The Influence of Culture in Website Design and Users’ Perceptions: Three Systematic Reviews

The role of culture in web design has been increasingly researched. At this juncture, a comprehensive review of research, exploring website cultural localization issues, is overdue. Thus, this study aims to review and synthesize the findings from 90 previous studies in this field and provide implications for building a future research agenda. The paper provides a systematic review of a] The manifestation of cultural values in websites, b] The investigation of cultural markers in websites, and c] Influence of culture on users’ perceptions of online stimuli. It elucidates the methods used in the investigations, along with main findings, limitations, and future research directions. The review of previous studies suggests that the web is not a culturally neutral medium, local cultural elements are an important part of web design, and that multinationals are culturally adapting their web content. Finally, the past studies make a compelling case for culturally adapting web content to meet online user expectations.

[1]  Wann-Yih Wu,et al.  The means-end cognitions of web advertising: a cross-cultural comparison , 2010, Online Inf. Rev..

[2]  Xiaorui Hu,et al.  Cultural Adaptation on the Web: A Study of American Companies' Domestic and Chinese Websites , 2003, J. Glob. Inf. Manag..

[3]  Rotem Shneor.  Influences of Culture, Geography and Infrastructure on Website Localization Decisions , 2012 .

[4]  Aaron Marcus,et al.  Cultural Dimensions and Global Web User-Interface Design , 2000 .

[5]  Nitish Singh,et al.  A diagnostic framework for measuring Web‐site localization , 2009 .

[6]  Yuri Seo,et al.  Examining the effect of cultural congruence, processing fluency, and uncertainty avoidance in online purchase decisions in the U.S. and Korea , 2015 .

[7]  Frank Go,et al.  Projected Destination Image Online: Website Content Analysis of Pictures and Text , 2004, J. Inf. Technol. Tour..

[8]  M. Sirgy,et al.  Value-Expressive versus Utilitarian Advertising Appeals: When and Why to Use Which Appeal , 1991 .

[9]  Naveen Donthu,et al.  Web site customer orientations, Web site quality, and purchase intentions: The role of Web site personality , 2009 .

[10]  Richard Fletcher,et al.  The impact of culture on web site content, design and structure : an international and a multicultural perspective , 2006 .

[11]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Consumer Trust in an Internet Store: A Cross-Cultural Validation , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[12]  Dirk Snelders,et al.  The cultural adaptation of web design to local industry styles: A comparative study , 2011 .

[13]  Rob Law,et al.  Successful Factors For A Travel Web Site: Perceptions Of On-Line Purchasers In Hong Kong , 2003 .

[14]  Sajjad Zahir,et al.  Cross-cultural dimensions of Internet portals , 2002, Internet Res..

[15]  C. Osgood,et al.  The principle of congruity in the prediction of attitude change. , 1955, Psychological review.

[16]  Dieter Fink,et al.  Perceptions of Web site design characteristics: a Malaysian/Australian comparison , 2000, Internet Res..

[17]  Daniel W. Baack,et al.  Adaptation of cultural content: evidence from B2C e‐commerce firms , 2005 .

[18]  Richard W. Pollay,et al.  Measuring the Cultural Values Manifest in Advertising , 2012 .

[19]  Xin Li,et al.  Culture and acceptance of global web sites: a cross-country study of the effects of national cultural values on acceptance of a personal web portal , 2009, DATB.

[20]  Nitish Singh,et al.  Understanding international web site usage , 2006 .

[21]  Olga De Troyer,et al.  Cross-Culture and Website Design: Cultural Movements and Settled Cultural Variables , 2009, HCI.

[22]  Moez Limayem,et al.  What makes consumers buy from Internet? A longitudinal study of online shopping , 2000, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part A.

[23]  Antonis C. Stylianou,et al.  Global corporate web sites: an empirical investigation of content and design , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[24]  Shintaro Okazaki,et al.  Does Culture Matter?: Identifying Cross-national Dimensions in Japanese Multinationals' Product-based Websites , 2004, Electron. Mark..

[25]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement , 1983 .

[26]  Maud Tixier.  Globalization and localization of contents: Evolution of major internet sites across sectors of industry , 2005 .

[27]  Gennadi Gevorgyan,et al.  Does Culturally Adapted Online Communication Work? A Study of American and Chinese Internet Users' Attitudes and Preferences Toward Culturally Customized Web Design Elements , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[28]  Nitish Singh.  Localization Strategies for Global E-Business , 2011 .

[29]  Huatong Sun,et al.  Building a culturally-competent corporate web site: an exploratory study of cultural markers in multilingual web design , 2001, SIGDOC '01.

[30]  Jean-Claude Usunier,et al.  Cultural, National, and Industry-Level Differences in B2B Web Site Design and Content , 2009, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[31]  J. Gentry,et al.  Cultural Values Reflected in Theme and Execution: A Comparative Study of U.S. and Korean Television Commercials , 1999 .

[32]  Sorin Adam Matei,et al.  Cultural Cognitive Style and Web Design: Beyond a Behavioral Inquiry into Computer-Mediated Communication , 2005, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[33]  Nitish Singh,et al.  Measuring Website Globalization , 2005 .

[34]  Wen Gong.  National culture and global diffusion of business‐to‐consumer e‐commerce , 2009 .

[35]  Hamid Reza Peikari,et al.  Does Nationality Matter in the B2C Environment? Results from a Two Nation Study , 2010, ICGS3.

[36]  Jean-Claude Usunier,et al.  The Influence of High- and Low-Context Communication Styles On the Design, Content, and Language of Business-To-Business Web Sites , 2010 .

[37]  Cheryl Nakata,et al.  Beyond Hofstede : culture frameworks for global marketing and management , 2009 .

[38]  Pei-Luen Patrick Rau,et al.  Internationalization and localization: evaluating and testing a Website for Asian users , 2003, Ergonomics.

[39]  Karl F. MacDorman,et al.  The Aesthetic Dimensions of U.S. and South Korean Responses to Web Home Pages: A Cross-Cultural Comparison , 2011, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[40]  James R. Coyle,et al.  Collectivist and Individualist Influences on Website Design in South Korea and the U.S.: A Cross-Cultural Content Analysis , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[41]  M. Hyman,et al.  Cultural Themes in Brazilian and U.S. Auto Ads: A Cross-Cultural Comparison , 1990 .

[42]  Rudolf R. Sinkovics,et al.  Cultural adaptation in cross border e-commerce: A study of German companies , 2007 .

[43]  Yogesh Kumar Dwivedi.  Culture and Localization on the Web: Evidence from Multinationals in Russia and Turkey, , 2011 .

[44]  S. Schwartz.  A Theory of Cultural Values and Some Implications for Work , 1999 .

[45]  William B. Gudykunst.  Bridging differences: Effective intergroup communication, 3rd ed. , 1998 .

[46]  Alfons Trompenaars,et al.  Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business , 1993 .

[47]  Mohammadi Akheela Khanum,et al.  Arabic Interface Analysis Based on Cultural Markers , 2012, ArXiv.

[48]  H. Raghav Rao,et al.  A trust-based consumer decision-making model in electronic commerce: The role of trust, perceived risk, and their antecedents , 2008, Decis. Support Syst..

[49]  Menno de Jong,et al.  Cultural differences and usability evaluation. Individualistic and collectivistic participants compared. , 2004 .

[50]  David Luna,et al.  Cross-cultural and cognitive aspects of web site navigation , 2002 .

[51]  Ramazan Nacar,et al.  A cultural content analysis of multinational companies' web sites , 2011 .

[52]  Elizabeth Würtz,et al.  Intercultural Communication on Web sites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Web sites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures , 2005, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[53]  Radmila Juric,et al.  Cross cultural Web design: an experiences of developing UK and Korean cultural markers , 2003, Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Information Technology Interfaces, 2003. ITI 2003..

[54]  Barbara Mueller,et al.  Reflections of Culture: An Analysis of Japanese and American Advertising Appeals. , 1986 .

[55]  Wei Song,et al.  Internationalization and Localization of Websites: Navigation in English Language and Chinese Language Sites , 2009, HCI.

[56]  Nitesh Goyal,et al.  Cultural differences across governmental website design , 2012, ICIC.

[57]  Massimiliano Ostinelli,et al.  To Localize or to Standardize on the Web: Empirical Evidence from Italy, India, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland , 2004 .

[58]  Steven John Simon,et al.  The impact of culture and gender on web sites: an empirical study , 2000, DATB.

[59]  D. Tranfield,et al.  Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review , 2003 .

[60]  Y. Aharoni.  Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind , 1992 .

[61]  Jonna Holland,et al.  Customer participation in creating site brand loyalty , 2001 .

[62]  Xiaorui Hu,et al.  Analyzing the cultural content of web sites , 2005 .

[63]  Kun-Pyo Lee,et al.  A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Users' Perceptions of a Webpage: With a Focus on the Cognitive Styles of Chinese, Koreans and Americans , 2008 .

[64]  Malaika Brengman,et al.  Are Culturally Congruent Websites More Effective? an Overview of a Decade of Empirical Evidence , 2010 .

[65]  Kai H. Lim,et al.  Web strategies to promote internet shopping: is cultural-customization needed? , 2009 .

[66]  Hannes Werthner,et al.  Information Technology and Tourism — A Challenging Relationship , 1999 .

[67]  Roberta Ann Barra,et al.  International issues of the design and usage of websites for e-commerce: Hotel and airline examples , 2008 .

[68]  Maryam Mousavi.  Assessing the Consistency of the Design of Iranian Websites with Cultural Characteristics of their Target Users: An Investigation of the Hofstede Model , 2012 .

[69]  Dianne Cyr,et al.  Colour appeal in website design within and across cultures: A multi-method evaluation , 2010, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[70]  Lee P. Stepina,et al.  Hofstede's Country Classification 25 Years Later , 1997 .

[71]  S H Schwartz,et al.  ARE THERE UNIVERSAL ASPECT IN THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF HUMAN VALUES , 1994 .

[72]  Nitish Singh,et al.  U.S. Hispanic Consumer E-Commerce Preferences: Expectations and Attitudes toward Web Content , 2008 .

[73]  L. Peñaloza.  Atravesando Fronteras/Border Crossings: A Critical Ethnographic Exploration of the Consumer Acculturation of Mexican Immigrants , 1994 .

[74]  Vanessa Evers,et al.  The Role of Culture in Interface Acceptance , 1997, INTERACT.

[75]  Dianne Cyr,et al.  Gender and website design in e-business , 2005, Int. J. Electron. Bus..

[76]  Elí Samuel González-Trejo.  Do Mexican Companies Culturally Adapt Their Websites? , 2010 .

[77]  Nitish Singh,et al.  A cross‐cultural analysis of German, Chinese and Indian consumers' perception of web site adaptation , 2006 .

[78]  Andrew Large,et al.  Investigating the Design of Arabic Web Interfaces Using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Case Study of Government Web Portals , 2013 .

[79]  Nikos Tsikriktsis.  Does Culture Influence Web Site Quality Expectations? , 2002 .

[80]  Kenneth R. Deans,et al.  Localizing Cultural Values on Tourism Destination Websites , 2015 .

[81]  John O’Conner,et al.  The Evolution of Localization , 2003 .

[82]  Antonis C. Stylianou,et al.  A Study of Cultural Differences in Global Corporate Web Sites , 2002, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[83]  Andrew Large,et al.  Measuring Cultural Markers in Arabic Government Websites Using Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions , 2011, HCI.

[84]  Deborah E. Rosen,et al.  Website design: Viewing the web as a cognitive landscape , 2004 .

[85]  Marc Hermeking,et al.  Culture and Internet Consumption: Contributions from Cross-Cultural Marketing and Advertising Research , 2005, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[86]  D. Singer.  Web Localization in International Online Banking , 2007 .

[87]  Irene Pollach,et al.  The Readership of Corporate Websites , 2011 .

[88]  Shintaro Okazaki,et al.  A content analysis of multinationals' Web communication strategies: cross-cultural research framework and pre-testing , 2002, Internet Res..

[89]  Ewald A. Kaluscha,et al.  Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[90]  Yung-Ming Li,et al.  Increasing trust in mobile commerce through design aesthetics , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[91]  Rodney L. Stump,et al.  Global use and access of social networking web sites: a national culture perspective , 2014 .

[92]  Bruce W. N. Lo,et al.  CULTURAL IMPACT ON THE DESIGN OF E-COMMERCE WEBSITES: Part I - Site Format and Layout , 2005 .

[93]  Norhayati Zakaria,et al.  Applying culture to website design: a comparison of Malaysian and US websites , 2000, SIGDOC.

[94]  Nitish Singh,et al.  Measuring cultural adaptation on the Web: a content analytic study of U.S. and Japanese Web sites , 2004 .