How Country Characteristics Affect the Perceived Value of Web Sites

The authors examine how country characteristics systematically moderate the effects of individual-level drivers of the perceived value that consumers derive from visiting a brand manufacturer's Web site. They test hypotheses on data collected from 8886 consumers from 23 countries on three continents, involving 30 Web sites of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies. They find that the effect of privacy/security protection on perceived value is stronger for people from countries with a weak rule of law, whereas people from countries that are high on national identity give more weight to whether there is cultural congruity between the site and themselves. People who live in more individualistic countries give more weight to pleasure, to privacy/security protection, and to customization in their perceived value judgments than people from collectivistic countries. The authors discuss implications for Web site design strategies.