Adaptation of cultural content: evidence from B2C e-commerce firms

Purpose - To effectively target and reach consumers on the worldwide web, companies need to determine what level of web site adaptation is necessary. Explores how cultural differences affect adaptation of web content by B2C e-commerce firms. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses a content analysis framework to systematically analyze the cultural values depicted on the web pages of US, French and German web sites. To test for differences in the depiction of cultural values on different country web sites, a MANOVA was conducted, followed by a Tukey (HSD) post hoc analysis. Findings - Evidence is found that local country web sites depict the cultural values of that country. Additionally, the study finds that companies adapt their foreign web sites to the cultural values of the target country, but that this adaptation is not yet extensive. Originality/value - This research adds value by extending understanding of the issues of adaptation and standardization on the web in general, and by B2C e-commerce firms in particular.