ecrea3j brengman malaika ppt

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Cultural differences reflected on the internet:

Prof. dr. Malaika Brengman

A comparison between Belgian and Dutch e-commerce websites

‘The Myth of the Global Internet’ECREA Symposium 2007Brussels, BELGIUM

BELGIUM

Overview

Introduction Culture and cultural sensitivity of websites Cultural differences between Belgium and

the Netherlands Research question and hypotheses Methodology Analyses & Results Conclusions

Introduction

The growth of the internet as an internationalcommunication medium raises the questionwhether to standardize or to adaptmarketing communications via the www.

Cultural sensitivity of websites

In favour of standardization

– Mass communication medium with worldwideaccessibility

– Some researchers are convinced that culturalfactors have no influence on website perception

– Some have even argued that the internet haspromoted “the emergence of a cosmopolitanonline culture, a hybrid culture overridingtraditional cultural differences”

Cultural sensitivity of websites

In favour of adaptation

– Other researchers argue that the internet is not a culturallyneutral medium

– They confirm that there are intercultural differences inperception of website content and stress that values,images, themes and symbols should be adapted to localcultures.

– It is an interactive medium, making a high degree ofaudience adaptation possible.

– It is argued that the more a website is transaction-oriented,the more it should be localized (language, content, interfacedesign) in order to gain customer’s confidence and sales.

Cultural differences betweenBelgium and the Netherlands

Local (Dutch and Belgian) companies oftenassume that Belgium and the Netherlands(as neighbours with a common language) arethe ideal countries to make their first stepstowards international expansion.

They often tend to ignore important culturaldifferences (Kotler et al., 2006).


In fact, no countries (…) with a commonborder and a common language

are so culturally apart (…)as (Dutch) Belgium and the Netherlands”.

Geert Hofstede, 1980, p228


Socio-scientific approach to culture

It can be conceived as a mentalpredisposition in attitudes and behaviouracquired and preserved by education andsocial relations. It is a collectivephenomenon, with at its core a number ofpositive and negative values, which can besummarized in 5 to 7 cultural dimensions

(Hofstede, 1980& 2001; Trompenaers, 1994)

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Power distanceAppreciation of social inequality and hierarchy

MasculinityThe extent to which masculine values as assertiveness,competition, urge for achievement and success prevail incomparison to more feminine values such as life quality,nurturing, helpfulness and solidarity

Uncertainty AvoidanceThe degree to which individuals tend to avoid ambiguoussituations and to take risks when making decisions

CollectivismThe degree to which ties between members of a community arerather loose (i.e. individualistic) or tight (i.e. collectivistic)

(Hofstede, 1980, 2001)


7172787580Individualism

8693979453UncertaintyAvoidance

4360435414Masculinity

6867616538PowerDistance

FranceWalloniaFlanders

BelgiumThe

Netherlands

(Hofstede, 1980, 2001)


No data-4-26-4-2Individualism

+43+47+47+53+44UncertaintyAvoidance

+12+18+13+21+29Masculinity

+20+18+25+16+23PowerDistance

Gerritsen(2001)

ICT-sector2001

Claes &Gerritsen(2004)Students

1998

Orriëns(1998)Banking-

sector 1998

Hofstede(2001)

Managers1990

Hofstede(1980)

IBM’60-’70 Be vs Nl

Research Objective & Hypotheses

Research objective:

To explore whether cultural differences betweenBelgium and the Netherlands are actuallyreflected in their respective commercial websites.

Hypotheses:We expect Belgian commercial sites (vs Dutch ones)H1 – to reflect more ‘Power Distance’H2 – to display a higher level of ‘Masculinity’H3 – to reflect a higher level of ‘Uncertainty AvoidanceH4 – to display no difference in collectivism

Methodology

Elaborate content analysis of commercial websites ofboth countries (cfr. Singh & Baack, 2004)

40 Dutch and 40 Belgian commercial websites (20Flemish and 20 Walloon) have been analyzed in asystematic way

5 sectors: online sellers of clothing, books, music,computers and travel (for each sector 8 sites percountry)

Online retailers identified through search engines

Methodology

Power distance (7 items)company hierarchy information, pictures of CEO’s, Quality informationand awards, vision statement, rank or prestige of the company, prideof ownership appeal, proper titles

Masculinity (7 items)Quizzes and games, hard sell approach, explicit comparisons, realismtheme, product effectiveness, use of superlatives, clear gender roles

Uncertainty Avoidance (9 items)Customer service, secure payment, guided navigation, traditiontheme, local stores, local terminology, free trials and downloads,customer testimonials, toll free numbers

Collectivism (8 items)community relations, clubs or chat room, newsletter, family theme,country specific information, symbols and pictures of nation, loyaltyprograms, links to local websites

(Singh & Baack, 2004)

Analyses and Results

0

1

2

3

4

5

Power Dist

ance

Masc

ulinity

Uncerta

inty

Avo

idance

Collect

ivism

The Netherlands Belgium Flanders Wallonia


n.s.p=.0502.952.102.532.13Collectivism(8 items)

n.s.p=.0024.353.103.733.35UncertaintyAvoidance(9 items)

P=.014p=.0094.152.903.532.80Masculinity(7 items)

P=.036n.s.2.901.902.401.50PowerDistance(7 items)

t-testt-testWalloniaFlanders

BelgiumTheNetherlands


p < .000n.s.404542.57.5Proper Titles

n.s.n.s.504547.565Pride of Ownership appeal

n.s.p = .0015553022.5Rank or Prestige of the Company

n.s.p = .01160204025Vision Statement

n.s.n.s.302527.520Quality Information and Awards

p = .014n.s.1525202.5Pictures of CEO’s

p = .005n.s.402532.57.5Company Hierarchy Information

(%)(%)(%)(%)Power Distance

χ2-test

χ2-testWalloniaFlanders

BelgiumThe Netherlands


H1 confirmed

Websites of Belgian online retailers reflect ahigher level of ‘Power distance’ than Dutchones

+ information on company hierarchy+ depictions of CEO’s+ use of proper titles of address


0

1

2

3

4

5

Power Dist

ance

Masc

ulinity

Uncerta

inty

Avo

idance

Collect

ivism



p = .026p = .027602542.520Clear Gender Roles

p = .007p = .00190406535Use of Superlatives

p = .035n.s.65656585Product Effectiveness

n.s.n.s.707572.572.5Realism Theme

p = .027p = .02425012.50Explicit Comparisons

n.s.n.s.806572.557.5Hard Sell Approach

n.s.n.s.252022.510Quizzes and games

(%)(%)(%)(%)Masculinity

χ2-test




H2 confirmed

Websites of Belgian online retailers reflect a higher level of‘Masculinity’ than Dutch ones

+ superlatives+ distinction between the sexes+ explicit comparisons

(However Walloon sites seem mainly responsible for these differences)

Nevertheless:- emphasis on effectiveness of products


Within Belgium websites of Walloon onlineretailers appear to reflect a higher level of‘Masculinity’ than Flemish ones

+ superlatives+ distinction between the sexes+ explicit comparisons


0

1

2

3

4

5

Power Dist

ance

Masc

ulinity

Uncerta

inty

Avo

idance

Collect

ivism



n.s.n.s.0002.5Toll Free Numbers

n.s.n.s.55512.5Customer Testimonials

p = .002n.s.401527.52.5Free Trials and Downloads

n.s.n.s.10052.5Local Terminology

n.s.n.s.655057.552.5Local Stores

n.s.n.s.30202520Tradition Theme

n.s.p = .0241007587.582.5Guided Navigation

n.s.p = .00790507070Secure Payment

n.s.n.s.95959590Customer Service

(%)(%)(%)(%)U n c e r t a i n t y

Avoidance

χ2-test




Websites of Belgian online retailers do notseem to reflect a higher level of ‘UncertaintyAvoidance’ than Dutch ones

Nevertheless:+ free downloads and trials


Within Belgium websites of Walloon onlineretailers do appear to reflect a higher level of‘Uncertainty Avoidance’ in comparison toFlemish websites

+ emphasis on security of payment+ possibility of guided navigation


0

1

2

3

4

5

Power Dist

ance

Masc

ulinity

Uncerta

inty

Avo

idance

Collect

ivism



n.s.n.s.65355052.5Links to Local Web sites

p = 0.043n.s.35454020Loyalty Programs

n.s.p = .04630517.510Symbols & Pictures of Nation

n.s.n.s.151012.522.5Country Specific Information

n.s.p = 0.01265254527.5Family Theme

n.s.n.s.556057.557.5Newsletter

n.s.n.s.253027.515Clubs or Chat room

n.s.n.s.502.57.5Community Relations

(%)(%)(%)(%)Collectivism

χ2-testχ2-testWalloniaFlanders



H4 confirmed

Websites of Belgian online retailers do notseem to reflect a different level of‘Collectivism’ than Dutch ones

Nevertheless:+ loyalty programs


Within Belgium websites of Walloon onlineretailers do appear to reflect a higher level of‘Collectivism’ than Flemish ones

+ family themes+ symbols and images of national identity

Conclusions

Cultural differences in mentality between Belgiumand the Netherlands are also reflected in theirrespective commercial websites.

+ Power Distance+ Masculinity

We also revealed some significant culturaldifferences reflected between Walloon and Flemishcommercial websites

+ Masculinity+ Uncertainty Avoidance+ Collectivism

To be continued…

The present study did not investigate theeffectiveness of locally adapted commercialwebsites

We only established that there are culturaldifferences which appear to be reflected incommercial websites

In a subsequent phase of this research project,an experimental study will be carried out in orderto investigate this crucial question

Questions?

Department of Business Economics and Strategic ManagementFaculty of Economics, Social and Political Sciences, and Solvay Business School

Vrije Universiteit BrusselPleinlaan 2

1050 BrusselBELGIUM

Prof. Dr. Malaika BrengmanTel.: +32 2 629 20 65

E-mail: [email protected]

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ecrea3j brengman malaika ppt

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