Izzal Asnira Zolkepli

Izzal Asnira Zolkepli

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
SDGs Focus
Good Health and Well Being
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Biography

Associate Professor Dr Izzal Asnira Zolkepli specialises in digital communication, social media, and digital consumer behaviour, with particular research interests in artificial intelligence (AI). Her dedication to research excellence earned her Malaysia’s Research Star Award (MRSA), jointly conferred by Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Scopus. Having secured competitive funding from MOHE, MCMC, British Council, and Yayasan PETRONAS, she has published extensively in leading international journals. Dr Izzal also serves as a journal editor, peer reviewer, and external examiner, actively engaging in international research collaborations while contributing to research quality and postgraduate education. 

Research Interests

  • Artificial Intelligence-Mediated Communication
  • Social Media Adoption
  • Digital Consumer Behaviour, Audience Engagement and User Experience
  • Quantitative Modelling

Teaching Areas

  • Social Media Communication
  • Digital Marketing Communication
  • Artificial Intelligence in Communication
  • Digital Consumer Behaviour

Courses Taught

  • Contemporary Advertising
  • Social Media Communication
  • Integrated Marketing Communication
  • Digital Strategy for Integrated Marketing Communication

Notable Publications

  1. Yang, Y., Rahman, N. A. A., & Zolkepli, I. A. (2026). Influencer persona endorsement and algorithm awareness as drivers of product search intention on Douyin: An extended TPB approach. International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 18(5), 1–13   

  1. Isawasan, P., Tariq, R., Zolkepli, I. A., & Shamugam, L. (2025). Exploring scholarly trends in social media research involving older adults through bibliometric analysis and topic modelling. Aging International, 50 (3)   

  1. Huang, M., Mohamad Saleh, M. S., Zolkepli, I. A., & Zhang, T. (2025). Unveiling the mediating role of environmental awareness: A study on gamified rewards. Journal of Mobile Multimedia, 21(1), 27–56   

  1. Isawasan, P., Tariq, R., Shamugam, L., Mustafa, H., & Zolkepli, I. A. (2024). The effects of negative social media connotations on subjective wellbeing of an aging population: A stressor-strain-outcome perspective. PLOS ONE, 19   

  1. Huang, M., Mohamad Saleh, M. S., & Zolkepli, I. A. (2023). The moderating effect of green advertising on the relationship between gamification and sustainable consumption behavior: A case study of the Ant Forest social media app. Sustainability, 15(4), 2883   

  1. Tariq, R., Zolkepli, I. A., & Ahmad, M. (2022). Political Participation of Young Voters: Tracing Direct and Indirect Effects of Social Media and Political Orientations. Social Sciences, 11(81), 1–21   

  1. Nordin, S. M., Zolkepli, I. A., Rizal, A. R. A., Tariq, R., Mannan, S., & Ramayah, T. (2021). Innovation diffusion: The influence of social media affordances on complexity reduction for decision making. Frontiers in Psychology, 12    

  1. Zolkepli, I. A., Mukhiar, S. N. S., & Tan, C. (2021). Mobile consumer behaviour on apps usage: The effects of perceived values, rating, and cost. Journal of Marketing Communications, 27(6), 571–593.  

  1. Zolkepli, I. A., Kamarulzaman, Y., & Kitchen, P. J. (2018). Uncovering psychological gratifications affecting social media utilization: A multiblock hierarchical analysis. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26(4), 412–430   

  1. Zolkepli, I. A., & Kamarulzaman, Y. (2015). Social media adoption: The role of media needs and innovation characteristics. Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 189–209   

Achievements & Accolades

 

  1. Recipient of the Malaysia's Research Star Award (MRSA) 2018, conferred by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) and Scopus 

  1. Recipient of the Neil Doherty Award 2019, UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS), United Kingdom. 

  1. Judge for Medical Travel Media Awards (MTMA) 2020-2023, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia  

  1. Research University - Team Grant, Universiti Sains Malaysia (2025–2027). Strategic Communication and UX Design for AI Age-Sensitive Late-Life Depression and Anxiety Health Monitoring Platform: A Behavioural and User-Centered Approach to Adoption and Engagement (RM290,000). 

  1. Digital Society Research Grant (DSRG), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) (2023–2024). Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence Adoption in the Communications and Multimedia Industry (RM10,000). 

  1. Special Fundamental Research Grant Scheme FRGS-MRSA (2019–2021). A New Persuasive Technology Model for Social Innovation in Malaysia (RM106,200). 

  1. Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (2019–2021). Theorizing Stressor-Strain-Outcome (SSO) on Social Media Behavior of Aging Society and Its Effect on Social Well-being (RM89,200). 

  1. Yayasan PETRONAS (2019–2021). Sentuhan Harapan – Program Mekar (RM623,000). 

  1. British Council Higher Education Link Programme (2019–2020). Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Research and Teaching Landscape Survey in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam (RM310,000). 

  1. Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (2015-2018), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. Developing a Predictive Model of Crowdsourcing Based on Online Crowd Participation and Engagement for SME (RM100,000). 

Professional Associations

  1. Secretary General, Malaysian Association of Communication Educators (MACE) (2025–Present). 

  1. Editorial Board Member, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Springer Nature). 

  1. Editorial Review Board Member, Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration (Emerald Publishing). 

  1. Managing Editor, Journal of Contemporary Issues in Media and Communication (USM). 

  1. Managing Editor, Journal of Communication Education (MACE). 

  1. Editorial Board Member, Jurnal Kewartawanan (Malaysian Press Institute). 

  1. Programme External Examiner, Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours) Programme, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), Malaysia (2020–2026). 

  1. Member, Board of Directors, Immunocare Sdn. Bhd., Universiti Sains Malaysia-linked company. 

  1. Member, Academy of Marketing, United Kingdom. 

  1. Member, UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS), United Kingdom.