Web-Based Communication of Global Companies: Do Languages and Culture Matter?

This project studies the use of language and cultural adaptation of Web sites of forty-one Global Fortune 500 companies from the developed world and emerging markets. Companies were selected from the Big Five (France, Germany, Japan, UK, US) and BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). The study investigates the extent to which English is the language of the Web for global companies, and the role that other languages play on the corporate Internet. Although English is recognized as a key language of business, clearly it is not spoken everywhere. The study also examines the cultural adaptation of Web sites, which relates to the standardization versus localization debate in Web design. For the purposes of this article, localization deals with how companies adapt country-specifi c Web sites to the local culture. Major fi ndings of the research show that language plays a major role in Web site communication and that the native language of the country dominates. English is often a second language on the Web. Most companies in the study preferred standardization of global Web sites. However many did have some degree of cultural adaptation of their international sites. This adaptation occurred through customized content, text, photos and video, and design.