Asian mobile communication research: current status, enduring issues and future trends

ABSTRACT

With a total of 2.5 billion subscribers, Asia’s leadership in worldwide mobile communication calls for a systematic review of the academic research on mobile communication in Asian countries. By reviewing 120 articles published in 18 top-ranking refereed journals from 1995 to 2015, this study identified a prominent increase in research output covering multiple subfields over the past 20 years, marked by accelerated growth beginning from 2005. This rise appears to be a product of global scholarship. Limitations in the current Asian mobile communication literature were also discussed, regarding the overemphasis on East Asian countries, the lack of a unified theoretical framework, and the reliance on one-shot research designs. Directions are provided for future research to refine the scholarly understanding of Asian mobile communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobile phone
• cell phone
• mobile media
• mobile communication
• mobile technology
• Asia

Notes on contributors

Yue Zheng’s research and teaching interests primarily explore public relations with a focus on media technology and nonprofit fundraising. She earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communications from University of South Carolina, M.S. in Journalism and Mass Communications as well as a minor in Statistics from Iowa State University, and BA in Journalism from Renmin University of China.

Ran Wei (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1995) is Gonzales Brothers Professor of Journalism in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina. He is also a visiting chair professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Distinguished Honorary Professor at Communication University of China. His research focuses on media effects and communication technology.

Elmie Nekmat (Ph.D., University of Alabama) researches media and the social-psychological processes and effects of online communication on public opinion, collective action, and strategic communication. He also researches media literacy, with emphases on parental mediation and literacies pertaining to new media technologies.