THE QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE WEBSITES IN CHINA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

This study evaluates 74 Chinese corporate websites by examining their contents and functions to understand the business objectives. It found that business objectives of these websites mainly focused on publicity, and very little on online sales. Firms in banking and construction industries develop the highest quality websites, while firms in public services and retailing are the laggards. Chinese websites are ease to use with consistent information. The article also compared the findings in China in this study with those in the United States, Australia, and Singapore in similar studies. It found that industry characteristics were similar among nations while more complicated website functions were more popular among the firms of developed countries. The findings will contribute to the research of e-business by confirming the existence of innovators and laggards of Web technology adoption in model given in E. M. Roger, Diffusion of Innovations (The Free Press, New York, 1962), and help managers understand current status of Chinese websites.