Abstract
Website localization plays an important role in guiding firms on how to customize websites across countries in which they have a local presence. However, few studies on website localization have systematically examined this topic from a theoretically grounded perspective. Drawing upon the theoretically-driven consumer-company identification perspective, we propose that three website localization strategies (web similarity strategy, web distinctiveness strategy, and web prestige strategy) have positive effects on local users’ perceived website localization, which, in turn, is related to local users’ website loyalty. We further investigate the effects of the website localization strategies in a cross-cultural setting, focusing on the individualism-collectivism dimension of culture. By conducting online experiments in both the United States and China, we find that all the website localization strategies have significant impacts on consumers’ perceived website localization, which is related to consumers’ website loyalty. We also find that web distinctiveness and web prestige strategies are more effective for people from a collectivistic society than for those from an individualistic society, whereas web similarity strategies do not differ across society types. These findings highlight the importance of website localization strategies for customizing websites for global e-commerce.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 31-66 |
| Journal | MIS Quarterly |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Online published | 1 Mar 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Information for this record is supplemented by the author(s) concerned.Research Keywords
- Website localization
- web similarity strategy
- web distinctiveness strategy
- web prestige strategy
- behavioral intentions
- individualism-collectivism
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION FILE: Wu, T., Peng, C.-H., Sia, C. L., & Lu, Y. (2024). Website Localization Strategies to Promote Global E-Commerce: The Moderating Role of Individualism and Collectivism. MIS Quarterly, 48(1), 31-66. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2022/15542
- Copyright © 2019 by the Management Information Systems Research Center (MISRC) of the University of Minnesota. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and full citation on the first page. Copyright for components of this work owned by others than the MISRC must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists requires prior specific permission and possibly a fee. Request permission to publish from: MIS Quarterly; Carlson School of Management; University of Minnesota; 321 19th Ave. So.; Minneapolis, MN 55455. ISSN: 0276-7783.