Applying culture to website design: A comparison of Malaysian and US websites

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 will similarly compare cultural orientations and design preferences for in Malaysia and the United States. We will review the crosscultural theories of Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars, 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.