Culturally Customizing Websites for U.S. Hispanic Online Consumers

Culturally Customizing Websites for U.S. Hispanic Online Consumers

NITISH SINGH St. Louis University

The U.S. Hispanic online market consists of the most affluent and educated members of the U.S. Hispanic population. The segment is large, increasing in size, and its

[email protected]

members prefer culturally-adapted marketing messages. Currently, no frameworks are DANIEL W. BAACK Baii State University [email protected]

available to help marketers culturally customize websites for U.S. Hispanics. The objective of this study is to address this gap. The goals are to identify the ways in which Hispanic preferences for web design elements differ, and to explore how these

ARUN PEREIRA St. Louis University [email protected] DONALD BAACK

preferences vary based on acculturation. The results indicate that Hispanics have culturally-rooted preferences for web content and that acculturation levels are important segmentation variables.

Pittsburgii State University [email protected] INTRODUCTION

We would like to acknowledge the grant support we received from Lionbridge Technologies Inc.

Hispanic consumers are an increasingly desirable target market for many U.S. businesses. Kraft, General Foods, and Pepsi-Cola all have marketing divisions that focus on ethnic groups, including Hispanics (Torres and Gelb, 2002). This trend is partially driven by the rapid growth of the U.S.'s Hispanic population, which is six times faster than the overall market. The U.S. Hispanic market, numbering 44.3 million in 2006 (www.census. gov), is expected to reach 60 million by 2020 (Pew Research, 2005). According to Nielsen MonitorPlus (www.nielsenmedia.com), $5.59 billion dollars was spent in 2006 on Spanish-language media targeting Hispanics, a 14.4 percent increase from 2005. Business spending on Hispanic media is projected to increase a further 5.4 percent in 2007. In addition, Hispanic purchasing power is predicted to reach $1 trillion per year by 2010 (HispanTelligence, 2006). These statistics are likely to capture the attention of many marketing professionals. One of the least understood aspects of Hispanic behavior is how members of this segment react to and become involved with electronic commerce. Over the past decade, online marketing and ad-

2 2 4 JDÜROflL or HOUERTISIOG RESEHRCH June 2 0 0 8

vertising has moved to the core of the businessconsumer interaction (Plummer, 2007) and is posed to become the dominant marketing channel (Edelman, 2007). Over the same time period, increasing numbers of U.S. Hispanics have gone online. According to the AOL Latino 2006 Hispanic Cyber Study, the online U.S. Hispanic population in the United States has reached almost 16 million. Estimates suggest that by 2010 the number of U.S. Hispanics consumers online will reach almost 21 million (eMarketer, 2006). These individuals are typically the most affluent and educated members of the Hispanic population (Business Wire, 2006; Winebrenner, 2005). They use the internet to learn about various brands and to compare prices. Many consider the internet to be the best source of information for making purchase decisions (Business Wire, 2006), which makes them an attractive market segment. At the same time, reaching this target market is often challenging. One major marketing challenge is acculturation differences between U.S. Hispanic consumers. Acculturation may be defined as the process of learning a culture that is different from ones own, which in turn leads to changes in values, attitudes, behavior patterns, and language use (Berry, DOI:

10.2501/S0021849908080264

U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

$5.59 billion dollars was spent in 2006 on Spanishlanguage media targeting Hispanics, a 14.4 percent increase from 2005. Business spending on Hispanic media is projected to increase a further 5.4 percent in 2007. In addition, Hispanic purchasing power is predicted to reach $1 trillion per year by 2010.

1980). U.S. Hispanics differ from the general U.S population in terms of acculturation to the dominant American culture (Vann, 2006). Previous research suggests that acculturation accounts for significant differences in consumer behaviors among U.S. Hispanics (Ueltschy and Krampf, 1997; Webster, 1992). Hispanic acculturation patterns have been linked to differences in attitudes toward advertising, media use, coupon use, print advertising, direct marketing advertising, and even consumer purchase decision and information search behavior (Deshpande, Hoyer, and Donthu, 1986; Donthu and Cherian, 1992; Korgaonkar, Karson, and Lund, 2000; Ueltschy and Krampf, 1997; Webster, 1992; Wilson, 2007). Practitioners have been proactive in investigating U.S. Hispanic internet usage. The 2006 AOL Latino Hispanic cyber study (Business Wire, 2006), for example, revealed acculturation differences among online Hispanics that led to differences in preferences for Spanish-language content, the types of websites visited, and watching television online. Thus, there is preliminary evidence that the large and growing U.S. Hispanic segment prefers culturally-adapted marketing messages. Previous research indicates that U.S. Hispanics prefer culturally-adapted market-

ing. The findings suggest that adapting messages, in terms of both culture and language, leads to increased advertising effectiveness (Torres and Briggs, 2007) and higher sales (Torres and Gelb, 2002). Also, culturally-adapted messages are related to positive feelings toward advertising (Koslow, Shamdasani, and Touchstone, 1994) and increased purchase intentions (Roslow and NichoUs, 1996). The value of cultural and/or language adaptation has been demonstrated in various advertising media, including television (Roslow and NichoUs, 1996), print (Roberts and Hart, 1997), and radio. In a web context, Hispanics have been found to pay more attention to and have a higher likelihood of clickthrough for web advertisements that they feel are not corrupting their values and are truthful (Korgaonkar, Silverblatt, and O'Leary, 2001). Unfortunately, no theoretical or empirically-validated frameworks are available to assist marketers in designing websites that are culturally and linguistically customized for the U.S. Hispanic online market. Moreover, little academic literature explores the effects of acculturation on Hispanic online consumer behaviors or the ways in which acculturation affects preferences for Hispanic websites. The primary objective of this study is to address these gaps in the literature. The

first goal is to assess online U.S. Hispanics' preferences for culturally-customized web design elements and how these preferences vary based on levels of acculturation. The second goal is to present a framework that marketers can use to design culturally-adapted web content targeting U.S. Hispanics. The study begins with a discussion of acculturation among U.S. Hispanics. It continues with a review of the literature regarding national culture and marketing focused on the effects of culture on web usage. Then, the steps used to develop the cultural customization framework are described. Hypotheses are presented predicting Hispanic consumer expectations regarding culturally-customized web content. The methodology used to test the hypotheses is outlined followed by a discussion of the results. This article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings. ACCULTURATION AMONG U.S. HISPANICS

The primary issue to be explored in this research is acculturation processes among U.S. Hispanics. Increasing evidence suggests that while Hispanics selectively adapt to and create a positive relationship with mainstream American culture, they also remain strongly rooted in a shared ethnic identity (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005; Romero, 2004). According to Winebrenner (2005), Hispanics tend to stay separate from American society and rarely try to assimilate. A continuum of bilingualism and biculturalism represents the primary acculturative position of the majority of Hispanics (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005; Romero, 2004; Wilson, 2007). A rise in biculturalism can be attributed to several factors including: 1. greater Hispanic pride and retroacculturation [Retro-acculturation

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U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

There is preliminary evidence tiiat tiie iarge and growing U.S. Hispanic segment

prefers

cuituraiiy-adapted

mariceting messages.

2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

7.

happens when individuals of an ethnic minority rediscover their ethnic culture and strike a positive and harmonious relationship with it.] the positive experience of being identified as Hispanic a decrease in discrimination in modern America the emergence of a common and shared Hispanic culture the ease of maintaining constant contact with the Hispanic home culture due to communication technologies such as the internet a continuing influx and growing number of Hispanic immigrants allowing for large Hispanic communities within the United States a wider acceptance of the Spanish language in both governmental and commercial arenas.

Davila (2001) views the American Hispanic culture as a nation within a nation containing a common language, culture, and ethnic identity. This shared sense of common culture and bonding is apparent in the Hispanic media, which is filled with enactments, representations, and commercializations of mass-mediated Hispanic culture (Davila, 2001; Winebrenner, 2005). Normally, Hispanics do not want to be lumped together with other American consumer segments. They desire culturallyrelevant content in Spanish and English (Israel and Nelson, 2005; Vann, 2006). Consequently, marketing professionals should be reminded that all Hispanic customers

are not gradually assimilating into mainstream culture. Instead, marketers should view the population as containing differing segments of Hispanic consumers with varying degrees of acculturation. This understanding can be used to adapt marketing messages, including adapting web content to Hispanic consumer cultural and language expectations. An understanding of the adaptation of web content may assist marketers in developing culturallycustomized websites tailored to the expectations of U.S. Hispanic consumers online. Singh and Pereira (2005) define a culturally customized website as a website that is culturally and linguistically customized to a specific locale.

CULTURE AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

The effects of culture on marketing communications are a concern for both advertising practitioners and researchers. International advertising research consistently suggests that culture is reflected in marketing messages (e.g., Albers-Miller and Gelb, 1996; Tse, Belk, and Zhou, 1989). In addition, academic evidence implies that the greater the fit between the marketing message and the local culture, the more effective the message (Baack and Singh, 2007; Luna, Peracchio, and de Juan, 2002). Previous studies have revealed significant variances in cross-cultural consumer behaviors and expectations for online activities (e.g., Baack and Singh, 2007; Luna, Peracchio, and de Juan, 2002; Lynch and Beck, 2001). Consumers prefer to shop on

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and interact with sites that are specially designed for their locale and local language (Singh and Pereira, 2005). For example, more than 75 percent of Chinese and Korean online shoppers prefer websites in Mandarin and Korean, respectively (Ferranti, 1999). Country-specific web content enhances usability, reach, and website interactivity, leading to higher purchase intentions (Luna, Peracchio, and de Juan, 2002; Singh, Fassott, Zhao, and Boughton, 2006). In a sample of German, Chinese, and Indian consumers, Singh, Fassott, Chao, and Hoffmann (2006) determined that culturallyadapted web content positively affects user attitudes, site navigation, and purchase intentions. Thus, to effectively reach culturally distinct consumer segments, web marketers are advised to customize websites to specific aspects of culture and language in each locale. Due to the increased importance of this website customization, an entire industry has grown in the last decade to help companies customize web content. This industry generated an estimated $8.8 billion in revenue in 2006 and is expected to reach $12 billion by 2010 (DePalma and Beninatto, 2006). Even with the rapid growth of the localization industry, no theoretical framework exists that identifies Hispanic specific cultural values that can be used to culturally-customize websites. The next section presents the development of such a framework for this study. CULTURAL THEMES OR VALUES

To identify a list of potential cultural values and themes requires an investigation of the literatures discussing national and subculture level cultures, specifically as they relate to web content. A three-step method was used to identify these themes. The first step was to identify common, shared Hispanic cultural values. The second step was to apply the culturalcustomization framework proposed by

U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

Marketing professionals should be reminded that all Hispanic customers are not gradually assimilating into mainstream culture. Instead, marketers should view the population as containing differing segments of Hispanic consumers with varying degrees of acculturation. This understanding can be used to adapt marketing messages, including adapting web content to Hispanic consumer cultural and language expectations.

Singh and Pereira (2005) to explore how these values might be depicted on the web. The third step involved using focus groups of Hispanic consumers further to refine the Hispanic web content themes. Step One

An extensive review of the literature regarding Hispanic cultural values reveals that the most commonly depicted Hispanic values are akin to dominant Latin American values. According to Korzenny and Korzenny (2005), Hispanics can trace their cultural heritage to countries in the Americas that were conquered or dominated by Spain and thus have a strong Iberian or Latin-European influence. Hofstede (1980) classifies most Latin-European cultures as inclined toward high uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity, and collectivism. Cultural values that seem to transcend all Hispanic subgroups in the United States, therefore, not surprisingly fell under the same broad cultural dimensions. More specifically, the cultural values expressed in the literature included familismo (family or collectivist orientation), machismo and marianismo (Gender roles or masculinity value), simpatía

(harmony in interpersonal relations), allocentrism (collectivism), dignidad and res-

peto (dignity and respect, particularly for those in authority), and status orientation and tradition (Deshpande, Hoyer, and Donthu, 1986; Marin and Marin, 1991; Perkins, 2004). These allfitwell into Hofstede's (1980) culturalfiramework.Hofstede's (1980) work is also one of the foundations of the web content specific framework used in Step Two, increasing the appropriateness of applying Singh and Pereira (2005). Step Two

The second step was an analysis of how these cultural values were or could be depicted on websites. The framework proposed in Singh and Pereira's recent book.

country. To shift the focus to the subculture level, the values found in the Hispanic focused literature in Step One were used to guide the application of the Singh and Pereira (2005) framework. For example. Step One found that a common Hispanic value is familismo or a family focus. Singh and Pereira (2005) propose that a value-based emphasis on family on the web is depicted through five web elements: (1) using pictures of family; (2) pictures of teams of employees; (3) mentions of employee teams; (4) an emphasis on team and collective work responsibility in the vision statement or elsewhere on the website; and (5) an emphasis on customers as family. Similarly, status-orientation is a consistent theme in the Hispanic culture literature review. Singh and Pereira (2005) suggest that status-orientation can be depicted using the following seven web elements: (1) pictures of CEOs or upper management; (2) pictures of important people in the industry or celebrities; (3) mention of awards won; (4) mention of quality assurance information and quality certification by international and local agencies; (5) depiction of satisfied customers; (6) fashion statements for the use of product; and (7) the use of reference groups to portray pride. Similar logic was used to create a list of open-ended questions regarding web content preferences to be used in the focus group analysis.

The Culturally Customized Website: Customizing Websites for the Global Marketplace

Step Three

(2005), served as the primary guide. The book is based on several studies in which the authors developed and cross-nationally tested a framework to measure how cultural values are reflected in web content. While the book outlines values and themes that can be used to culturally-customize websites for various national cultures, it does not focus on subcultures within a

To adapt the framework presented in Singh and Pereira (2005) to online Hispanic consumers, an exploratory analysis was completed using 16 focus groups. The open-ended questions generated through the first two steps above were used across the groups. This was followed by a discussion based on the issues that emerged as being important to members of

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U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

each group. These conversations revolved around what cultural beliefs, issues, and values tend to be important to Hispanics. The key issues identified in the focus group included cultural values such as an emphasis on family, community, respect, status, and risk avoidance, plus the use of colors, the use of Spanish, and web navigation ease. Based on these steps, a list of elements that may be used to culturally customize websites for U.S. Hispanic consumers was identified. The elements are: 1. use of both English and Spanish when selling online to Hispanics and non-Hispanics 2. better attitude toward a website that contributes to Hispanic causes 3. higher purchase inclination from a website that gives back to the Hispanic community 4. information on how a company contributes to Hispanic causes 5. pictures of grandparents on websites invoke feelings of caring and respect 6. information on Hispanic Americans in top management of a company 7. use of Hispanic celebrities as spokespersons on the website 8. use of word of mouth from friend or family member to add legitimacy to the website 9. use of bright colors to make website attractive to Hispanics 10. availability of customer help in Spanish 11. use of Hispanic models.

ing U.S. Hispanic consumer behavior (Donthu and Cherian, 1992; Ueltschy and Krampf, 1997). Previous studies reveal that weakly acculturated U.S. Hispanic consumers differ in consumer behaviors from strongly acculturated Hispanic consumers (Deshpande, Hoyer, and Donthu, 1986; Donthu and Cherian, 1992). Weakly acculturated U.S. Hispanics, who identify less with the mainstream American culture, have higher degrees of preferences for Spanish language content, content that is culturally-relevant to a Hispanic identity, and products or services that resemble or connect with ones prevalent in their home cultures. These preferences then influence web usage behavior in terms of navigating the web and types of websites visited {Business Wire, 2006; Korgaonkar, Silverblatt, and O'Leary, 2001).

Research questions

Based on the above discussion, the following research questions are asked in this study: Primary Research Question: Weakly acculturated U.S. Hispanics will have a higher preference for culturally-relevant content, measured on the 11 items listed above, compared to strongly acculturated U.S. Hispanics.

More specifically, as relates to each of the cultural items that emerged from the process above:

A survey was generated to measure the importance of these elements to Hispanics respondents and to also gauge differences in these perceptions due to acculturation levels. Acculturation

As discussed earlier, acculturation has been identified as an important variable affect-

2 2 8 JDURimL DF IIDUERTI6I0G RESERRCH June 2 0 0 8

RQl: use of both English and Spanish when selling online to Hispanics and non-Hispanics RQ2:

better attitude toward a website that contributes to Hispanic causes

RQ3:

higher purchase inclination from a website that gives back to the Hispanic community

RQ4:

information on how a company contributes to Hispanic causes

RQ5:

pictures of grandparents on websites invoke feelings of caring and respect

RQ6:

information on Hispanic American in top management of a company

RQ7:

use of Hispanic celebrities as spokespersons on the website

RQ8:

use of word of mouth from friend or family member to add legitimacy to the website

RQ9:

use of bright colors to make website attractive to Hispanics

RQIO: availability of customer help in Spanish RQll: use of Hispanic models iVIETHODOLOGY Sample

Data were collected using the online research panel by a reputed Hispanic research agency. This research agency is a leading U.S. Hispanic market research and consulting company that has recruited an online panel of adult Hispanic Americans for use by marketing researchers. These panelists are recruited from all over the country, and they agree to complete surveys in return for various rewards. Four hundred U.S. Hispanic consumers completed the survey online by December 2006. As a panel was used, the response rate for the survey was 100 percent. The "Hispanic" label refers to a very large and heterogeneous group of individuals who happen to share certain common beliefs and language (Marin and Marin, 1991). U.S. Hispanics, as a group, vary in terms of country of origin, Spanish language use, and a variety of sociodemographic variables (Marin and Marin,

U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

TABLE 1

tures (Cohen, 1978; Kara and Kara, 1996).

Survey Sample Descriptive Statistics

"^^ °^ ^P^"^^"^ ^^"S"^S^' ^P^"*^"^ '"^^''''

Variable

usage, and reference groups have been commonly used objective measures for acculturation (Faber, O'Guinn, and Meyer, \ , , y , 1987; Valencia, 1985). This study included both an objective and a subjective acculturation measure. The subjective acculturation measure

Percentage

„„ , , Total Sample Size: 400 (n) Surrey language selected ....S^I?Rtedio^^i^?.t!?^.^H[^.j.'?..Spanish Selected to take the survey in Engiisli

36.8% 63.3%

Gender

asked respondents to report their degrees

Femaie

65 5%

Male

34.5%

18-24

^^:.^°{°

25-34

44.0%

....!7...7?!7. Over 55

.?:?..? 1.3%

°^ self-identification with Latino culture based on five categories (not close to La^. . \ . ,, , tmo culture, somewhat close, equally close to Latino and American culture, close to Latino culture, very close to Latino cul-

^ê^

Country of origin ««„„:.Cubo . .Puerto Rico Dominican Republic

13.0% 12.5% 9.3% ^ ,-,,„, 15.8%

....More.Engijsh than Spanish English and Spanish equaiiy More Spanish than English

15.8% 30.8% 19.5%

1991). In an attempt to reflect this heterogeneity, these variables guided the sampling process. Table 1 summarizes some sample characteristics: the sampling took into account the country of origin (Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), country of birth, age, education, gender, acculturation level, and Spanish language use.

^*y "^^^ calculated using Cronbach's Alpha; the results indicated a strong reliability of 0.93. Split-half reliability was also strong. . . the . Spearman-Brown „ u cSplit-half I-. u u Con with efficient of 0.76. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

gc oy

Language spoken at home ^ ,. , , Engiish oniy

Spanish only

ture). The objective acculturation measure used was the scale developed by Bauman (2005). This scale has shown strong psychometric properties. Our analysis of the scale revealed the same. Internal reliabil-

measure of sampling adequacy for the data was 0.90, indicating that the data ° were appropriate for factor analysis. Prinrr r j cipal components analysis (Varimax rota^-^^ ^-^^ Raiser normalization) found two factors (as was the case in Bauman's orig^^^ research) that accounted for 72.65 percent of the variance.

16.5%

AH

Measuring acculturation Researchers have suggested using both subjective and objective measures of acculturation (Ogden, Ogden, and Schau, 2004). Self-identification by respondents based on an individual's subjective perception has been used as an acculturation measure across the business, cultural anthropology, and social psychology litera-

c^u

All of the survey questions were translated and back-translated into English and Spanish. Professional translators were employed to ensure that quality of translation was not compromised. The respondents had a choice to take the survey in English or Spanish, and both language versions were made available. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The statistical analysis of the data involved two different ANOVA analyses using the subjective and objective acculturation dependent variables. The focus

June 2 0 0 8 JDUROHL DF HDDERTISIDG RESEHRCH 2 2 9

U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

of the analysis was on how low and high

The results of the ANOVA analysis

The overall analysis based on both

levels of acculturation affect Hispanic con-

using the objective measure indicate sig-

objective and subjective measures of

sumer expectations for culturally-relevant

nificant differences between high and low

acculturation showed that, compared to

web content. The subjective measure of

acculturated Hispanics perception of

Hispanics high on acculturation, Hispan-

acculturation used in this research had

culturally relevant content (see Table 3).

ics low on acculturation have signifi-

five categories, and the ANOVA was fol-

For both acculturation measures, the analy-

cantly higher preference for:

lowed by a post hoc Tukey test to identify

sis yielded similar results, thus lending

significant differences between these five

validity to the use of both measures.

acculturation levels (see Table 2). The ob-

This also provides some indication of

jective measure of acculturation used a

the reliability of each measure and lends

median split to classify Hispanics as high

stronger credence to the results of the

and low on acculturation.

study.

' use of both English and Spanish on the website ' better attitudes toward a website that contributes to Hispanic causes ' higher purchase inclinations from any website that gives back to the Hispanic community • information on how a company contrib-

TABLE 2

'

Utes to Hispanic causes

Differences in Preference for Culturally Relevant Content

Based on a Subjective Measure of Acculturation

*

P^^*"'^'

°^ grandparents on websites

^""°'^ '''''^^' °' '"^^ ' " ' '''^''' • use of Hispanic celebrities as spokes-

Culturally

persons on the website

Relevant

Post Hoc

* use of bright colors to make website attractive to Hispanics • availability of customer help in Spanish.

Content'

NL"

SL

EAL

CL

VCL

F Stat^

Testing

Item 1

3.56

3.80

3.83

4.14

4.26

4.18*

VCL > EAL

.ltem.2

3.00.

3.60

3.80

3.90

4.13

4.86**

VCL > NL

Overall, this article finds that U.S. His-

Item 3

2.89

3.67

3.75

3.81

4.01

3.56*

VCL > NL

panic consumers have clear preferences

Item 4

3.11

3.73

3.80

3.94

4.13

4.36*

VCL > NL

regarding online marketing content and that acculturation level affects these

Item 5

4.03

3.80

3.70

3.77

4.13

4.55**

VCL > EAL

preferences

Item 6

3.44

3.53

3.82

3.80

3.99

1.80

Item 7

3.11

3.00

3.62

3.69

3.73

2.63*

VCL > SL

Item 8

3.11

3.53

3.78

3.78

3.76

1.34

.ltenn.9

2.78

3.07

3.11

3.23

3.24

0.637

DISCUSSION These findings have implications for international e-marketing researchers. To begin, the results add to existing international

Item 10

3.67

3.67

4.04

4.18

4.35

3.83*

VCL > SL

marketing literature that has found cul-

lt¡m 11 " ^

3^00

3^27

3^58

3^60

3^68

Z'AI

y < 0.05; "p < 0.001

*^'"" *° ^ " '^^^"'^^ '"^ marketing messages (Albers-Miller and Gelb, 1996; Tse, ggjj^^ ^^^ 2hou, 1989). The findings also

'Item 1: use of both English and Spanish when selling online to Hispanics and non-Hispanics

¡tern 2: better attitude toward a website that contributes to Hispanic causes Item 3: higher purchase inclination from a website that gives back to the Hispanic community

support that proposition that consumers prefer marketing messages that fit their

Item 4: information on how a company contributes to Hispanic causes

Item 5: pictures of grandparents on websites invoke feelings of earing and respect Item 6: information on Hispanic American in top management of a company Item 7: use of Hispanic celebrities as spokespersons on the website

home country S culture (Baack and Singh, 2007; Luna, Peracchio, and de Juan, 2002). j ^ - ^ ^^, presents evidence that a na-

Item 8: use of word of mouth from friend or family member to add legitimacy to the website

Item 9: use of bright colors to make website attractive to Hispanics Item 10: availability of customer help in Spanish

tion level analysis of culture can be applied to the exploration of immigrant

Item 11: use of Hispanic models on the website

''Levels of identification: NL, not at all close to Latino culture: SL, somewhat close to Latino eulture; EAL, equally close Subculture consumption patterns. More(0 Latino and American culture: CL, close to Latino culture; VCL, very close to Latino culture. OVer, the results provide evidence that

2 3 0 J0URI1HL OF HDUERTISIflG REeEHRCH June 2 0 0 8

U.S. HISPANIC ONLINE CONSUMER WEBSITES

3

Spanish than in English. In the sample

Differences in Preference for Culturally Relevant Content

°^ ^°° "-^^ ^^P^""'^^ ""li'^e, it was dis-

_

covered that almost 35 percent of them

,

^ , . . . .

r.

.

.

Based on an Objective Measure of Acculturation

,

i Acculturation Culturally ?!!*«".*'

IJ

^}^*^.

.i-.°*

.

^,

vc

-u .u

predominantly speak Spanish at home. Further, weakly-acculturated Hispanics j^g^g significantly higher levels of preference for both English and Spanish lan-

l':?*^.*^

1

.?.:?7.

.f^:.?.?

J.:9.^*.

guage web pages in comparison to highly

Item 2

3.86

4.05

3.95*

acculturated Hispanics. Thus, it may be a

Item 3

3.75

3.98

5.22*

!tem.4

3.84

4.10

8.01*

S""*^ marketing strategy to create web pages in both Spanish and English when targeting Hispanic consumers.

Item 5

3.77

4.09

12.17**

l^g^g

3 84

3 9^

Q423

i" regard to the high preference for

Another implication for practitioners is

Item 7

3.60

3.70

0.964

community information and information ^ , , , regardmg givmg back to the Hispanic com-

jtsm 8

.?:Z.?

.?;.T.?

P/.^^.f.

munity. Hispanics only weakly accultur-

Item 9

3.10

3.28

3.10*

3ted had significantly higher preferences.

Item 10

4.30

4.59

4.73*

!t^"^.ll

3:58

3:64

0,318

attitudes, and even purchase intentions for websites that provided information about Hispanic community involvement. His-

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001

panic culture has been shown to be allo-

'Ilem 3; use of both English and Spanish when selling online to Hispanics and non-Hispanics ¡tent 2: better attitude toward a website that contributes to Hispanie causes

^^^^^^^ ^^ COllectivist in orientation (Marin

Item 3: higher purchase inclination from a website that gives back to the Hispanic community Item 4: information on how a company contributes to Hispanic causes

3ri