That behavior definitely applicable here, but 25% of the market doesn't sound too exclusive even if they managed to pick in each and every domain the top journa

That behavior definitely applicable here, but 25% of the market doesn't sound too exclusive even if they managed to pick in each and every domain the top journals. I mean, the sector is definitely very peculiar with a lot of baggage. The publish-or-perish environment was not inflicted by publishers, its something that emerged in the science communities. The obsessive impact ranking, citations etc reflects ultimately the difficulty of judging academic worth (on which careers and funding rely) at such industrial scales. But when you see fat margins (and if it bothers you, as it seems to be the case with those walkouts) always look for the reasons nobody can undercut them. Most of the time the "moat" (as they like to say here on HN) is some cozy arrangement.