Technology Innovation and Digital Revolution: Adoption and Diffusion of Digital Network Platforms, 1995-2001, with Implications for Future Development

Abstract

Leading digital platforms as of the early 2020s are valued in the trillions of dollars. Web-based technology pioneers such as Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, among others, have reshaped the world. The work introduces the theory of signal innovation (SI) to explain the causes and conditions behind the emergence of general-purpose technologies (GPTs), those pathbreaking technology innovations responsible for global political-economic and sociocultural transformation. It applies signal innovation theory to a narrative history of the origin moment of the twenty-first century digital platform economy, specifically the rise of the world wide web from years 1995 to 2001. Intensive primary source investigation of the Netscape and Microsoft corporations and detail on their respective Navigator and Internet Explorer web-browsing software forms the basis of this work. The theoretical concept of signal innovation is used to analyze primary source research on the rise of the world wide web. The web here is understood as the confluence of three core parallel technology development pathways in (1) personal web browsing software, (2) web-based billing, payments, and financial transaction protocols, and (3) web-based encryption methods. Empirical research is supported by a review of the multidisciplinary business and technology innovation literature, and its connections to economic growth and progress. The work concludes with extensions of the theory of signal innovation. Specific attention is given to contemporary applications such as the blockchain and other decentralized technology products and services.