The cultural impact of navigation design in global e-commerce

Abstract

Purpose: The present paper investigates the effect of the navigation design (static or dynamic) in e-commerce. Specifically, a comparison is made of consumers from two cultures: the Dutch and the Greek. Methods: A total of 221 Dutch and Greek subjects participated in an experimental survey, where they judged an online search page of a hotel booking website. The study had a 2×2 between-subjects design with the factors navigation design (dynamic or static) and cultural background (Dutch or Greek). The primary dependent variable was the behavioural intention to use (the website). The hedonic and utilitarian attitudes were the mediators. Results: The analysis of the results showed that the navigation design preferences are culturally affected and influence the consumers’ attitudes and behavioural intentions. The static navigation design was perceived as less useful, compared to the dynamic navigation design. For the Dutch group the dynamic navigation was more persuasive than the static one, whereas for the Greek group no significant difference was found. Implications: As a future recommendation, localising the websites’ content should be considered in global e-commerce, especially when it comes to the hospitality and hotel industry, in order to avoid unintended effects that a specific navigation design may have on the targeted audiences.

Keywords

• e-commerce
• navigation design
• cultural differences
• consumer behaviour