Balancing Cultural and Corporate Identity Aspects in Standardising and/or Localising Websites
A Contingency Approach
©2005
Diplomarbeit
72 Seiten
Zusammenfassung
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
The worldwide economy is currently in a state of upheaval. For decades the traditional marketplace was the common way to buy goods, services and to do business. People set up shops and met in conference rooms to negotiate big business deals. However, since the middle of the 90s the business world has been undergoing a tremendous change.
While the basic rules for doing business have not altered, conditions and terms have changed significantly. The emergence of the Internet was the main catalyst for this drastic change in the business world. At first the Internet was considered to be merely another medium with which people had to deal with. It was regarded as a concomitant which did not necessarily have to be used in companies.
But the possibilities the Internet offered were and are tremendous. Both private people and companies discovered the opportunities harboured by the Internet. Firms quickly realised that the Internet can and must be a medium which was worth taking a closer look at. The same applied for individuals.
However, the very purpose of its work, which is communication between private people over the Internet, can be overlooked and neglected in this context.
The first part of the present thesis focuses on the Internet and how companies and individuals use the digital environment to do business. The objective of firms is mainly to do business, either with other firms or with private people. The Internet is considered to be a medium and an interface both parties have to use. With the help of the Internet, companies are expected to increase their efficiency and reduce transaction costs. The unique characteristics of the Internet such as its omnipresence promise both parties an increase in their business activities.
Furthermore, the Internet has to be perceived as a great, parallel world to the traditional, existing one. Of course, companies can exclusively exist and compete on the Internet. But what they must not neglect is the fact that individuals are people that communicate, interact and perform everywhere on the Internet. The human aspect is still one of the central factors when looking at the relatively new phenomenon of the Internet.
Nevertheless, this human factor has somehow been neglected by web designers and marketers for several years. Companies set up web pages, filled them with content and thought that someone might hopefully visit the page and buy a product online. Every visitor to a website […]
The worldwide economy is currently in a state of upheaval. For decades the traditional marketplace was the common way to buy goods, services and to do business. People set up shops and met in conference rooms to negotiate big business deals. However, since the middle of the 90s the business world has been undergoing a tremendous change.
While the basic rules for doing business have not altered, conditions and terms have changed significantly. The emergence of the Internet was the main catalyst for this drastic change in the business world. At first the Internet was considered to be merely another medium with which people had to deal with. It was regarded as a concomitant which did not necessarily have to be used in companies.
But the possibilities the Internet offered were and are tremendous. Both private people and companies discovered the opportunities harboured by the Internet. Firms quickly realised that the Internet can and must be a medium which was worth taking a closer look at. The same applied for individuals.
However, the very purpose of its work, which is communication between private people over the Internet, can be overlooked and neglected in this context.
The first part of the present thesis focuses on the Internet and how companies and individuals use the digital environment to do business. The objective of firms is mainly to do business, either with other firms or with private people. The Internet is considered to be a medium and an interface both parties have to use. With the help of the Internet, companies are expected to increase their efficiency and reduce transaction costs. The unique characteristics of the Internet such as its omnipresence promise both parties an increase in their business activities.
Furthermore, the Internet has to be perceived as a great, parallel world to the traditional, existing one. Of course, companies can exclusively exist and compete on the Internet. But what they must not neglect is the fact that individuals are people that communicate, interact and perform everywhere on the Internet. The human aspect is still one of the central factors when looking at the relatively new phenomenon of the Internet.
Nevertheless, this human factor has somehow been neglected by web designers and marketers for several years. Companies set up web pages, filled them with content and thought that someone might hopefully visit the page and buy a product online. Every visitor to a website […]
Leseprobe
Inhaltsverzeichnis
ID 9279
Meissner, Constantin J.: Balancing Cultural and Corporate Identity Aspects in
Standardising and/or Localising Websites - A Contingency Approach
Druck Diplomica GmbH, Hamburg, 2006
Zugl.: Universität Paderborn, Diplomarbeit, 2005
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ii
Table of Content
LISTING OF TABLES... IV
LISTING OF ABBREVIATIONS ...V
1
INTRODUCTION ... 1
2
THE MEDIUM INTERNET AND THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURE ... 3
2.1
R
ELEVANCE OF
G
LOBALISATION AND
I
NTERNET FOR
M
ARKETING
... 3
2.2
G
LOBALISING
E
FFECT OF THE
I
NTERNET
... 7
2.3
C
URRENT
T
RENDS ON THE
I
NTERNET
... 9
2.4
E-B
USINESS PLAYS THE
C
ENTRAL
R
OLE ON THE
B
USINESS
W
EB
... 9
3
THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR... 12
3.1
G
ENERAL
A
SPECTS ABOUT THE
"C
ULTURE
"
F
ACTOR
... 12
3.2
T
HE
C
HARACTERISTICS OF
C
ULTURE
... 13
3.3
C
ULTURAL
D
IMENSIONS INCLUDING
H
OFSTEDE
'
S
A
PPROACH
... 15
3.3.1
I
NDIVIDUALISM VS
.
C
OLLECTIVISM
... 16
3.3.2
U
NCERTAINTY
A
VOIDANCE
... 17
3.3.3
P
OWER
D
ISTANCE
... 18
3.3.4
M
ASCULINITY VS
.
F
EMININITY
... 19
3.3.5
H
IGH VS
.
L
OW
C
ONTEXT CULTURE
... 20
4
LOCALISATION OF WEBSITES AND THE ROLE OF CORPORATE IDENTITY
ONLINE... 21
4.1
T
HE
I
MPORTANCE OF
W
EBSITE
L
OCALISATION
... 21
iii
4.2
T
HE
R
OLE OF
L
ANGUAGE IN
W
EBSITE
P
ERCEPTION
... 23
4.3
U
SABILITY AS THE
M
AIN
R
ESULT OF
C
ULTURALLY
-S
ENSITIVE
W
EBSITES
... 25
5
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CORPORATE IDENTITY ON WEBSITES ... 29
5.1
G
ENERAL
A
SPECTS ABOUT
C
ORPORATE
I
DENTITY
... 29
5.2
T
HE
R
EALISATION OF
C
ORPORATE
I
DENTITY ON
W
EBSITES
... 32
5.3
C
ORPORATE
I
DENTITY
M
IGHT BE
L
EFT OUT IN THE
L
OCALISATION
P
ROCESS
... 34
6
USING HOFSTEDE'S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS FOR CULTURALLY-
CUSTOMIZED WEBSITES ... 36
6.1
C
HARACTERISTICS OF
C
ULTURALLY
-A
DAPTED
W
EBSITES BASED ON
H
OFSTEDE
'
S
C
ULTURAL
D
IMENSIONS
... 37
6.1.1
W
EBSITES WHICH
E
MPHASISE THE
D
IMENSION OF
"I
NDIVIDUALISM VS
C
OLLECTIVISM
" 37
6.1.2
W
EBSITES WHICH
E
MPHASISE THE
D
IMENSION OF
"U
NCERTAINTY
A
VOIDANCE
"... 38
6.1.3
W
EBSITES WHICH
E
MPHASISE THE
D
IMENSION OF
"P
OWER
D
ISTANCE
"... 40
6.1.4
W
EBSITES WHICH
E
MPHASISE THE
D
IMENSION OF
"M
ASCULINITY VS
.
F
EMININITY
"... 42
7
CONCLUSION ... 45
8
APPENDIX...I
9
BIBLIOGRAPHY...X
iv
Listing of Tables
Table 1:
The ten quality principles for websites ... 27
Table 2:
The components of Corporate Identity ... 31
Table 3: Overview of Web Site Design Method (WSDM) ... 48
v
Listing of Abbreviations
4 P's
price, place, product and promotion
B2B
Business-to-Business
B2C
Business-to-Consumer
CFM
conceptual
feature
model
Cp.
compare
CVIS
corporate visual identity system
e.g.
for
example
etc.
et
cetera
FAQ
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Fig.
Figure
http
hypertext
transfer protocol
Ibid.
ibidem
LISA
Localisation
Industry Standards Association
MNC
multinational
corporation
No.
number
p.
page
Vol.
volume
vs.
versus
w.p.
without
page
WSDM
web site design method
w.y.
without
year
www
World
Wide
Web
1
1
Introduction
The worldwide economy is currently in a state of upheaval. For decades the traditional
marketplace was the common way to buy goods, services and to do business. People set
up shops and met in conference rooms to negotiate big business deals. However, since the
middle of the 90's the business world has been undergoing a tremendous change. While
the basic rules for doing business have not altered, conditions and terms have changed
significantly. The emergence of the Internet was the main catalyst for this drastic change
in the business world. At first the Internet was considered to be merely another medium
with which people had to deal with. It was regarded as a concomitant which did not nec-
essarily have to be used in companies. But the possibilities the Internet offered were and
are tremendous. Both private people and companies discovered the opportunities har-
boured by the Internet. Firms quickly realised that the Internet can and must be a medium
which was worth taking a closer look at. The same applied for individuals. However, the
very purpose of its work, which is communication between private people over the Inter-
net, can be overlooked and neglected in this context.
The first part of the present thesis focuses on the Internet and how companies and indi-
viduals use the digital environment to do business. The objective of firms is mainly to do
business, either with other firms or with private people. The Internet is considered to be a
medium and an interface both parties have to use. With the help of the Internet, compa-
nies are expected to increase their efficiency and reduce transaction costs. The unique
characteristics of the Internet such as its omnipresence promise both parties an increase in
their business activities. Furthermore, the Internet has to be perceived as a great, parallel
world to the traditional, existing one. Of course, companies can exclusively exist and
compete on the Internet. But what they must not neglect is the fact that individuals are
people that communicate, interact and perform everywhere on the Internet. The human
aspect is still one of the central factors when looking at the relatively new phenomenon of
the Internet. Nevertheless, this human factor has somehow been neglected by web design-
ers and marketers for several years. Companies set up web pages, filled them with content
and thought that someone might hopefully visit the page and buy a product online. Every
2
visitor to a website was confronted with the same content presented in the same manner,
regardless of the personal characteristics the visitor had. However, the issue of cultural
parentage emerged as one factor which was potentially worth looking at. Companies had
so far ignored culture as an important element which might have played a role in the in-
teraction process between a website of a company and the visitor and potential customer.
The present thesis presents one possible approach to assessing the role of culture in the
digital world. Nevertheless, the culture factor has largely been neglected and worse, been
ignored. A look at related literature shows that culture is relevant when designing web-
sites. Contrary to the common view of marketers, the values of people all around the
world are not converging. Even though we live in a world where globalisation is the chal-
lenge of the century, individuals and their values are not becoming similar. Clearly, this
fact would make the case much easier for companies and their worldwide activities.
When companies ignore this matter of fact, they may lose ground in the hard competing
business world. Website visitors can only navigate a website easily and comfortably if the
digital document and its design respect the cultural values of the user. Furthermore, the
focus does not exclusively lie on multinational firms. The relevant thinking begins on the
small, regional web pages. If the website of the local supermarket ignores the values of
the visitors who look online every day for new offers, the purpose of the website might be
lost.
With regard to the remaining content of this paper, it is necessary to differentiate the con-
tent of a web page in two parts: the navigational aspect and the corporate identity aspect.
The navigational aspect consists of elements which the user experiences when surfing
through the website. Corporate identity consists, in most cases on the Internet, of a small
logo and a text or a slogan. This paper differentiates between both parts.
To gain a better insight into the topic and understand the role of the relatively new me-
dium of the Internet, this thesis will begin with a section which explains globalisation and
differentiate between standardisation and localisation. Furthermore, the relevance of web-
sites for daily business of companies will be underlined. The next part emphasises the role
3
of culture in general and its interpretation on websites. For a better understanding of cul-
ture as an important factor, Hofstede's cultural dimensions will be examined. The next
section provides an overview of corporate identity in general and its components.
The
next part
describes how corporate identity can be realised on the Internet. Furthermore, a
differentiation between the navigational aspect on websites will be undertaken. The last
part offers examples of how websites can be culturally sensitive. For each dimension of-
fered by Hofstede, this paper will give screenshots of websites to illustrate a culturally-
adapted website. However, these examples present only one possible approach as to how
a localised website might look. The conclusion will summarise the presented insights and
take a short look into the future regarding the role of culture on websites and how compa-
nies can deal with this aspect.
2
The Medium Internet and the Relevance of Culture
2.1
Relevance of Globalisation and Internet for Marketing
As companies emerge more and more outside their country of origin, the marketing world
has been discussing the way the marketing mix needs to be set up for more than three
decades. The creation of global conglomerates, the rise of Asian nations as world-class
competitors, the opening of the iron curtain and the emerging and prospering develop-
ment of the European Union are part of
1
a worldwide development which is impossible to
ignore.
What is commonly known as the creation of the "global village" is the emergence of the
term "globalisation". A broad range of definitions exists in common literature. It de-
scribes the "closer contact between different parts of the world, with increasing possibili-
ties of personal exchange, mutual understanding and friendship between world citizens".
Furthermore, globalisation includes four different flows across boundaries: the flow of
goods and services, free trade, flow of people, capital and technology.
2
Hence, the world
1
Cp. Kanso; Nelson 2002, p. 80.
2
Cp. www.wikipedia.com, Keyword: Globalisation, retrieved 03.08.2005.
4
is becoming more globalised and internationalised. This brings along a number of conse-
quences and changes which companies and especially marketers have to consider. The
role of advertising and company communications in this context is crucial for the under-
standing of the present paper. The globalisation of world markets is a prerequisite for the
further exploration of the issue which is addressed in this paper. The concept of globalisa-
tion includes some aspects of the traditional world of advertising and communications.
Thus, national companies are increasingly doing business with each other, products can
be manufactured all over the world and consumer habits and their cultural values are con-
verging. The term "internationalisation" can be used synonymously, which is a process of
"designing and developing a generic base product, free of linguistics and cultural bi-
ases"
3
. The effect of globalisation is that borders are fading and it seems that the world is
becoming one global market.
The effects of globalisation inevitably lead to the decision which must be taken by mar-
keters: do companies have to standardise or to localise their marketing mix? Arising from
developments in recent years, the school of standardisation has emerged
4
. The notion of
standardisation arises from the desirability and feasibility concerning the usage of a uni-
form marketing mix across national markets.
5
The marketing mix includes the coordina-
tion and exertion of the following four instruments: price, place, product, and promotion,
commonly known as the "4 P's". A standardised approach can be seen as the use of uni-
form messages without modifying headings, illustrations or text, including translation for
national markets.
6
As the countries of the world are moving closer together, companies
may be able to standardise their efforts in marketing. Globalisation serves as the most
critical condition for companies to standardise their marketing mix. To understand the
difference between globalisation and standardisation, a classification seems necessary: the
first describes the development of markets and the second is the way of setting up the
marketing mix. The globalisation of worldwide markets stresses the need for companies
to standardise their marketing mix. It is necessary to mention the concept of "global
3
Cp. Fernandes 1995, p. 10.
4
Cp. Kanso; Nelson 2002, p. 79.
5
Cp. Szymanski; Bharadwaj; Varadarajan 1993, p. 5.
6
Cp. Onkivisit; Shaw 1987, p. 46.
5
sourcing" at this point. Globalisation enables companies to produce the components of
one product all over the world, depending on the wages in the different countries. The
components are assembled afterwards at one specific production plant. Companies such
as General Motors or General Electric deploy such a production method in order to use
the unique advantages of the countries and to produce their components or products.
Thus, it is possible for companies to gain economies of scale
7
. Firms are able to reduce
their expenditure for research and development when producing one product in one single
specification or when designing one unique communication mix to be used all over the
world. Furthermore, a look at the international markets shows that a standardisation of
products, services and advertising can be observed
8
. Localised advertising campaigns in
each national market would lead to enormous costs. Every time a product is promoted,
elements such as headings, symbols and illustrations in the advertising have to be
changed. A localisation of the activities of globally acting companies is thus almost im-
possible when economies of scale are the major goal. This idea goes along with the
thoughts made by Levitt, who expresses his suggestion in the influential article "the glob-
alisation of markets". He stresses the need for companies to move from the customised
product to the standardised product. Companies should standardise their products and
marketing mix, thus emphasising the similarities rather than the differences between
countries.
9
The homogenisation of needs and desires around the world has led to this
thinking. In terms of the organisational form of a company this would mean that the mul-
tinational corporation is obsolete and the global corporation is required, treating the sev-
eral national markets as one entity rather than as several different countries. The multina-
tional corporation knows a lot about many countries and is thus engaged in several coun-
tries with a differentiated marketing mix. In contrast, the multinational corporation knows
everything about one key aspect
10
. This implies that almost everything in the marketing
mix is standardised and presented in all relevant markets. To sum up, cultural differences
are becoming less important, enabling companies to standardise their marketing mix and
the design and characteristics of their products as well.
7
Cp. Watson; Lysonski; Gillan; Raymore 2002, p. 923.
8
Cp. Van Raaij 1997, p. 262.
9
Cp. Levitt 1983, p. 92.
10
Ibid.
6
In contrast to the above presented image of a converging world, many authors have ex-
pressed their doubts about this picture. Among others, De Mooij underlines that national
cultural values are enduring and are relevant for the behaviour of consumers. Cultural
elements represent a crucial point in advertising and communication campaigns, indicat-
ing that it is possible that standardised products may not match with cultural variances
around the world
11
. Guillen mentioned in one of his papers that global corporations are
faced with two conflicting sets of demands. On the one hand, every multinational firm
needs to deliver what the consumer wants, which can be best fulfilled by local adaptation.
On the other hand, companies seek to improve the efficiency of their operations by cross-
ing national borders and thus outperforming national competitors. Hence, the understand-
ing for the relative importance of local responsiveness and global integration lies at the
core of a successful global strategy for any company.
12
The importance of both aspects,
the global and the local perspective, is becoming clearer. It is difficult to say what the best
marketing strategy would be. Due to the need for a compromise, some authors have ex-
pressed their view of the problem. Wind for example articulated his observation in the
concept of "think globally, act locally". This approach implies that overall design follows
a worldwide perspective as every detail of the marketing strategy considers the idiosyn-
cratic country characteristics and cultural differences. By following this strategy, compa-
nies are partially following Levitt's suggestions. The changing world forces companies to
move away from domestic thinking, avoiding the pitfalls which might emerge from ap-
propriate standardised marketing and deploying a marketing-oriented approach to take
advantage of the understanding of the local conditions in a market.
13
Thus, in contrast to the concept of globalisation, the term "localisation" has emerged.
Localisation is the process of creating or adapting a product to a specific locality, e.g. to
the language, cultural context, conventions, and market requirements for a specific target
market. The properly localised product meets all regulatory and other requirements of the
11
Cp. Watson; Lysonski; Gillan; Raymore 2002, p. 923.
12
Cp. Guillen 2001, p. 43.
13
Cp. Wind 1986, p.26.
7
user's country or region.
14
However, the relevance of culture and its influence on market-
ing will be pointed out later in this paper. A further examination of literature emphasises
further opposed points of view. Levitt's view of globalisation is repeated by several other
authors. Proponents of the standardising approach underline that people all over the world
share the same basic needs and values. Thus, the marketing mix could be vastly standard-
ised. On the contrary, advocates of the localising idea stress that one unique marketing
mix is not possible. The characteristics of each national country differ regarding cultural,
governmental, financial and legal circumstances. Furthermore, there are barriers that pre-
vent companies from standardising their products and advertisements. Firstly, differences
in culture, taste, media infrastructure and economic development persist. Secondly, con-
sumers resist the products of international companies which try to alter their tastes and
cultures. These aspects make it inevitable that companies design specific advertising
campaigns and product characteristics. As already mentioned, cultural values are the ru-
diment for the behaviour of consumers. Consequently, some general concerns about cul-
ture will follow in the next section.
2.2
Globalising Effect of the Internet
The globalising effect that the Internet can evoke is one of its most important characteris-
tics. With the presence of a company on the World Wide Web, it is now possible to ex-
pand quickly around the world. Thus, companies can reach consumers in every corner of
the world, regardless of their culture, governments and economies. However, borderless
communication is also possible vice-versa. Any consumer in the world may easily access
a companies' website. This is a great advantage of the World Wide Web. It does not have
to take national borders or long distances into account. Furthermore, the web does not
have any borders itself. There is no institution that regulates or controls the flow and di-
rection of electronic information. In fact, the World Wide Web lives up to its name: it is
global and worldwide. The Internet is the main contributor towards the globalisation of
the world.
14
Cp. Chuong; Viet w. y., p. 1.
8
Due to the unique characteristics of website design and architecture, companies can easily
set up a website which is targeted at a specific country and follow their objective of sell-
ing goods and services. The Internet had become a parallel world where companies and
customers communicate and interact. Consequently, a clear border cannot be drawn be-
tween the offline and the online world. Both worlds do not exclude each other but exist
rather in parallel. Both environments may complement one another. The way information
is communicated in both worlds depends on the specific decision of the company. A rule
for the correct method of disseminating information does not exist. However, it is neces-
sary for companies to realise that the offline and the online world can have a parallel exis-
tence. When doing business, companies thus do not have to decide on one specific place
where they present information, promote and sell products. The traditional presence of
companies is still constituted by the existence of production plants, offerings in shops and
advertisements in newspapers, on the radio and television. Online presence may be com-
plementary, show the same picture or offer more features and services than the traditional
presence. Companies are free to choose their individual method of presentation. The
Internet has emerged as a "second world" or "parallel world" where the rules and condi-
tions are a somewhat different to the offline world.
Companies thus show their presence in a national market either physically or virtually or
probably both. The complete presence of companies including their products on a national
market is important. Nevertheless, the focus in this paper will remain on the online world.
Companies invite their potential customers to visit the website, to retrieve information
and to buy products online. Any customer from this national market can easily access this
website and search for information or may buy a product online. However, due to the
unique characteristics of the web one has to consider that any consumer can access this
website. At this point the following question arises: is the web really as borderless as it
seems to be? Several aspects regarding this question will be considered later in this paper.
9
2.3
Current Trends on the Internet
One central aspect of this paper is the concept of the World Wide Web. Thus, a deeper
understanding of this concept and its current development on the WWW is essential for
further insight. The WWW is only one part of the term "Internet". It describes a mixture
of applications and possibilities to communicate and share information with each other.
The concept of the "Internet" encompasses such things as websites, electronic mail, intra-
net, chat rooms and newsgroups
15
. The word "Internet" is merely the description of the
broad range of interpersonal applications. In general, the concept of the World Wide Web
is a synonym for websites. Confusingly, the terms Internet, World Wide Web and web-
sites are used synonymously in daily life. These are the most popular and most used con-
cepts on the Internet. Other notions, such as newsgroups, are still much more in the per-
ceived background of society. Nonetheless, online experts and experienced users are
those who use these concepts. The best known and most popular item of "Internet" is the
World Wide Web or "websites". A classification of the term "Internet" and "Websites" is
relevant for a further deeper understanding of the presented topic throughout this paper.
The Internet refers to the entity as a whole and the World Wide Web is a part of it. Web-
sites are the visualisation of the World Wide Web and are technically denoted by the Hy-
pertext Transfer Protocol (http). Sometimes both terms are used synonymously. Hence,
the term "website" will be used for the general online presence of companies. When the
term "Internet" is mentioned, it refers to its general influence and relevance.
2.4
E-Business plays the Central Role on the Business Web
As the phenomenon Internet is quickly spreading in the world, more and more companies
are moving their selling from offline to online
16
. The number of commercial websites is
rising and retail spending is reaching new time highs nearly every month. Commercial
websites are replacing traditional selling techniques such as shops, order catalogues and
even television-based home shopping. Websites enable companies to disseminate more
15
Cp. www.wikipedia.com, Keyword: Internet, retrieved 01.08.2005.
16
Cp. Okazaki; Alonso 2003, p. 221.
10
and better information. Furthermore, websites can evoke interest among consumer which
might lead to an online purchase. Websites are regarded as the best communication me-
dium for developing a standardised brand image by means of uniform textual and visual
content.
17
Both in the sense of expanding their geographic scope and in the sense of glob-
ally integrated company strategies, the ubiquitous nature of the web should make it easier
for companies to globalise.
18
Websites serve as a possibility for companies, persons and
communities to present themselves, to communicate with each other and to do business
with their partners. On the one hand, private people use personal websites to share infor-
mation, to support learning, to pursue personal interests and to shrink distances and re-
duce isolation
19
; The Internet serves as a possibility to communicate with the outside
world. Especially the rising numbers of personal diaries published on the WWW, so-
called "weblogs", show how human beings try to meet like-minded people. On the other
hand, companies saw a great opportunity in the early days of the World Wide Web: to use
the Internet for conducting business. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are moving
their communication strategies more and more into cyberspace. MNCs are realising the
potential of the Internet and are using it as an effective communication tool. They are
introducing corporate websites where they can offer relevant product information and use
it as a transaction platform
20
, both for consumers and businesses. Thus, websites can be
considered as a "global interactive communications medium" where consumers can inter-
act with the company and find information regarding the company and its products and
services
21
. This kind of transaction is considered to be "Business-to-Consumer". This
concept belongs to the two-folded concept of "E-Business". This term encompasses both
the concepts of "Business-to-Business" (B2B) and "Business-to-Consumer" (B2C). Both
B2B and B2C are the main drivers for the development of E-Business. The Internet has
totally changed the way consumers shop. The term "Internet Shopping" has emerged and
is generating billions of retail sales which are carried out online. Latest figures from For-
rester Research documents that revenues worldwide increased to 1.23 billion worldwide
17
Cp. Okazaki; Alonso 2003, p. 221.
18
Cp. Govindarajan; Gupta 2001, p. 22.
19
Cp. Cleary 2000, p. 1.
20
Cp. Okazaki 2004, p. 58.
21
Ibid.
Details
- Seiten
- Erscheinungsform
- Originalausgabe
- Jahr
- 2005
- ISBN (eBook)
- 9783832492793
- ISBN (Paperback)
- 9783838692791
- DOI
- 10.3239/9783832492793
- Dateigröße
- 2.2 MB
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Institution / Hochschule
- Universität Paderborn – Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsenglisch
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 2006 (Januar)
- Note
- 2,3
- Schlagworte
- public relations internet marke internetauftritt relaunch
