access to content in developing countries. Specific incidents have drawn attention, such as the retraction of articles from BioMed Central journals and controversies surrounding peer review at some of its titles. Its market dominance, following the merger, has also raised questions about competition within the scholarly communication ecosystem.