Classifying open access business models

The proliferation of open access (OA) business models has been rapid, presenting challenges for stakeholders in communicating and working effectively with one another. This article aims to clarify terminologies and address the inconsistencies and gaps in previous attempts to categorize OA models, supporting informed decision-making. It presents five core types, each with distinct characteristics and implications for funding, equity, and implementation. Operating at the level of individual pieces of content, transactional models expose authors to the financial implications of their decisions to make content OA; they often must pay out of their own funds. Driven by negotiations between libraries or consortia and publishers, bundle models typically operate at the level of the institution. In many cases, authors are not exposed to the financial aspects of their OA decisions. In cooperative models, the community acts in concert to spread the cost of OA as widely as possible. These models are typically initiated or driven by publishers. Sponsored models generally require a single actor to take responsibility for OA funding within a specific remit or title. Alternative OA models offer either immediate access to something other than the version of record (alternative OA: repository), or delayed access to the version of record (alternative OA: delayed).