Leading nations in the adoption of communications media, 1975 to 1995

This paper presents a comparative examination of the level of penetration of communications media in various countries over time, thus identifying leading nations in each medium, as well as trends in national leadership and global regions that lead in the adoption of one or more communications media. This last aspect is of interest since economic development, rising living standards, and globalization have eroded differences among developed countries in all three major cores (i.e., North America, the European Union, and the Pacific Rim). However, cultural and business traditions, as well as communications operation systems and regulations, may have contributed to differences in levels of adoption and penetration of communications media. Data for 1975, 1986, and 1995 for an increasing number of communications media reveal the sustained leadership of North American and Scandinavian nations and the growing leadership of small international junction countries in both Europe and the Pacific Rim. This leadership is related mainly to long-standing business and state policies in Scandinavia, to the innovation culture and mass consumption economy in the United States, and to business globalization in junction countries.