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International, Part IV

• The Culturally Customized Web Site, Part III

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Chapter 4—Cultural 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

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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

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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

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Suggestions for Sites for Collectivist Societies

• Clubs– May be “offline”—sense of

belonging– Chat rooms

• Emphasis on community relations

• Family (“we”) theme– Family bonds

• Loyalty programs– To company or brand– Japanese: amae—loyalty

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 5—Uncertainty 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 6—Cultural 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

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Suggestions for Low Power Distance Societies

• None specifically listed. Ideas?

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Chapter 7—Cultural 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 8—Cultural Customization: High-Low Context

• Importance of “context” in communication style—important 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