INTERNATIONAL, PART II

1
INTERNATIONAL, PART II

• International Internet Users
• Selected issues
• The Culturally Customized Web Site, Part I

2
International Internet Users

• Finding buyers
• Local search engines
• Advertising
• Search engine optimization
• Mailing lists from catalogs prior to Internet
  entry
• Demographics
• Gender ratios
• Socioeconomic status of users

• Access speed
• High broadband access rates in Europe and Korea
• Out-of-Home Access
• Portable systems
• Web enabled cell phones/PDAs
• Solar/battery powered devices for developing
  World
• Pirates and piracy

3
Selected Issues

• Internet governance
• Running of top domain and IP numbering systems
• Fear of constraining influences if countries with
  reputations for censorship participate
• Cross-border spamming
• Identification
• Action against offenders
• Censorship issues
• Extreme (China, Singapore)
• More modest (Europe)

• Gambling
• U.S. based
• Indirect ownership of foreign sites
• Foreign based
• Loopholes in rules
• Import/export constraints
• Government oversight/ regulation
• Extent of regulation
• Policy on competition

4
The Culturally Customized Web Site

• Book objectives
• Describe comprehensive study of web site
  evaluation by consumers in five countries
• Make suggestions for adapting web sites for
  different cultures
• Book web site

http//theculturallycustomizedwebsite.com/
5
Cultural Customization

• Some issues
• Values depicted
• Aesthetics
• Conventions
• Symbolism
• Color
• Desirability of features
• For reassurance
• To affirm values

• Some areas considered
• Hofstedes dimensions
• High vs. low context orientation of culture

6
Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

• Individualism (vs. collectivism)
• Power distance
• Masculine vs. feminine
• Strong vs. weak uncertainty avoidance
• Short vs. long term orientation (Confucianist
  dynamics)
• The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountain

Based on interviews with IBM executives
throughout the World--1980s
7
Individualism vs. collectivism

• The extent to which
• Individuals as opposed to groups are rewarded
• It is desirable to stand out from others
• In collectivism, the unit of responsibility can
  be (sometimes depending on context)
• Work group
• Family
• Nation, community, or society as a whole

8
Power Distance

• The extent to which rank is important in work
  and relationships
• Rank can be based on
• Position
• Family/ethnic status
• Age
• Implications for
• Strategy formation
• Delegation
• Correcting mistakes

9
Masculine vs. Feminine

• Masculine values Dominating environment,
  conquering nature, progress
• E.g., damming, tunnels, land development, land
  reclamation
• Feminine values Harmony, preserving
  environment
• E.g., environmental impact, working around nature

10
Uncertainty Avoidance

• Low uncertainty avoidance
• Willingness to
• Take risks
• Investments
• Social situations
• Consider new ideas
• High uncertainty avoidance
• Reliance on authority for decision making

11
High vs. Low Context Cultures

• To what extent is communication explicit as
  opposed to being dependent on context?
• What is said and what is not said
• Expectations of background knowledge by the
  individual
• Preference for direction vs. indirection