At the time (2010) the growth in informal Open Access sharing had not had a major effect upon the use of formal publication choices.
This briefing paper explored the impact of open access upon potential users of research outputs outside the walls of research-led European universities, where the economic value of open access may be even greater than the academic value within universities.
This briefing paper was written in cooperation with SPARC Europe.
All links provided in footnotes in this Briefing Paper are to studies available in open access.