Nitish Singh

Cultural Adaptation on the Web: A Study of American Companies' Domestic and Chinese Websites

In the academic literature and the business press, there seems to be a lack of guidance and lack of cross-cultural models to support companies localization strategies on the Web. To address this deficit in literature and to provide marketers and Web designers with insights into website localization, this paper conducted a comparative analysis of the U.S. based international companies’ domestic websites and their Chinese websites. A framework to measure cultural adaptation on the Web is presented. Forty U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies are surveyed to investigate the cultural adaptation of their Chinese websites. Content analysis of the 80 U.S. domestic and Chinese websites reveals that the web is not a culturally neutral medium, but it is full of cultural markers that give country-specific websites a look and feel unique to the local culture.

Analyzing the cultural content of web sites

Purpose – To explore the depiction of cultural values on international web sites.Design/methodology/approach – To measure cultural content on the web Singh and Matsuos conceptual framework was used. Content analysis was used to study the cultural content on web sites from China, India, Japan and the US.Findings – The results indicate that local web sites of India, China, Japan and US not only reflect cultural values of the country of their origin, but also seem to differ significantly from each other on cultural dimensions.Research limitations/implications – This study validates the cultural value framework of Singh and Matsuo by successfully using it to analyze the cultural content on various country web sites. The study also provides evidence to international marketers and academics that instead of a “transnational web style” a culturally unique web style is emerging on the web.Practical implications – Marketers need to culturally customize their international web sites as the web is emerging as global...

Measuring cultural adaptation on the Web: a content analytic study of U.S. and Japanese Web sites

Abstract Web sites reach global audiences by nature, and as such necessitate country-specific cultural adaptation. The paper proposes a framework to measure cultural values embedded in Web sites and tests it using a content analysis of U.S. and Japanese company Web sites. The results provide evidence that country-specific Web sites reflect national cultural values. The proposed framework can serve as a guide for developing culturally congruent Web sites.

Adaptation of cultural content: evidence from B2C e‐commerce firms

Purpose – To effectively target and reach consumers on the worldwide web, companies need to determine what level of web site adaptation is necessary. Explores how cultural differences affect adaptation of web content by B2C e‐commerce firms.Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a content analysis framework to systematically analyze the cultural values depicted on the web pages of US, French and German web sites. To test for differences in the depiction of cultural values on different country web sites, a MANOVA was conducted, followed by a Tukey (HSD) post hoc analysis.Findings – Evidence is found that local country web sites depict the cultural values of that country. Additionally, the study finds that companies adapt their foreign web sites to the cultural values of the target country, but that this adaptation is not yet extensive.Originality/value – This research adds value by extending understanding of the issues of adaptation and standardization on the web in general, and by B2C e‐commerce fi...

To Localize or to Standardize on the Web: Empirical Evidence from Italy, India, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland

With the growth of worldwide e‐commerce, companies are increasingly targeting foreign online consumers. However, there is a dearth of evidence as to whether global consumers prefer to browse and buy from standardized global web sites or web sites adapted to their local cultures. This study provides evidence from five different countries as to whether global consumers prefer local web content or standardized web content. The study also measures how the degree of cultural adaptation on the web affects consumer perception of site effectiveness.

Web Site Adaptation: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of U.S. and Mexican Web Sites

In the marketing and advertising literature very few studies have addressed the issue of Web site standardization or localization, and there is a debate as to whether Web sites are culturally neutral or culturally sensitive documents. To address this confusion and deficit in the literature, this research studies how cultural values are reflected in American and Mexican Web sites. A content analysis of American and Mexican Web pages indicates that there are significant differences in the depiction of local cultural values on the Web.

Responsiveness to Global and Local Consumer Culture Positioning: A Personality and Collective Identity Perspective

Marketers have increasingly employed positioning strategies to appeal to either global or local consumer cultures. However, little is known about the characteristics of consumers most likely to respond to such positioning. The authors find that the collective identities of global and national identification are strongly related to responsiveness to global and local consumer culture positioning (GCCP and LCCP, respectively). The results also show that personality predisposes people to adopt collective identities. The personality traits of openness to experience and agreeableness are significantly related to global and national identity, respectively. On the basis of these findings, the authors present implications with regard to developing GCCP and LCCP strategies that are congruent with consumers’ personality and associated collective identity.

The international e‐marketing framework (IEMF)

Purpose – International e‐marketing is emerging as an important area for marketers, as global online markets expand. This special issue is an attempt to encourage, showcase, and guide research in the area of international e‐marketing.Design/methodology/approach – In the editorial, Introduces the international e‐marketing framework (IEMF) as a guiding template for future research in international e‐marketing.Findings – The IEMF should help shape scholarly inquiry in the domain of international e‐marketing, classify current intellectual contributions in this area and delineate the gaps in the literature.Originality/value – The editorial presents the IEMF and classifies various papers in this issue using this framework. Finally, concludes with several compelling research questions to motivate future research in this area.

Culturally Customizing Websites for U.S. Hispanic Online Consumers

ABSTRACT The U.S. Hispanic online market consists of the most affluent and educated members of the U.S. Hispanic population. The segment is large, increasing in size, and its members prefer culturally-adapted marketing messages. Currently, no frameworks are available to help marketers culturally customize websites for U.S. Hispanics. The objective of this study is to address this gap. The goals are to identify the ways in which Hispanic preferences for web design elements differ, and to explore how these preferences vary based on acculturation. The results indicate that Hispanics have culturally-rooted preferences for web content and that acculturation levels are important segmentation variables.

Global megatrends and the web: convergence of globalization, networks and innovation

Proactive companies analyze global megatrends to anticipate and leverage future opportunities in the marketplace. Limited body of academic research ex-ists to facilitate global megatrends forecasting. The objective of this paper is to identify important global megatrends that are being facilitated by the rise of the World Wide Web. An attempt is also made to explore how these global megatrends are leading to the emergence of various global consumer trends. This thought-piece identifies three major global mega-trends, namely Globalization, Rise of Networks and Open Innovation, which are being facilitated by the global expansion of the web.