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The purpose of this paper is to use the consumer-based discrepancy theory to examine consumers’ behavioral motivations for using mobile devices and the factors that influence the rapid diffusion of Chinese mobile devices in Nigeria.

Data were collected using focus group interviews with samples cutting across users, technicians and experts from Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s industrial capital. This study conducted a thematic analysis of the data with NVivo Pro 11 for deductive coding.

The authors found that weak regulatory environment opened the Nigerian mobile market to the influx of mobile devices from Chinese local manufacturers. Though largely absent in developed markets, Chinese mobile devices are household names in Africa, particularly Nigeria. Having studied the Nigerian market, Chinese mobile device manufacturers have incorporated features and specifications in their mobile devices that are adapted specifically to this market. Our findings also show that these “China phones and tablets” are significantly inferior to those manufactured by global brands. However, consumer complaints have led to significant improvements in their quality. Consequently, due to their successful diffusion, Nigeria is being used as a launching pad to other African countries.

While the study could not look at the economic, environmental and health implications of the high death rate of the mobile devices, it however provides useful insights on the application of the consumer-based discrepancy theory: expectation vs performance, in the Nigerian mobile market context.

The study is the first to empirically examine the diffusion of Chinese mobile devices in one of the key emerging markets in Africa. The study provides blueprint for the local regulatory authorities on how to strengthen their regulatory oversight and also advances critical understanding on how Chinese mobile device manufacturers can improve their technologies and optimize market opportunity in Africa.

Learning Chinese is unquestionably very important and popular worldwide with the fast economic growth of China. To most foreigners and also local students, one of the major challenges in learning Chinese is to write Chinese characters in correct stroke sequences that are considered as significant in the Chinese culture. However, due to the potentially complicated structures of Chinese characters together with their stroke sequences, there are very few character recognition techniques that can effectively tackle the involved training task in an efficient and flexible manner. The purpose of this paper is to propose an intelligent and flexible e‐learning software based on learning objects to facilitate the learning of writing Chinese characters in correct stroke sequences.

The paper adopts an incremental approach in designing the overall system architecture to emphasize on extendibility of the system. The basic features of the system including the evolution and pronunciation of each Chinese character can be embedded as a part of the learning object metadata to enhance students' understanding of Chinese characters. To demonstrate the feasibility of this proposal, a prototype of the proposed e‐learning software was built on smartphones such that students can learn anytime and anywhere.

From the empirical evaluation of the e‐learning prototype for learning to write correct Chinese characters on mobile devices, it was found that foreign students can learn and practise the writing more effectively anytime and anywhere on their mobile devices after classes. Some initial positive feedback was collected. Furthermore, a more careful and thorough evaluation is planned to be conducted in relevant courses for foreign students in the upcoming Fall semester.

This proposal represents the first attempt to reduce the complexity while increasing the extendibility of the e‐learning software to learn Chinese through learning objects running on smartphones or mobile devices in general. More importantly, it opens up numerous opportunities for further investigations including possible integrations with other existing Chinese e‐learning systems.

The purpose of this study is to summarize the factors that result in V-shape rebound of Macau gambling industry's from 2014 to 2019. Both internal and external factors are examined and discussed by representatives from academia, industry and government.

Practitioners from the gambling industry offered their cutting-edged analysis and viewpoints with observation and comments from scholars and government representatives in gambling domain.

Internally, actions are taken by both the Macau government and Macau casino operators to rebrand Macau with nongambling elements and to adjust the strategies to attract more tourists from a wider range. Externally, global economic upturn and support from the China government also enhance Macau's quick rebound. A total of nine key factors are finally recognized.

This study provides answers and sense-making explanations to why Macau gambling industry can recover in such a short time after a big drop in Gross Gambling Revenue in 2014. This work reveals that Macau, by learning the lessons from the dramatic decline, conducts various self-rescue action plans which contribute to the quick V-shape rebound. This study is also a self-examination of Macau gambling industry from the firsthand perspectives of scholars, government representatives and casino management.

This paper seeks to examine the growth of the Chinese online gaming industry and disentangle the mechanisms behind the emergence of unique online gaming culture in China.

This is a review paper that provides a detailed and state‐of‐the‐art overview of the development of the Chinese online gaming Industry.

The findings indicate that online gaming is a remarkable example of an industry that is rapidly growing due to innovative business models of Chinese companies. Chinese companies are also working with the government to improve formal institutions to promote the growth of online gaming. Furthermore, we also found that Chinese online gaming industry resembles other technology industries in the country such as those related to handset and PC. Although Chinese companies were traditionally weak in creating new technologies, they have demonstrated success in some modern technologies in recent years. In the early stage of the growth, foreign players dominated the Chinese gaming industry. In recent years, this industry is characterized by the dominance of domestic players in the ecosystem catering to the full value chain of the industry.

A lack of primary data and empirical documentation and a lack of in‐depth treatment of some of the key issues are major limitations here.

The paper examines the implications of China's rapidly growing online gaming industry for high‐technology businesses all over the world. The findings of this paper would help understand the opportunities for foreign multinational companies to enter the Chinese technology market or to intensify their operations in the country as well as the risks associated with China's unique institutions.

This paper's greatest value stems from the fact that it analyzes demand conditions, industry structure and transfer and export conditions from the standpoint of the Chinese online gaming industry and market.

Drawing on the resource-based view, this paper aims to extend prior information technology (IT) B2B service research by building and empirically testing a theoretical model in which organizational agility mediates the relationship between organizational capabilities (IT capability and organizational learning) and service innovation performance, under conditions of entrepreneurial alertness.

The theoretical hypotheses are confirmed by partial least squares analysis of survey responses collected from 170 IT B2B service firms.

The results reveal that the effect of either IT capability or organizational learning on service innovation performance is fully mediated by organizational agility, and organizational agility has a greater impact on service innovation performance under a high level of entrepreneurial alertness than under a low level.

The results of this study provide specific managerial guidelines for how to effectively manage organizational mechanisms to enhance IT B2B service innovation performance.

This study contributes to the literature of service innovation, IT B2B (industrial) marketing and dynamic capability by providing theory-driven and empirically proven explanations to help managers better understand the IT capability-service innovation relationship from the perspective of organizational mechanisms (organizational agility, organizational learning and entrepreneurial alertness).

Student dropout rates have been a source of contention throughout many Universities worldwide. Universities recognize this fact and many have acted to improve their induction process for students joining the University in the first year. However, student dropout rates continue to be higher than acceptable and it is in this context that this project has been undertaken. However, quite often there is no additional support provided to overseas students arriving on the campus. Frequently, these students are taken into final year and miss all the inductions aimed at year 1 students. The purpose of this research is to investigate the feasibility of designing an information portal in the Chinese language to assist new arrivals on campus.

The authors started with the premise that any additional information that can make life easier for these foreign language students is to be welcomed. Mobile communications is a continually growing sector in industry and a wide variety of visual services such as video‐on‐demand have been created which are limited by low‐bandwidth network infrastructures. The distinction between mobile phones and personal device assistants has already become blurred with pervasive computing being the term coined to describe the tendency to integrate computing and communication into everyday life.

The authors believe that placing location based campus information on a mobile device outlining key information concerning the University of Ulster at the Magee campus in the Chinese language will assist overseas students greatly in the crucial early days of arrival at the University.

This paper outlines the unique implementation of a multilingual Chinese–English Campus information portal for mobile devices which assists fresh arrivals in locating important information about the university. The research finds that students are assisted by mobile portals created in their native language directing them to important sources of information on campus.

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors affecting consumers' acceptance of mobile marketing in China.

The authors draw on technology acceptance and uses and gratifications theories to develop a conceptual model of antecedent factors (including risk acceptance related to the mobile platform and personal attachment related to mobile devices) and marketing‐related and value‐based mobile activity related to the acceptance of mobile marketing practice. The conceptual model is tested using data collected among Chinese youth consumers.

The results confirm the importance of risk acceptance and personal attachment in influencing mobile marketing acceptance, and support the “priming” effect of regular mobile phone usage on orienting consumers toward accepting mobile marketing initiatives.

The study is limited to a specific sample of youth consumers in China. The findings illustrate the role of antecedent factors – including personal attachment and risk acceptance – related to acceptance of mobile marketing in the Chinese market and they emphasize the role of marketing‐related and value‐based mobile activity in mediating the relationships between antecedent factors and mobile marketing acceptance.

The findings illustrate the importance of recognizing the drivers of, and obstacles to, mobile marketing acceptance. These factors included the likelihood of providing information, likelihood of accessing content, likelihood of sharing content, level of risk acceptance, and level of personal attachment to one's mobile phone.

The paper adds to the growing literature on Chinese youth consumers by examining their acceptance of mobile marketing. The study reveals several implications for theory and practice relating to the antecedents of mobile marketing acceptance among the youth consumer segment within China, a large and emerging market.

This paper aims to shed some light on the role of video games within the media industry and IT sector, on its contribution to the production and distribution of digital content in emerging economies. It offers a case study on the role of mobile devices as a factor of transformation and shows how under changing socio–economic conditions, the transformations enabled the creation of digital ecosystems and innovative business models.

The paper is based on desk research, a review of literature and trade press and comments from experts and industry players.

The paper argues that as the internet is going mobile, driven by data – mostly video – the new mobile platforms are becoming the key for the distribution of content and mobile games. Whether it is the history of browser games in China, mobile games in India or PC games in Russia, each national gaming industry has required a unique strategy for making money, building on some prominent cultural factors and adapting to the local economic conditions. The paper reveals that video games are now clearly a vital part of digital content production in these countries, while stressing upon the role of public policies.

The paper relies mostly on industry and consultancy data, as in such a fast-changing environment official data even when accessible are in most cases too old to remain relevant to identify the trends and the fast changing stakes. This calls for some caution about the data. Therefore, the data used should be treated as just signals of potential trends, sufficient to provide an appropriate overview of the evolution of the global mobile ecosystem.

This paper shows that the video games industry can serve as a pivot for the ICT industry. Besides, this prompts upstream and downstream industries of the entire digital entertainment market to thrive.

The paper shows that companies from emerging markets companies have been betting on a combination of factors: the development of the economies, the growth of the mobile market, emerging middle-classes and young customers. It provides a growth model that appears to be close to a “regular” industrial growth model.

Although there is a growing academic literature on the video games industry, few research have been devoted to specific issues of emerging economies and to the role of video games within the media industry and IT sector.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and test an integrated model of mobile advertising taking into consideration the unique characteristics of Asian consumers.

The survey research method has been used to collect data among young mobile users in China and South Korea. A structural equation model (SEM) technique is employed to analyze the data.

The results show that Chinese and South Korean consumers share similar beliefs and attitudes toward mobile advertising. Perceived informational usefulness, perceived entertainment usefulness, perceived ease of ease and credibility emerge as significant belief factors positively influencing attitude in both countries. Irritation, on the other hand, negatively predicts attitude. Attitude toward mobile advertising and subjective norm emerge as the strong predictors of consumers’ intention to use mobile advertising in both countries. The effects of perceived social usefulness on attitude and incentive on intention to use demonstrate different patterns between the Chinese and South Korean samples.

The findings are particularly relevant to international marketing managers. To effectively reach Asian consumers through mobile, increasing credibility and entertainment values are the keys. Meanwhile, providing relevant information in easy to use format is also an important issue.

Based on the established advertising theories, this study proposes an integrated model to examine how beliefs, attitude and other influencing factors affect mobile advertising effectiveness among Chinese and South Korean consumers. This research provides insights into the uniqueness and effectiveness of the new mobile medium as opposed to traditional media. Furthermore, this study deepens the understanding of advertising hierarchy effects in an international setting by examining similarities and differences between China and South Korea. Most of existing cross-cultural studies choose cultures that are sharply contrast to gain significant findings and to support established cross-cultural theories. It is also very important for researchers to examine cultures that are relatively similar to gain a better understanding of the impact of culture. The study answers such a call.

This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the process of standards setting based on the case of long-term evolution time division duplex (LTE TDD) deployment in China.

Using actor-network theory (ANT) as a theoretical framework, multi-level analyses are presented to explain the process of adoption of LTE TDD at a global level.

Findings identified the complex interaction between the social and technical aspects of fourth-generation (4G) by highlighting the co-evolving nature, diversity and interface that constitute the next-generation network environment.

ANT provides a framework of ideas for describing the process of technology adoption and for developing stories that explain it.

The findings shed light on a critical insight of the interrelationships between TD-SCDMA and LTE TDD and identify the policy successes and failures of 4G mobile networks.