Applying culture to Web site design: a comparison of Malaysian and US Web sites

Cultural localization should become a necessary adjunct to technology transfer and global business communication. A recent Siemens study (1999) of mobile phone use in Germany and China highlighted the value of cultural models and culturally localized support information. We similarly compare cultural orientations and design preferences for Web sites in Malaysia and the United States. We review the cross-cultural theories of Hofstede (1980, 1988, 1997) and Trompenaars (1994, 1998), identify design elements associated with three cultural dimensions from those theories, and suggest guidelines for cultural localization in both countries. Although we focus on Malaysia and the United States, our comparison and analysis procedure can be adapted for other countries.