Innovation in the Irish digital media industry between 1999 and 2002: an emergent new ’content’ industry Anthony Cawley Ph.D. M a y 2 0 0 3 Innovation in the Irish digital media industry between 1999 and 2002: an emergent new ’content’ industry Supervisor: Professor Paschal Preston Dublin City University, School of Communications A thesis submitted to Dublin City University in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthony Cawley, B.A. May 2003 Declaration: I hereby declare that this thesis, which I submit for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, is my work and has not been taken from the work of others, save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text. Signed: ID:94070881 Date: Z-S ^ S fl-er iv Dedicated to my family, for their support, encouragement and love I am indebted to my supervisor, Paschal Preston, for his unfailing commitment to and enthusiasm for my research. His critical feedback and perceptive suggestions unblocked many a mental block. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the following friends and colleagues: Kenneth Murphy, Robert Duffy, Patrick Martin, Sean Phelan, Pille Vengerfeldt, NoelleAnne O’Sullivan, Aphra Kerr, Katie Ward, Pauline Jones, Des McGuinness, Roddy Flynn, Carol McKeogh, Helena Sheehan, Annmarie Cawley, Barry Quinlan, John Dunne, Christopher Turner and Brendan Keogh. Deepest gratitude to the following brands of coffee: Maxwell House, Nescafe, Robt. Roberts, Bewleys and Kenco. And to my precious friend Deirdre Hynes, thank you. Abstract: During the period of this study, digital media comprised an increasingly pervasive but still emergent medium in society. Most formal academic, industrial and governmental research into the emergence of digital media industries and innovations focused on technological and software artefacts, to the neglect of content. Such studies subscribed to a distinctly determinist conception of emergence and innovation, regarding them as essentially linear, closed processes, with digital media emerging under an autonomous momentum and causing dramatic changes to society and people's lives. The studies were, in the main, conducted at macro and meso-Ievel, based largely on statistical analysis, and they measured the value of scientific and technical knowledge to innovation. This thesis argues that such approaches are unsuited to the study of the content industry, which remains a distinct domain within the overall digital media sector. Content innovation is marked by important qualitative differences compared to technological innovation, e.g. it is dependent on competencies less tangible than scientific and technical knowledge. A conceptual framework sensitive to such differences is required to form a deeper understanding of the emergence of the digital content industry and the development dynamics of the innovation processes shaping its development. In response to conceptions of closed, linear emergence of both industries and innovations, this thesis argues that emergence and innovation have been multi­ dimensional, multi-directional processes, influenced by many factors (social, economic, organisational, technical) at many levels. The conceptual framework for this study draws on theories and concepts from a number of disciplinary fields. It draws on those traditionally applied to the study of technological innovation within mature industries, and adapted them to the study of content innovation within an early emerging industry. The study seeks to draw on and integrate insights drawn from: a) recent systems of innovation literature, b) science/technology and society studies field (e.g., debates over social shaping and technological determinist theories), as well as c) those drawn from the more familiar communication and media studies field. The empirical aspects of the research have aimed to monitor, describe and analyse rapidly changing developments in this emergent industry since the late 1990s. The study addresses the key trends in the emerging industry at macro, meso and micro­ levels. Part of the study involves an industrial-level analysis in an attempt to better map and understand the unfolding strategies and trends with particular attention to the Irish context. This research project also comprised detailed case studies of the dynamics of innovation within a number of individual digital media companies. Table of contents: Chapter 1: Introduction.......... ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.0: Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................2 1.1: Justification for research ............................................................... ................... ............................................ 3 1.2: D elim itations of s c o p e .....................................................................................................................................4 1.3: Key q u e stio n s............................................................................................ ....................... ................................ 5 1.4: Methodology and research techniques for years 1, 2 and 3 ...... ............................................................7 1.5: Definition o f key te rm s............................................................................................................. ............. 8 1.6: O utline of the thesis and chapter breakdow n....................................................................................... 10 1.7: C onclusion.................................................................................................. ....................................................13 Chapter 2: Literature review 1: social shaping theory and technological determ inism ......................14 2.0: O verview ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.1: Technological determ inism ............................................................................................................... 16 2.2: Alvin Toffler: a seminal technological determinist theorist.............................................................. 18 2.3: M arshall M cLuhan: the m edium is die m essage?.................................................................................. 22 2.4: K evin Kelly: the obsession w ith the new ............................................................................................... 23 2.5: Nicolas Negroponte: a virtual digital being ............................................................................................. 26 2.6: D aniel Bell: the com ing of the post-industrial society.......................................................................... 29 2.7: Social shaping th eo ry ......................................................................................................................................32 2.7.1: The SCOT approach............................................................................................................................36 2.7.2: Consum ption social shaping theory...............................................................................................39 2.8: Raym ond W illiams: technology and cultural fo rm .............................................................................42 2.9: Carolyn Marvin: the emergence of electricity and the relationship of old media to new .........47 2.10: Historical case-study: the emergence of the magazine as a content form .................................. 51 2.11: C onclusion..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3: Literature review 2: systems of innovation and the digital media sector...........................57 3.0: O verview ............................................................................................................................................................. 58 3.1: Joseph Schum peter ............................................................................................«— ...................~.......60 3.2: Systems o f innovation.....................................................................................................................................64 3.3: N ational system o f innovation..................................................................................................................... 67 3.4: Small national systems of innovation......................................................................................................... 73 3.5: Sectoral and industrial systems of innovation........................................................................................... 76 3.6: Taxonomy of innovations.................................................. ...................................................... ....................79 3.7: Types o f innovations....................................................................................................................................... 86 3.8: Styles o f in n o v atio n .......................................................................................................................................88 3.9: Taxonom y o f institutions................................................................................................................................89