Culture and web design

Preface

This is the fourth installment of my graduate school work: culture and web design. For a background on my graduate work, please read the preface of the first installment, the interaction design process.

Introduction

From 1978 - 1983, the Dutch cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede conducted a comprehensive study, collecting and analyzing data from over 100,000 individuals from 53 countries. From these results, and later work, he formulated a theory that identifies five primary dimensions to differentiate cultures: power-distance, collectivism vs. individualism, femininity vs. masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long vs. short-term orientation. In this book, Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind, he rated each country on these dimensions, assigning normalized values from 0 - 100.

These dimensions can be applied to many aspects of cultures, one of which is information technology. Marcus et al. showed this by explaining the implications of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for user-interface and Web design. Using a basis of this work, I analyzed four Honda websites: Honda Sweden, Honda USA, Honda Japan and Honda India.

Website Comparison

Marcus correlates a low long-term orientation rating with a desire for immediate results and achievement of goals. Both USA and Sweden have relatively low long-term orientation ratings of 33 and 29, respectively. This can be observed on both websites, but in different ways. Honda USA has a number of tools such as “Build a Honda” and “Request a Quote” that allow visitors to quickly complete common tasks. Honda Sweden does not have these types of tools, but its navigation is simple and straightforward, allowing visitors to find desired information quickly. Conversely, Japan has a very high long-term orientation rating of 80, which is correlated with patience in achieving results and goals. Even though I was not able to understand the Japanese text on the Honda Japan website, it seems that visitors might have trouble completely their goals quickly with so many available options.

The interface design aspects of power-distance are similar to those of long-term orientation. Both Sweden and USA have relatively low power-distance ratings of 33 and 40 respectively, which Marcus correlated with customer prominence. Consequently, both the Honda Sweden and Honda USA sites appear customer focused, presenting visitors with navigation options that allow visitors to quickly achieve their goals. Conversely, India has relatively high power-distance rating of 77, which Marcus correlated with leader prominence. However, this is not evident in the Honda India website, as it appears just as customer focused as the Swedish and American websites.

India was not the only exception to Marcus’s interpretations. Further analysis identified several additional misfits. For example, Japan has very high uncertainty avoidance rating of 92, which is correlated with limited choices and navigation schemes intended to prevent users from becoming lost. However, neither of these features were identified on the Honda Japan website. There are many choices available on the homepage and the navigation is very inconsistent throughout the site. Sweden has a low uncertainty avoidance rating of 29, which is correlated with maximal choices and low control of navigation. Like Honda Japan, these features are not found on the Honda Sweden website. Instead, the Honda Sweden website contains very few choices and a very high control of navigation.

Discussion

As shown above, the four Honda websites displayed cultural values in several aspects, but the application of Marcus’s work was often ambiguous and in several cases, inapplicable. This could be due to several reasons. Honda is an international brand and they may place certain design constraints on their websites and other marketing material in order to protect their brand. Chau et al. found that firms such as Amazon and Autobytel have expanded globally by providing a standardized transaction-oriented interface. Most visitors will not make transactions on Honda websites, but the same idea may be true for the websites as a whole. Just as Honda may desire to standardize their brand, they may also want to standardize other aspects of their websites.

Other misfits between Marcus’s work and Honda’s websites could simply be due to the fact that the Web is a global medium: most countries’ websites can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world. Because of this ease of access, cultures may strive to compete with other cultures and create designs similar in look and feel. In addition, cultures may be easily influenced by other cultures causing design ideas to bleed together.

Regardless of whether Hofstede’s cultural dimensions can be translated to interface and Web design, it has been shown through several studies that there are significant benefits to creating culturally specific websites. Simon found that a single global website that appeals to all cultures does not appear feasible because of differences between cultural perception and satisfaction with websites. Chau et al. found that in addition to different cultures using the Web for different purposes, these different purposes might lead them to have different impressions of the same Web sites. Therefore, I believe that in order maximize the effectiveness of websites, web designers should always consider the cultural aspects of the site they’re creating.

Honda Sweden Homepage