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Cultural differences between Korean and American apparel web sites

Mi Sook Lee (Department of Clothing and Textiles, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea)
Loren V. Geistfeld (Department of Consumer Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
Leslie Stoel (Department of Consumer Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA)

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management

ISSN: 1361-2026

Article publication date: 25 September 2007

3415

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cultural differences could explain differences between Korean and American apparel web sites.

Design/methodology/approach

The contents of American and Korean apparel web sites are compared. The chi‐square test of independence is used to determine significant differences between the contents of the two countries apparel web sites.

Findings

The paper finds that American web sites provide specific information related to products and online purchase of products, while Korean web sites provide information related to consumers' relationships to the larger community. This difference could be due to cultural differences: the Korean culture tends to reflect collectivism while the American culture tends to reflect individualism.

Research limitations/implications

The fundamental limitation of this research is that it is descriptive.

Practical implications

This research suggests that transcultural web sites may not be appropriate and that e‐tailers need to be sensitive to cultural differences.

Originality/value

The primary contribution of this paper is the identification of clear differences between Korean and American apparel web sites and that Hofstede's collectivism/individualism cultural value is a possible explanation of the difference between the two countries.

Keywords

Citation

Sook Lee, M., Geistfeld, L.V. and Stoel, L. (2007), "Cultural differences between Korean and American apparel web sites", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 511-528. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020710824571

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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