Emerald Login
   

Welcome guest

Article Request:
An inter-linguistic and inter-cultural analysis of global corporate web sites

Article Information:

Title:

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

Author(s):

Miranda Y.P. Lee, Daniel W.C. So, Lornita Y.F. Wong

Journal:

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

Year:

2006

Volume:

11

Issue:

3

Page:

275 - 287


ISSN:

1356-3289


DOI:

10.1108/13563280610680858

Publisher:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Document Access:

Existing customers:

Please login above.

Purchase this document:
Price payable: GBP £13.00
plus handling charge of GBP £1.50 and VAT where applicable.
Purchase

Request this document:
Print or e-mail a document request to your librarian.
Request

Reprints & permissions:
Image: Rightslink Request

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.

Keywords:

Aircraft industry, China, Corporate communications, Linguistics, National cultures, Worldwide web


Article Type:

Research paper


Article URL:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/13563280610680858

Top