Springer Nature

Last updated
Springer Nature
Company type Privately held Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien with an Aktiengesellschaft as general partner
Industry Publishing
Founded2015;9 years ago (2015)
Headquarters London (global)
Berlin (corporate)
New York City (sales)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Revenue US$ 2.1 billion (2022)
Owners
Number of employees
10,000 (2019)
Website www.springernature.com
Footnotes /references
[1]

Springer Nature or the Springer Nature Group [1] [2] is a German-British academic publishing company created by the May 2015 merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macmillan Education. [3]

Contents

History

The company originates from several journals and publishing houses, notably Springer-Verlag, which was founded in 1842 by Julius Springer in Berlin [4] (the grandfather of Bernhard Springer who founded Springer Publishing in 1950 in New York), [5] Nature Publishing Group which has published Nature since 1869, [6] and Macmillan Education, which goes back to Macmillan Publishers founded in 1843. [7]

Springer Nature was formed in 2015 by the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macmillan Education (held by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group) with Springer Science+Business Media (held by BC Partners). Plans for the merger were first announced on 15 January 2015. [8] The transaction was concluded in May 2015 with Holtzbrinck having the majority 53% share. [9]

IPO attempts in May 2018 and Autumn 2020 [10] were unfruitful due to unfavorable market conditions. [11] [12]

In 2021, Springer Nature acquired Atlantis Press, an open access publisher founded in Paris in 2006, focusing on scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content, and publication of conference proceedings. [13] [14]

Current company

After the merger, former Springer Science+Business Media CEO Derk Haank became CEO of Springer Nature. [15] When he retired by the end of 2017, he was succeeded by Daniel Ropers, [16] the co-founder and long-time CEO of bol.com. [17] In September 2019, Ropers was replaced by Frank Vrancken Peeters. [18] [19]

The company is releasing several Policies & Reports, [20] including a Modern Slavery Act statement, a Tax strategy, and a gender pay gap report for Springer Nature's UK operations. [21] [22]

Springer Nature is a signatory of the SDG Publishers Compact, [23] [24] and has taken steps to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the publishing industry. [25] [26] [27] These include becoming carbon neutral as of 2020, [26] organizing its publications into 17 SDG-related content hubs, [28] [29] and launching thematic journals such as Nature Climate Change, Nature Energy, Nature Sustainability, [30] Nature Food, Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Water and Nature Cities (appearing 2024). [31] In 2014, the Nature Portfolio series of themed online journals was launched. [32]

Springer's journal Environment, Development, and Sustainability was one of six out of 100 journals to receive the highest possible "Five Wheel" impact rating [33] from the SDG Impact Intensity™ journal rating system, based on an analysis of data from 2016-2020 that assessed relevance to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [34] [35]

Brands

The following major brands belong to the group (see also Subsidiaries): [36]

Controversies

In 2017, the company agreed to block access to hundreds of articles on its Chinese site, cutting off access to articles related to Tibet, Taiwan, and China's political elite. [38] [39]

The company retracted a paper in 2019, in its journal BMC Emergency Medicine due to a dubious peer-review process (a herpetologist could have denied the publication of the paper). [40]

In August 2020, Springer Nature was reported to have rejected the publication of an article at the behest of its co-publisher, Wenzhou Medical University, from a Taiwanese doctor because the word "China" was not placed after "Taiwan". [41] [42]

In July 2020, Springer Nature retracted a paper in the journal Society due to a dubious review process and criticism regarding racism. [43]

In November 2021, Springer Nature retracted 44 nonsense papers from the Arabian Journal of Geosciences after a lapse in the peer review process. [44] [45]

In August 2023, after an investigation, Springer Nature retracted a paper that claimed there is no evidence of a global climate crisis. [46] [48]

Subsidiaries

See also

Related Research Articles

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Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers</span>

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Macmillan Education is a publishing imprint and business which has been owned by various divisions and companies of the Macmillan publishing group and, more recently, the Springer Nature group which is jointly owned by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and BC Partners. The company that runs the imprint is based in London and operates in over 120 countries worldwide. As of 2023, Macmillan Education is focused mainly on materials and services for language learning and for teaching international curricula in schools worldwide.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Über uns: Presse" (in German). Springer Nature Group. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  2. ↑ "Türen für Entdeckungen Öffnen" (in German). Springer Nature Group. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  3. ↑ "Springer Nature created following merger completion". Springer. 6 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Springer celebrates 175 years since its founding". KnowledgeSpeak.com. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Do you mean Springer, Springer or Springer?". Springer.com. 2014. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Nature". Phys.org. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  7. ↑ "About Us | Springer Nature | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  8. ↑ "Nature publisher to merge with Springer". Times Higher Education. 15 January 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ Caroline Carpenter (May 6, 2015). "Completed merger forms 'Springer Nature'". The Bookseller. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Springer Nature Said to Kick Off 1 Billion-Euro IPO This Month". Bloomberg.com. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  11. ↑ Schuetze, Arno (2018-05-08). "Weak demand forces Springer Nature to cancel $3.2 billion float at last minute". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  12. ↑ Benjamin Robertson, Ruth David, Jan-Henrik Foerster (3 October 2020). "Europe IPO Revival Peters Out as Year's Top German Deal Delayed". Bloomberg.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "About Atlantis Press". Atlantis Press. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  14. ↑ Anderson, Porter (March 11, 2021). "Springer Nature Acquires Paris' Open Access Atlantis Pres". Publishing Perspectives.
  15. ↑ "Derk J Haank, Springer Science+Business: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  16. ↑ "Derk Haank, Chief Executive Officer to retire and to be succeeded by Daniel Ropers". www.springer.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  17. ↑ "Bol.com's Ropers to take Haank's role at Springer Nature". The Bookseller. 6 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "Executive Team | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  19. ↑ "Springer Nature Announces CEO Succession: Frank Vrancken Peeters appointed Chief Executive Officer. Daniel Ropers to step down. | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com.
  20. ↑ "Policies, Reports and Acts | Springer Nature | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  21. ↑ "Springer Nature reports 15.12% pay gap". www.thebookseller.com. The Bookseller. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
  22. ↑ "Springer Nature Gender Pay Gap Report – April 2018 - EN | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  23. ↑ "SDG Publishers Compact Members". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "SDG Publishers Compact". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "Springer Nature and SDSN Release Joint White Paper on How to Narrow the Policy, Research, and Community Divide". UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). 3 May 2021.
  26. 1 2 Anderson, Porter (5 April 2023). "Springer Nature Issues a New Sustainability Report". Publishing Perspectives.
  27. ↑ "Sustainable Business Summary 2021". Springer Nature. 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Transcript: SDG Content Hub Magic Number Is 17 | CCC's Velocity of Content Podcast". Velocity of Content | A series of recordings from the Copyright Clearance Center. February 21, 2022.
  29. ↑ "SDG 14 Journal Collections and Special Issues incl. Call for Papers | For Researchers | Springer Nature". Springer Nature.
  30. ↑ Butcher, James (1 March 2023). "Scholarly publishers and the SDGs". GEOSCIENTIST.
  31. ↑ "Nature Portfolio to expand with three new journals in 2024 | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature". Springer Nature. 16 March 2023.
  32. ↑ "npj Series | Nature Portfolio".
  33. ↑ "SDG-Impact Journal Rating" (PDF). Cabells.
  34. ↑ Rodenburg, Kathleen; Rowan, Michael; Nixon, Andrew; Christensen Hughes, Julia (January 2022). "The Misalignment of the FT50 with the Achievement of the UN's SDGs: A Call for Responsible Research Assessment by Business Schools". Sustainability. 14 (15): 9598. doi: 10.3390/su14159598 . ISSN   2071-1050.
  35. ↑ Linacre, Simon (17 March 2021). "Cabells launches new SDG Impact Intensity™ journal rating system in partnership with Saint Joseph's University's Haub School of Business". the source.
  36. ↑ "Springer Nature Group | Corporate Affairs Homepage | Springer Nature". group.springernature.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  37. ↑ "Heinrich Vogel Shop". www.heinrich-vogel-shop.de. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  38. ↑ Hernández, Javier C. (2017-11-01). "Leading Western Publisher Bows to Chinese Censorship (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  39. ↑ Hilgers, Lauren (January 10, 2018). "The Mystery of the Exiled Billionaire Whistle-Blower". The New York Times.
  40. ↑ retractionwatch (3 April 2020). "A snake bites once, but its picture is used twice".
  41. ↑ Tang, Jane (1 September 2020). "Springer Nature Journal Rejects Article by Taiwan Doctor Over Country Name". Radio Free Asia . Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  42. ↑ Charlie Parker (October 10, 2020). "Taiwan academics told to identify as Chinese in journal". The Times .
  43. ↑ retractionwatch (31 July 2020). "Springer Nature retracts paper that hundreds called 'overtly racist'".
  44. ↑ Isaac Schultz (6 November 2021). "Science Publisher Retracts 44 Papers for Being Utter Nonsense". Gizmodo.
  45. ↑ Marcus, Adam (November 4, 2021). "Springer Nature geosciences journal retracts 44 articles filled with gibberish". Retraction Watch. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  46. 1 2 Readfearn, Graham (25 August 2023). "Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis". The Guardian . Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  47. ↑ Readfearn, Graham (2022-06-13). "Sky News Australia is a global hub for climate misinformation, report says". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  48. ↑ Before the paper was retracted, Sky News Australia  –a news station priorly outed as a centre for climate change misinformation [47]  –published two segments on the paper, which were then subsequently viewed over half a million times on YouTube. [46]
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