In terms of sheer economic impact, the single most important, dynamic, defining technological innovation in America hasn't been the silicon clich of Moore's Law; it's the relentless promotional promise of "everyday low prices." Sure, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco and Dell may be terrific companies, but the true corporate leader driving productivity improvement over the past decade has been Wal-Mart. When it comes to managing high-impact innovation, there is no contest-Sam Walton still matters more than Bill Gates.

The reason is simple. Wal-Mart is by far the commercial world's most influential purchaser and implementer of software and systems. It is the 800-pound gorilla in a retail jungle of bonobos and howler monkeys. Microsoft and Cisco may set technical standards; Wal-Mart sets business process standards. When Wal-Mart-which is bigger than Sears, Kmart and J. C. Penney combined-wants global suppliers like Procter and Gamble or GE or Pfizer to comply with its inventory software and data networks, they do so or else. "Everyday low prices" don't come cheap.

So yes, corporate IT departments may "care" about the latest Windows upgrade or a faster microprocessor from Intel. But Wal-Mart's ongoing infrastructure innovation is what inspires their investments, actions and fears. The result has been a genuine revolution in economic productivity. This revolution also reinforces a profound truth about the economics of innovation: implementation matters far more than invention.