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By early 2002, more than
50% of the world’s Internet users will live outside
the United States.1 Increasingly, managers
of all forms of content on the Web will need to
consider how best to reach clients in a format that is
culturally appropriate. Localization is defined as the
“process of adapting a product or service to a
particular language, culture, and desired local ‘look
and feel.’” Localization requires conversion of
media products developed in one culture into a format
culturally and linguistically acceptable outside the
original target market.
To
truly globalize business on the Web, there is growing
acceptance that adaptations go beyond simple language
translation. When localizing a product or service, in
addition to idiomatic language translation such
details as symbols, colour preferences, product or
service names, cultural gender roles, or geographic
examples must all be considered. A successfully
localized service or product is one that appears to
have been developed within the local culture.
Companies
that ignore cultural sensitivities, or make mistakes
related to culture, lose business as a result. For
example, Hewlett-Packard was bruised in their early
days of international e-business by posting
non-localized instructions for use with its printers
on their Asian Web site. HP used the image of a human
hand with the palm facing forward as part of the
instructions. Unfortunately this image is an extremely
threatening gesture to Asians. In another example, a
jewellery manufacturer that displays colours on a
white background may find that the choice of colours
offends customers. Also important is sensitivity to
cultural differences in the development of e-loyalty.2
Despite the embeddedness of culture with trust, to
date little attention has been paid to how culture
could influence relationship building in a Web-based
environment.
Beyond
cultural issues, companies must successfully take
their e-business strategies through the implementation
stage. Web-based technology is creating opportunities
to reevaluate business models (as outlined in Theme 1
of this book). Traditional domains such as operations,
marketing, or customer service can be enabled by
technology to expand both in the speed and in formats
for delivering services and products to customers.
Understanding
strategies for success and learning from failures such
as the dot-com “bombs” are important. Having a
good product or service, a solid plan, and a
management team with the ability to follow through on
implementing goals are imperative. Both technology and
people are central to this process.
NOTES
1. L. Yorgey, “Remember: you’re open 24-7
worldwide,” Target Marketing, 23(2000)(2): 46–48.
2. Dianne Cyr and Haizley Trevor-Smith, “Building
e-loyalty across cultures and organizational
boundaries in e-business,” paper presented at the
EGOS International Conference in Lyon, France, July
2001.
Part 1: Localization
Part 2: Implementation |