A study of the cultural effects of designing a user interface for a web-based service

Pei-Luen Patrick Rau and Sheau-Farn Max Liang

A1 Department of Management Information Systems, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chunli 320, Taiwan
A2 Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract:

With the globalisation of markets and the internet, customer satisfaction now depends on how seriously service providers take into account regional user needs combined with culturally-suitable user interface design. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of two cultural dimensions, Time Orientation (TO) and Communication Style (CS), on user performance in browsing a web-based service. A comparison in Hofstede's cultural dimensions was also made between two Chinese-speaking student groups. The results showed that participants with polychronic TO performed faster and took fewer steps than those with monochronic TO. Participants with high-context CS were more disorientated than those with low-context CS. The comparison in cultural dimensions indicated that there is a variety even within Chinese-speaking cultures. To be able to meet customers' expectations and increase their satisfaction, it is necessary for user interface designers to consider these cultural effects.

Keywords:

cultural differences, user interface design, web-based service, Chinese