受忽視的分配之手：臺灣出版商業迴圈中的經銷商與配銷系統

本研究探討圖書出版產業鏈中經常受到忽視及誤解的分配面，包括出版發行商的角色，及發行配銷系統的實際運作。相對於既有相關研究鮮少探討發行經銷商的作用，本文除了探究配銷系統的運作模式外，也將釐清發行人員和經銷商等中間商在出版產業鏈環節所扮演的角色，以及他們與產業鏈中其他能動者（agents）之間的經濟交易與社會關係。透過本研究建構的「出版商業迴圈」做為分析架構，研究發現，這一商業迴圈中的各環節間，透過制度及長期往來的關係鑲嵌形成緊密的商業連帶，且因迴圈中廣為採用的「月結制」、「保留款」等結帳制度形成一種財務鑲嵌，這種過度鑲嵌的型態不但使得鑲嵌的正面效益轉為負累，也使得各鏈節間的商業往來僵固化，難以採行有效的經濟行動。研究中也指出這一迴圈近年來的動態變化，以及「求生存」與「講效率」兩種不同的理性化原則，但這些由個別能動者發動，以圖在短期內維持營收的理性策略，不但對整體商業迴圈缺乏正面助益，長期而言也會反過來危及發動者自身的生存。 This article attempts to explore the book distribution system in Taiwan, which has been both overlooked and denounced. In contrast to existing studies that tend to systematically marginalize this system and book distributors, I clarify the roles of distribution middlemen and their social relations with other agents. In this study, a conception of “publishing circuits of commerce” was constructed as analyzing framework. The findings suggest that the institutions and embedded relationships in these circuits reinforce overproduction and imbalances in supply and demand via tightly embedded commercial ties. Further, financial embeddedness through the institutions such as the preservation accounts, the “monthly checkout and payment system” constitute a kind of overembeddeness, which ossifies the commercial linkages of the production, distribution, and sales sectors in the publishing circuits of commerce, thus intensifying inefficiencies in this industry.