Abstract
Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for understanding issues affecting Egyptian online travel website preferences.Design/methodology/approach– Grounded theory was selected due to its suitability in generating frameworks from data gathered plus existing theory.Findings– The research describes the development of the electronic cultural adaptation framework (E-CAF), which consists of six theoretical dimensions that allow both researchers and practitioners to comprehend how Egyptian cultural values can affect their online travel shopping behaviour, in particular website design preferences.Research limitations/implications– The construction of the E-CAF is based on research into Egyptian online travel consumers. Development of the E-CAF could be expanded using participants from different cultural groups and other shopping domains.Practical implications– This research will help practitioners to understand how Egyptian cultural values can affect online behaviour and assist in developing strategies for local adaptations of online travel offerings. The framework will also provide web designers with guidelines for gathering and developing requirements from clients to implement culturally adaptive web interfaces for Egyptian consumers.Originality/value– While there are a number of existing cultural frameworks in existence, such as those of Hofstede, Hall, or Schwartz, these frameworks are not based on consumer behaviour, either online or offline, and are, therefore, not optimally suited for use in online marketing strategies or web design for Egyptian consumers. This research overcomes these limitations by providing a framework that recognises how cultural values can impact Egyptian consumer behaviour and provides a platform for further research, as well as online marketing strategies and tactics.
Highlights
The Internet has transformed marketing dramatically, in particular by providing interaction with consumers in any part of the world and in any language
Using the E-CAF, designers of online travel sites aimed at the Egyptian consumers can more fully understand their users and develop effective and engaging websites
This contribution has been recognised by a panel of Egyptian online travel companies, who found the description of the Egyptian consumer as a “dependent” consumer enlightening
Summary
The Internet has transformed marketing dramatically, in particular by providing interaction with consumers in any part of the world and in any language. In order to understand how cultural values can be recognised and incorporated into digital offerings, a number of researchers and practitioners have tried to adapt various existing cultural frameworks, in particular those of Hofstede (1980), Hall (1977 and 1984) or Schwartz (1999), to online consumer behaviour and web design. Research methodology In order to determine how to best understand what constitutes culturally-sensitive platforms for online travel marketing in Egypt, the researcher faces the challenge of how to incorporate the domain-specific cultural values and web site preferences of Egyptian consumers This necessitates a methodology that does not exclusively rely on generic cultural frameworks, but instead utilises an ethno-consumerist perspective (Meamber and Venkatesh, 2000) to capture the unique cultural dimensions of Egyptian consumption behaviour.
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