An inter‐linguistic and inter‐cultural analysis of global corporate web sites

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify inter‐linguistic and inter‐cultural commonalities and differences between web sites targeting, respectively, English and Chinese viewers, and to examine within‐language and within‐culture variations of web sites for viewers in Greater China.

Design/methodology/approach

Two comparisons were made: among the home and subsidiary web sites of the same corporation, McDonald's (www.mcdonalds.com), and across web sites of five corporations within the aviation industry.

Findings

Corporate identity and positioning, corporate culture and citizenship are projected differently on the McDonald's web sites for the Anglo‐American viewers and the Chinese viewers. Web sites written in the same language, Chinese, reveal within‐language and within‐culture variations in contents and style across different web sites in the fast food and aviation industries within Greater China.

Research limitations/implications

A more extensive research on different industries can be conducted to validate the preliminary findings of this research. Relevant conceptual resources can then be developed to explain the inter‐linguistic and inter‐cultural differences.

Practical implications

Findings from this comparative analysis help raise the corporate communicators' awareness of inter‐linguistic and inter‐cultural as well as within‐language and within‐culture variations when drafting contents for web sites targeting viewers of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Originality/value

Comparative studies of global web sites targeting viewers of, respectively, English and Chinese groups, and within‐language and within‐culture variations in Greater China are still limited. The findings from this research serve as a basis for future investigation for effective bilingual corporate communication from the linguistic and cultural perspectives.

Citation

Lee, M.Y.P., So, D.W.C. and Wong, L.Y.F. (2006), "An inter‐linguistic and inter‐cultural analysis of global corporate web sites", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 275-287. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280610680858