International diffusion of digital innovations: mapping the mobile telephony of the Arab States

Abstract

We argue that sampling Arab States provides the literature on international diffusion with the ability to contrast between developing and developed countries regarding the diffusion process and to represent a different region with different characteristics both economic and cultural. As such, we investigated the diffusion patterns of seven Arab States namely: Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, and Egypt. The present study mapped the respective States’ diffusion patterns by applying the Bass Model on their mobile cellular subscriptions data. The paper contributions include estimating the Arab States diffusion patterns and distinguishing them according to their innovation and imitation coefficients. Findings indicate Kuwait and Libya as the most innovative countries, while Egypt and Lebanon ranked as laggards. The present study also reviewed each Arab State’s telecommunication sector which provided a theoretical interpretation for the differences found in their diffusion patterns. The paper extends diffusion theory to encompass a region otherwise excluded from the literature’s generalizable findings. The present study’s sampling of countries from the Middle East and North African (MENA) region and subsequent findings provide a stronger basis to draw empirical generalizations about international product diffusion process than previously suggested by the literature.