Cultural differences in human-computer interaction: A content analysis and an experiment of design features of organizational home pages

The effectiveness and use of design features of organizational home pages may differ from culture to culture because members in different cultures have different communication predispositions and preferences. To this point, two deterministic perspectives compete in studying the relationship between culture and new communication technology. While technological determinism regards the new communication technology as a main force in changing societies and human behaviors, cultural determinism stresses that culture is a major factor in structuring the human condition. Whereas this study acknowledges the importance of both cross-cultural communication and the Internet, the primary focus is on how users in different cultures effectively utilize and respond to design features of organizational home pages.; First, the content analysis showed that while Korean authors preferred to use rollovers, pop-ups, and splash pages, U.S. authors were more likely to use textual links. Korean web authors tended to use more graphic teasers than U.S. counterparts. Web authors in Korea efficiently utilize a limited page space with multiple interactive peripherals at a time, allowing smaller blank spaces between components in a web page.; The results of the experiment showed that the independent self-construal group tended to rate low graphic web sites more positively than the interdependent self-construal group, and it took less time to complete tasks in low graphic web sites than in high graphic web sites. However, even though the independent self-construal group was more likely to evaluate high interactive web sites favorably than by interdependent self-construal group, evidence that the independent self-construal group would be more competent in completing tasks in high interactive web sites than the interdependent self-construal group was not found.; Although some findings have shown that traditional cross-cultural differences are still valid in distinguishing between different perceptions and behaviors online, others were mixed up with indigenous social issues as well as with the technical progression of the Internet. The findings of content analysis and the experiment supported the intertexualization or cultural hybridity between communication technologies and culture, showing that site evaluations and task completions are not congruent.