Global firms can effectively tailor their websites for E-commerce across different countries through the strategic use of website localisation. Professor Choon-ling Sia, from the Department of Information Systems, along with co-authors, has been investigating the importance of customising websites for local users and its impact on website loyalty using three key website localisation strategies: web similarity, web distinctiveness, and web prestige.
Some of these strategies vary across social cultures. The study indicates that web distinctiveness and web prestige are more impactful in collectivistic societies such as China, Japan, and Korea compared to individualistic cultures such as the US, Germany, and Australia. Therefore, websites that highlight how a foreign company's products or services can differentiate themselves from competitors and showcase esteemed awards and positive feedback from the locals will be more likely to gain website loyalty in collectivistic cultures. On the other hand, web similarity strategies, such as using images of local employees, native language, and resonating with local slogans, have consistent effects in both social settings.
Website designers are recommended to take cultural differences into account when developing online platforms for foreign companies. They should assess the level of website localisation needed to evoke more positive responses from local consumers.
Wu, Tailai; Peng, Chih-Hung; Sai, Choon Ling; Lu, Yaobin. "Website Localization Strategies to Promote Global E-Commerce: The Moderating Role of Individualism and Collectivism." March 2024; In: MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems, Vol 48, Issue 1, pp. 31-66
Reference:
https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85187214542&origin=recordpage
