International, Part IV

1
International, Part IV

• The Culturally Customized Web Site, Part III

2
Chapter 4Cultural Customization
Individualism-Collectivism

• The extent to which goals of the individual, as
  opposed to the group, are valued
• Extent to which individual differences in
  behavior are accepted and/or encouraged

3
Country Examples

• High
• U.S.
• Australia
• U.K.
• Netherlands
• Canada
• New Zealand
• Middle
• India
• Japan
• Argentina
• Arab World

• Low
• Guatemala
• Ecuador
• Panama
• Venezuela
• Columbia
• Indonesia
• China
• Pakistan
• Indonesia
• Taiwan

4
Authors Caveats

• Numbers represent averages
• Web sites which happen to portray individualist
  and/or collectivist values may do so without
  actually having sought to customize for the
  particular culture
• Other variables are important

5
Suggestions for Sites for Collectivist Societies

• Clubs
• May be offlinesense of belonging
• Chat rooms
• Emphasis on community relations
• Family (we) theme
• Family bonds
• Loyalty programs
• To company or brand
• Japanese amaeloyalty to the group

• Links to local web sites
• Demonstration of connection to local community
• Symbols/pictures of national identity
• Flags
• Architecture
• Important buildings
• Local role models

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Suggestions for Sites for Individualist Societies

• Independence theme
• I-consciousness
• Individual determinism
• Invest on your terms
• Strong privacy statement
• Personalization and product uniqueness
• Unique content (e.g., self-selected news,
  features, adjustment of view)
• Personalized products, if applicable

• Personal product recommendations

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Chapter 5Uncertainty Avoidance

• Relative importance of predictable environment,
  defined structure, order vs. acceptance of risk
  taking, reduced structure, and acceptance of
  ambiguity
• Extent of acceptance of new ways of doing things
  if not known
• Valuing conservatism and traditional beliefs
• Example Mexican beverage company explicitly
  lists behaviors expected from employees

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Countries

• High
• Greece
• Portugal
• Guatemala
• Uruguay
• El Salvador
• Belgium
• Japan
• Medium
• Germany
• Thailand
• Iran
• Finland

• Low
• Singapore
• Jamaica
• Denmark
• Hong Kong
• Sweden
• Ireland
• U.S.

Note that no clear geographic patterns are
evident.
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Suggestions for Sites for High Uncertainty
Avoidance Societies

• Customer service
• Personnel positioned as experts
• Easily accessible on the site
• Guided navigation
• Traditional theme
• Connection to local stores
• Depictions
• Ability to return merchandise
• Local terminology

• Free
• Trials
• Downloads
• Transaction security
• Testimonials

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Suggestions for Sites for High Uncertainty
Avoidance Societies

• None listed. Ideas?

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Chapter 6Cultural Customization Power Distance

• Extent to which hierarchy and status are
  emphasized as opposed to a preference for more
  distributed power and decision making
• High sensitivity to those older, with seniority,
  and in authority
• Tendency to obey suggestions from authority
  figures

• Preference for face-to-face contact for display
  of respect
• Emphasis on hierarchical structures
• Emphasis on organization charts

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Countries

• High
• Malaysia
• Panama
• Guatemala
• Philippines
• Mexico
• Arab World
• Middle
• Taiwan
• Iran
• Spain
• Poland

• Low
• Austria
• Israel
• Denmark
• New Zealand
• Ireland
• Norway

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Suggestions for High Power Distance Societies

• Hierarchy information
• Picture of CEO and other important people
• Use of proper titles
• Quality assurance
• Superior quality
• Awards
• Vision statement by CEO

14
Suggestions for Low Power Distance Societies

• None specifically listed. Ideas?

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Chapter 7Cultural Customization
Masculinity-Femininity

• Value of achievement, assertiveness, ambition vs.
  nurturance, care for others
• Masculine societies
• Tendency toward clear gender roles
• Success orientation
• Decisiveness
• Directness (depending on levels of collectivism,
  power distance)

• Feminine societies
• Oneness with nature
• Service orientation
• Harmony
• Modesty

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Countries

• High masculinity
• Japan
• Hungary
• Austria
• Venezuela
• Switzerland
• Mexico
• Middle
• Malaysia
• Brazil
• Singapore
• Israel
• West Africa

• High Femininity
• Sweden
• Norway
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Costa Rica
• Finland

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Recommendations for Masculine Societies

• Indication of product effectiveness
• Quizzes, games (competitive element)
• Realism theme
• Decisiveness vs. fantasy, imagery
• Rational/performance appeals
• Clear depiction of gender roles and segregation
• E.g., female section of Japanese search engine

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Recommendations for Masculine Societies

• Similar considerations to high context
  societies
• Harmony
• Aesthetics
• Soft sell

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Chapter 8Cultural Customization High-Low
Context

• Importance of context in communication
  styleimportant information may be embedded in
  society as opposed to being more detailed and
  explicit with unambiguous explanation.
• High context societies
• Politeness/indirectness are emphasized
• Soft sell approach
• Aesthetics

• Low context societies
• Hard sell
• Superlative word usage
• Emphasis on rank and prestige of company
• Explicit terms and conditions
• Emphasis on logical, linear thinking
• Action orientation
• Emphasis on rationality

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Countries

• High Context
• Asia (generally)
• Africa
• South America
• Parts of Middle East
• Japan
• China
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Taiwan
• Philippines

• Low context
• Most of Northern Europe
• North America
• New Zealand
• Australia
• U.K.

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Recommendations

• For High Context Societies
• Aesthetics
• Politeness
• Indirectness
• Soft-sell approach

• For Low Context Societies
• Harder sell
• Terms and conditions
• Rank
• Prestige
• Superlatives