Research in Convergence: A Literature Analysis

Abstract

Convergence is a complex phenomenon which involves multiple economic layers of regulatory bodies, industries, firms and users, and poses both challenges and opportunities for all of them. Although research on convergence has recently grown, there is little research which reviews the studies of convergence in the past and present, and critically discusses the development of convergence research. To fill this gap, this paper examines the current status of convergence research by use of a library meta-search engine. The analysis of the articles retrieved offers a series of snapshots regarding present studies on digital convergence in terms of the type of convergence dealt with, the level of analysis, and so on. The analysis also shows that most research by now is theoretically oriented at the macro level (i.e. regulatory and industrial), and suggests that more empirical research from the micro perspective (i.e. firms and users) is required.