The Impact of the Digital Divide on the Development of Network Markets (Using the Example of the Video Services Market)

Introduction. The problem of the digital divide appeared in the 21st century as a result of the dynamic spread of digital technologies and it very soon became the center of numerous studies and scientific discussions. Today the digital divide is considered to be an urgent socio-economic problem that is widely discussed in the scientific community both in the context of asymmetric access to the social infrastructure (in the context of unequal access to education, healthcare, socially significant information through the use of communication technologies) and in the context of the impact of the digital divide on various significant aspects of a person’s life. The impact of the digital divide is felt in the real and monetary spheres, at the level of individuals and at the level of society, in the markets of goods and services. In this article, we suppose to analyze the impact of the digital divide on the development of network markets (using the example of the video services market).

Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study consists of the following research methods: the method of comparative analysis; the method of synthesis; the method of complex analysis of the socio-economic phenomenon; the method of formal logic; the statistical method.

Reseach results. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the digital divide affects the development of network markets in several directions: the dynamics of growth through the possibility of access and the content of potential consumers; the speed of the distribution of network externalities through an increase in the number of consumers; the consumption structure and attributes of network goods through product personalization, taking into account the specifics of a particular digital divide.

Discussion and conclusions. As a result, the article states the necessity to take into account the factors of the digital divide influence both on a company operating in the video services market and on a country interested in the development of the video services market. Considering these factors will allow them to be used in order to optimize the behavior of players in this market. Among the problems hindering the more dynamic development of the video services market in Russia, in addition to the standard challenges (income level, specifics of the digital divide, price limits), it should be noted the continuing negative experience of illegitimate players’ behavior in the market, representing some sort of an institutional trap.

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