Is the Web Site Well Structured?

Abstract

Globalization has driven many organizations to develop an international presence on the web. Building a culturally-competent Web site is of paramount importance. This research investigates the effect of cultural cognitive style on user perception of Web site structure characteristics and performance on the Web site, and the subsequent user satisfaction towards the Web site. More specifically, we focus on the breadth versus depth of a Web site's structure. A laboratory experiment involving 125 participants from China and the United States was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results showed that cultural cognitive style and Web site structure indeed interact to affect user perception and performance. People with holistic and analytic cultural cognitive styles displayed different perceived navigability and user performance on “broad” and “deep” Web sites. This study extends Web site structure literature to the cross-cultural context. It also suggests pragmatic strategies for Web site design practitioners to improve website design in order to attract international audience.