website practices

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doi:10.1016/j.iji

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International Journal of Information Management 26 (2006) 196–211

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

Website practices: A comparison between the top 1000companies in the US and Taiwan

Chechen Liaoa, Pui-Lai Tob,�, Meng-Lin Shiha

aDepartment of Information Management, National Chung Cheng University, Ming-Hsiung, Chia-Yi 62117, TaiwanbDepartment of Management Information Systems, National Chiayi University, Chia-Yi 60074, Taiwan

Abstract

In the global Web environment, understanding the practices of Web adoption in various countries is becoming

increasingly important. This study compares the similarities and differences of Web sites across two different countries: the

US and Taiwan. The similarities and differences in terms of Web adoption, Web comprehensiveness, and electronic

commerce comprehensiveness are presented. The study also investigates whether revenue and industry types play crucial

roles in determining the adoption and implementation of Web technology. Data was collected through thorough content

analysis of Web sites in the top 1000 companies of the two countries. The results indicate that Web technology has become

well integrated into almost all types of industries in the US. US companies are leading in the use of Web technology to

conduct business. However, some Taiwanese companies are still at the premature stage of Web adoption: especially those

companies in traditional industries or companies in the lower revenue category. Detailed findings are presented.

r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: World Wide Web; Web site design; Content analysis; Cross-country comparison; E-commerce; E-business

1. Introduction

Over the past decade, the explosive growth of the World Wide Web (the Web), coupled with the rapidexpansion of public access to these media, has bolstered the practice of doing business on-line and attracted agreat deal of attention from entrepreneurs, executives, and investors. Caught up in the general fervor, manyfirms have joined the scurrying herd to create their own Web sites for developing a brand reputation, fortransacting with and servicing customers, or just simply for public relations purposes. According to thedescriptions of Palmer (2002), the Web was expected to increase to 200 million sites by 2005. The number ofactual Web pages will increase even more, with existing Web sites continuing to add pages. Given this forecast,the investigation of the phenomenon in the context of the Web is undoubtedly an interesting topic forresearch.

So far, information systems (IS) researchers have conducted many studies attempting to provideinformation regarding different aspects of the Web and its trends towards the commercial arena. Berthon, Pitt,

e front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

nfomgt.2006.02.007

ing author. Tel.:+886 5 274 3111x3854; fax:+886 5 274 1757.

esses: [email protected] (C. Liao), [email protected] (P.-L. To), [email protected] (M.-L. Shih).

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.02.007

mailto:[email protected]

ARTICLE IN PRESSC. Liao et al. / International Journal of Information Management 26 (2006) 196–211 197

and Watson (1996) thought that the Web, with the aspect of two-way communication, is more than adequatefor promoting a company’s products, services and image. Hoffman and Novak (1996) identified the Web as aninteractive media and made several suggestions for commercial Web usage. Hoffman and Novak (2000)viewed the Web as the best platform to attract more visitors and reach more new customers. Previous studiesagreed on the idea of doing business on-line and made some suggestions about commercial Web site design.

As the Web has become an essential part of the contemporary organization, successful Web site strategy hasbeen acknowledged to be increasingly important to organizations. Liu and Arnett (2000) explored the factorsassociated with Web site success in the context of electronic commerce. The study extended the basic ISsuccess principles into the Web environment and identified that some key characteristics such as informationquality, service quality, system use, playfulness, and system design quality that would be critical to the site’ssuccess. Zhang and von Dran (2001) identified which quality factors determined Web site success. Theresearch concluded that certain quality factors such as navigation and information accuracy were regarded ashighly important to user expectations. Palmer (2002) suggested that Web site success is significantly associatedwith some constructs including download delay, navigation, content, interactivity, and responsiveness.

While previous studies investigated the critical success factors for Web design, most of the findings werederived from the perceptions of Web users or designers. Such an approach presented the strengths ofsubjective expertise opinions but easily exposed its weakness of lacking objective factual data. Investigatingthe online features of successful companies complemented prior studies. A content analysis of Web sitefeatures of successful companies became an interesting topic. Liu, Arnett, Capella, and Beatty (1997) surveyedthe Web sites of Fortune 500 companies and provided valuable insight into the future trends of Web siteusage. The study identified the ways in which large US firms have responded to the new Web technology andhow they have used their Web sites to conduct business. Palmer and Griffith (1998a) developed a model ofWeb site design of marketing functions that guides firms to a competitive position. The model was furtherverified by analyzing the contents of the Web sites of 250 major US companies. The results indicated that thetop ranking companies in the US used Web technology to interact effectively with their customers. Cheungand Huang (2002) examined the commercial usage of the Web in major Singapore companies. Theinvestigation provided a comprehensive picture of commercial Web presence in Singapore.

Previous studies focused on analyzing the Web site status of major companies within a single country.However, the phenomenon in one country may not be very much alike the phenomenon in another country.The emergence of globalization and information technology has enhanced the need for understanding Webusage in different national environments (e.g., Huizingh, 2000; Sakaguchi, Palvia, & Janz, 2001; Rau & Liang,2003; Robbins & Stylianou, 2003; Singh, Kumar, & Baack, 2005). It is imperative to comprehend whether theresearch findings in one country could be generalized across different country settings. In order to respond tothe global business challenge, the purpose of this study is to compare and contrast Web adoption anddiffusion in top ranking companies across two different countries, namely, Taiwan (a newly industrializedcountry) and the United States (an advanced country). This study extends beyond previous studies bydevoting most effort on Web globalization, and by investigating whether the experiences of Web design in anadvanced country can serve as guidance for a newly industrialized country.

Our research questions were:

(1)
What percentages of top 1000 companies in Taiwan and US respectively have established Web sites? Arethe two countries different from each other?
(2)
What Web features have been established on those Web sites? Are the two countries different from eachother?
(3)
Does revenue of companies relate to the presence of the Web site? Are the two countries different fromeach other?
(4)
Does revenue of companies relate to the comprehensiveness of the Web features? Are the two countriesdifferent from each other?
(5)
Does revenue of companies relate to the comprehensiveness of the electronic commerce features? Are thetwo countries different from each other?
(6)
Do industry types relate to the comprehensiveness of the Web features? Are the two countries differentfrom each other?

ARTICLE IN PRESSC. Liao et al. / International Journal of Information Management 26 (2006) 196–211198

(7)
Do industry types relate to the comprehensiveness of the electronic commerce features? Are the twocountries different from each other?
2. Research method

2.1. Search strategy

To understand the Web practices across different countries, a thorough content analysis was conducted toexamine the Web features of the leading companies in the US and Taiwan. Content analysis is a commonmethod for investigating the written documents such as Web pages (Babbie, 2001), and has been extensivelyused in marketing, advertising, and IS literature. A dual content analysis was conducted for major companiesin Taiwan and the United States, all of which were the top 1000 ranking companies in terms of businessrevenue. The rankings of companies were derived from Common Wealth magazine (CW-Magazine, 2003) andFortune magazine (Fortune, 2003) because both sources are well established in both Taiwan and the UnitedStates. For easily locating and examining Web sites, two well-known search engines, Yahoo and Google, wereused. Web content and summary information were collected during the period between October 2003 andMarch 2004.

Two researchers were assigned to scrutinize whether a particular Web site contained certain kinds ofWeb features. Discordant opinions arose when one researcher recognized a certain Web feature existed in asite while the other was unaware of it. The researchers agreed on the Web site features for 83% of theinvestigated companies. A second-round searching process was conducted for investigating the 17% ofcompanies in disagreement. The discrepancy was diminished after the second-round review process. Only 4%of the investigated companies needed to be further examined due to the differing interpretations ofthe statements of the Web features. A third researcher was assigned to investigate the Web features indispute during the third round of the review process. A final judgment was made and the searching processwas accomplished after this final step. The authors believe that the results should be valid and reliable giventhat this rigorous checking procedure was verified by previous studies (Liu et al., 1997; Cheung and Huang,2002).

2.2. The Web features

The Web features represent Web functions provided to service Web visitors. Prior literature has presented awide variety of perspectives on these features. Palmer and Griffith (1998a) addressed a set of technical andmarketing features which are required of a Web site to compete in the emerging marketing arena. Huizingh(2000), and Robbins and Stylianou (2003) identified requisite features offered in a Web site for commercialpurposes. The authors revealed that the contents and the way the contents are presented are both important tothe Web site design. Other studies also discussed what contents and features should be included in the Web sitefor providing e-commerce activities (e.g., Liu et al., 1997; Cheung & Huang, 2002). After reviewing thesuggestions of previous researchers and surveying some famous commercial Web sites, a comprehensive list ofWeb features was made. The list was presented to three Web surfers and three Web designers for seeking outsecond opinions of Web features. The consolidated list that included commercial activities of pre-sales, salesand post-sales was finalized. Thirty items of Web features are listed and described in Table 1.

2.3. Revenues and industry types

Revenues are viewed as an important internal organizational variable for Web adoption in that they relateto the capability and the willingness of a firm to adopt a new technology. Industry types are also considered acritical external environmental variable as they reflect the competitiveness and threats a company may face.Industry competitiveness is among the key factors to influence technological innovation. Revenues of the 1000investigated companies in Taiwan and the US were collected from CW-Magazine (2003) and Fortune (2003),

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Table 1

Statements of the Web features

Features Statements

1. Company history Brief description in company’s evolution

2. Organization and operation Brief description in company’s structure and operation

3. Company capabilities Brief description in company’s core competence

4. Enterprise environment Brief description in company’s competitive environment

5. Enterprise challenges Brief description in company’s future challenges

6. Products/Services information Introduction to company’s main products/services

7. Price information List of the price for products/services

8. News of new Products/Services The news releases for new products/services

9. Updated news Regular updated news other than products/services

10. Industry information Announcement of industry information

11. What’s cool/hot Announcement of hot topics

12. Search capability The assistance for users to locate available interesting pages within company’s site

13. Employment opportunities Announcement of available opportunities for certain positions

14. Interactive feedback Requesting users to respond their opinions about company’s Web site

15. Customer service/support The pre-sale and post-sale services/supports, e.g., answering customers’ questions or providing

necessary help

16. Web site direction Index or directory of company’s Web pages

17. Company address and phone List of company’s address and phone number

18. Company location Description or illustration of company location

19. Financial information Detailed description of company’s financial performance

20. Links to other sites The function of connection with other Web sites

21. Online transaction and service The capabilities of online ordering and online inquiring about shipping state and personal

transaction records

22. Online quotation The function of online quotation

23. Online payment The function of online payment, e.g., credit card, electronic cash, or electronic check

24. Guest book Requesting customers to sign in by providing their names and addresses

25. FAQ Questions and answers for the frequently asked questions

26. CEO message Brief introduction to company’s CEO

27. Entertainment Games, music, jokes, chatting room, etc.

28. Security The capabilities of Web site with security, e.g., requesting users to enter password, IP

authentication, or SSL function

29. Use of frames Organizing Web site with frame structure

30. Use of cookies Using cookie files to collect users’ profiles for customization

C. Liao et al. / International Journal of Information Management 26 (2006) 196–211 199

respectively. The companies in both countries are classified into 20 different industry types derived fromFortune Magazine (see Table 2).

3. Results and discussion

3.1. The presence of the Web sites

Fig. 1 shows that over three quarters of the top 1000 companies in Taiwan have maintained their Web sites(797 companies). Compared with the data collected in 1998 by To and Liao (2000), Web presence has grownby nearly twofold. The results indicate that an overwhelming adoption of the Web has been witnessed over thepast a couple of years and is expected to increase continually and make steady progress in Taiwan. Ninety-eight percent of the top 1000 companies (980 companies) have established their own Web sites in the UnitedStates. The evidence suggests that Web presence is much greater now than when examined in 1996 by Liu et al.(1997). Such a finding reflects the fact that Web technology has become well integrated into almost allAmerican corporations. It has become a necessity to compete among competitors and to sustain a competitiveposition.

Fig. 2 lists the percentage of Web sites within each industry. Within all industries in the US, more than 94%of companies have web sites. These figures exhibit the fact that the Web is necessary in almost all types of

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Table 2

Descriptions of the industry types

Industry types Descriptions

1. Aerospace Aerospace, airlines

2. Construction Building materials and glass, engineering, construction

3. Chemical Chemicals

4. Finance Commercial banks, diversified financials, saving institutions

5. Electronics Computer and data services, computer peripherals and software, networking and office equipment,

semiconductors and scientific components, telecommunications

6. Entertainment Entertainment, hotel, casino, resort, food services

7. Cosmetics Cosmetics, soap, household and personal products

8. Medical Health care, medical product and equipments, pharmaceuticals

9. Energy Energy, mining, crude-oil production, petroleum refining, pipelines, gas and electric utilities

10. Food Food production, beverages, agricultural products, tobacco

11. Forestry Forest and paper products

12. Retailing Food and drug stores, general merchandisers, specialty retailers, wholesalers

13. Electrical and Mechanical Electrical and mechanical equipment, industrial and farm equipment, motor vehicles and parts

14. Insurance Life and health insurance

15. Metals Metals, steels

16. Transportation Transportation, trucking, truck leasing, railroads, mail, package and freight delivery

17. Plastics Plastics, rubbers

18. Textiles Textiles, apparel, fiber

19. Advertising Advertising, marketing

20. Others Diversified outsourcing services, publishing, temporary help, real estate, securities, yetc.

797

980

203

20

79.7%

98.0%

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Taiwan U.S.Country

Num

bers

of

com

pani

es

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Perc

enta

ge w

ith w

eb s

ite

With web site Without web site Percentage with web site

Fig. 1. Web site presence of top 1000 companies in US and Taiwan.

C. Liao et al. / International Journal of Information Management 26 (2006) 196–211200

industries. The industries in Taiwan, however, show a different stage of adopting Web technology. Thefinance, electronics, cosmetics, transportation, insurance, aerospace and medical industries have a highpercentage of companies (more than 88%) with web sites. An explanation of this finding is that companies inthe information-intensive industries are at the leading stage of information technology usage. They usuallyapply web technology in more creative and innovative ways (Palmer & Griffith, 1998a,b). On the other hand,in industries such as metals, textiles, food, forestry and others, less than 60% of the companies have web sites.Some companies in traditional manufacturing sectors have little intention of adopting Web technologies. Thisfinding is consistent with Palmer and Griffith’s contention that traditional industries would be less likely toadopt Web technology (Palmer & Griffith, 1998a,b).

Fig. 3 shows that the US industrial sectors in general enjoy a higher degree of Web acceptance thanTaiwanese industries do. Significant differences of Web presence were found between the US and Taiwan intraditional industries, such as food, forestry, metals and textiles. These wide discrepancies imply that the

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94.1%

95.0% 96

.0%96

.7%96

.8%96

.9%97

.1%97

.2%97

.7%97

.8%98

.0%98

.3%98

.3% 99.2%

100.0

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100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

61.5%

61.5%

62.5%

63.3%

63.9% 72

.2% 75.0%

75.0% 77

.8% 80.0% 83

.9% 84.6%

85.7% 88

.2%88

.6% 90.0%

90.9% 97

.4%10

0.0%

100.0

%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Fores

try (8

)

Others

(40)

Food

(20

)

Texti

les (

31)

Metals

(46)

Constr

uctio

n (57

)

Adver

tising

(6)

Chemica

l (33

)

Retailin

g (70

)

Plastic

s (16

)

Electric

al &Mec

hanic

al (5

2)

Enterta

inmen

t(11)

Energy

(6)

Financ

e (97

)

Electro

nics

(217)

Cosmeti

cs (9

)

Trans

porta

tion (

20)

Insura

nce

(38)

Aerosp

ace (

8)

Medica

l(12)

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

(16) T

extile

s

(19) F

orestr

y

(48) F

ood

(29) M

etals

(30) E

nterta

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t

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l

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l

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uctio

n

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thers

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rgy

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lectric

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echa

nical

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nsura

nce

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Elec

tronic

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erosp

ace

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e

(10) C

osmeti

cs

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Trans

porta

tion

(9) P

lastic

s

(4) A

dver

tising

U.S. Taiwan

Fig. 2. Presence of Web sites by industry type in US and Taiwan.

0.9%

9.1%10

.0%

10.6

%

11.8

%

12.2

%

12.3

%

14.4

%19.9

%

20.0

%

22.1

%25.0

%

25.0

%

30.8

%

32.8

%

33.5

%

33.5

%

36.3

%

0.0%

-3.1

%

-10.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Med

ical

Aeros

pace

Insu

ranc

e

Trans

porta

tion

Cosm

etics

Electro

nics

Financ

e

Enter

tainm

ent

Energ

y

Electri

cal &

Mec

hanic

al

Retail

ing

Plastic

s

Chem

ical

Adver

tising

Constr

uctio

n

Texti

les

Met

als

Fore

stry

Food

Other

s

Industry type

Fig. 3. Percentage differences of Web presence by industry type between US and Taiwan.


traditional industries in the US might be in a more mature stage of Web adoption than those in Taiwan. Thelower percentage of Web adoption in Taiwan across almost all industries implies that newly industrializedcountries might be at different levels of Web usage compared to those of advanced countries, such as theUnited States. Only the medical industry in Taiwan presents a higher percentage of Web presence. Thepromotions of national health insurance as well as the emerging growth and integration of the medical


industry might be the reasons for medical organizations in Taiwan joining the scurrying herd to create theirown Web sites.

3.2. The distributions of the Web features

Fig. 4 reflects the distributions of the Web features in the US and Taiwan, respectively. Obviously,providing company overview information such as company address and phone number (99.1% in US, 90.3%in Taiwan), company history (98.0%, 90.2%), organization and operation (95.1%, 72.4%), companycapabilities (95.6%, 73.0%), and updated news (93.1%, 63.5%) are the functions considered to be a basicrequirement of most sites. Other features regarding company overview information, such as enterpriseenvironment (55.8% in US, 49.6% in Taiwan), enterprise challenges (33.2%, 18.9%), CEO message (63.7%,17.1%), and industry information (65.2%, 51.1%), account for a relatively low percentage of Web features inboth countries. Perhaps entrepreneurs avoid providing information of environmental threats andorganizational competition to people who might be their customers in the future.

The companies in both countries have a high percentage of introducing main products or services (99.5% inUS, 94.2% in Taiwan) and announcing news of new products or services (89.1%, 66.4%), but a lowpercentage of listing product price (27.0%, 27.9%). Publicizing products and their news on the new mediamight attract more potential customers, but advertising product price firmly drove these companies to engagein intense price wars. The phenomenon confirms the prediction that the electronic marketplace is a betterplatform for emphasizing product differentiation rather than providing detailed pricing information (Bakos,1991).

Only a small percentage of companies in both countries have the features of online transactions and services(50.1% in US, 25.5% in Taiwan), online quotation (28.3%, 14.4%), and online payment (29.2%, 9.9%). Also,the Web pages in the two countries maintain a limited coverage of security features (52.7%, 18.2%) and FAQ(51.8%, 30.7%) as well. These statistics may be explained by the fact that most of the current home pages arebeing used for promoting companies’ image, for enhancing public relations, for attracting potential customers,but not for direct selling which requires online features to do business. Generating revenue directly from theWeb is not the major concern for most top ranking companies.

Fig. 4. Web features of top 1000 companies in US and Taiwan.

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Fig. 5. Percentage differences in Web features between US and Taiwan.


Fig. 5 shows that the companies in the US generally offer a broader coverage of Web features than those inTaiwan. Only two features show an exception. Close percentages in terms of use of frames (69.8% in US,72.3% in Taiwan) and price information (27.0%, 27.9%), were found. American companies have a muchhigher percentage of Web features in the use of cookies (59.2% difference), interactive feedback (46.9%), guestbook (35.7%), and customer service and support (30.6%). The provision of these features has become thefoundation for improved customer relationships. These significant differences indicate that the companies inthe US view customer information as far more important to the prosperity and survival of the company thancompanies in Taiwan. Also, the companies in Taiwan have a much lower percentage of Web features in searchcapability (60.6% differences) and Web site direction (38.4%). While providing help for browsers is viewed asa necessity in American companies, the companies in Taiwan might not share the same vision. Zeng andReinartz (2003) indicated that search capabilities and other functions for providing help and direction forbrowsers are critical for Web sites on their way to profitability. In the future, the demand for searchcapabilities on the Web in newly industrialized countries such as Taiwan is likely to rise.

3.3. The relation of business revenues to Web presence

The study divides the top 1000 companies into three categories based on revenues in both countries toinvestigate the relationship between business revenue and Web presence. One third of the companies werecategorized into each group. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the percentage of Web presence is substantially high inAmerica regardless of revenue level. On the other hand, the percentage data of Taiwan reveals that companieswith higher revenue are more likely to use a Web site as a way to conduct business. Such findings areconfirmed by the chi-square test. The p-value of the chi-square test (p-value o0.001) clearly supports theexistence of a relationship between the business revenue and the presence of a Web site in Taiwan. Norelationship was found between business revenue and Web presence in America (p-value ¼ 0.206).

Compared to the analysis conducted by Liu et al. (1997), which proved an association between revenue andWeb presence within US companies, Web presence was substantially high at all revenue levels in the US. Thismay be explained by the extent of the recent popularity of Web technology in the US. The results also suggestthat companies in the lowest revenue category are less likely to adopt Web technology in Taiwan. It impliesthat even the top 1000 companies in Taiwan are still undergoing major transformations in Web adoption.

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89.8%79.0%

70.4%

97.3% 99.1% 97.6%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

High Middle LowRevenue level

Perc

enta

ge w

ith W

eb s

ite

Taiwan U.S.

Fig. 6. Percentage of Web sites by revenue in US and Taiwan.

24.3

20.0

14.7

19.0

12.4

6.4

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

High Middle Low

Comprehensive level

Poin

ts o

f Web

feat

ures

U.S. Taiwan

Fig. 7. The relative comprehensiveness of Web features among sites in US and Taiwan.


3.4. The comprehensiveness of Web features and its relation with revenue

The study regards comprehensiveness as the extent to which a site attempts to be exhaustive or inclusive indeploying Web features for measurement. An exhaustive Web site provides a variety of contents and featuresthat can satisfy visitors’ different levels of needs. A Web site with limited features might discourage visitorsfrom exploring the Web site. To evaluate the comprehensiveness of the Web features, one point is assigned toeach Web feature listed in Table 1. The total points of each Web site were counted after the features werefound in the corresponding Web site. Since no previous rules could be applied, it seemed reasonable that highscores of Web features represented high levels of Web comprehensiveness.

Fig. 7 shows the relative comprehensiveness of Web features among sites in the two countries. Thecompanies are divided into three categories based on the comprehensive level of their Web features. Again,one third of the companies are categorized into each group. It appears that the companies in the US havehigher points than those in Taiwan among all levels. Specifically, between the US and Taiwan, 5.3,(24.3�19.0), 7.6 (20.0�12.4), and 8.3 (14.7�6.4) point differences were found for the high, middle, and lowlevels of comprehensiveness, respectively. The discrepancy increased at the lower level of Web comprehen-siveness implying that some companies in Taiwan are still at the premature stage of Web adoption. Overall,the average company in the US has around two thirds of the Web features (19.7 out of 30) while the averagecompany in Taiwan has less than half of the features (12.6 out of 30).

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22.9

19.416.7

15.4

11.910.5

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

High Middle LowRevenue level

Poin

ts o

f Web

feat

ures

U.S. Taiwan

Fig. 8. Comprehensiveness of Web features by revenue in US and Taiwan.


The high level of comprehensiveness indicates that some companies are leading in the use of innovativetechnology to conduct business. The low level of comprehensiveness, however, indicates that some companiesonly provide basic features such as introducing the company or having a company overview. Those companiesdid not view the Web as an important medium to communicate with potential customers. It is possible thatthese companies were forced to use the Web because of Web popularity in a competitive environment.

This study was also interested in exploring the relationship between revenue and the comprehensiveness ofWeb features. Fig. 8 depicts the comprehensiveness of Web features in each revenue level. It seems thatcompanies with a high level of revenue tend to provide a variety of Web functions. The Pearson correlationwas used to examine the strength of the association between business revenue and the comprehensiveness ofthe Web site. Significant positive correlations are found in both countries (0.347 correlation coefficient in theUS and 0.293 correlation coefficient in Taiwan at the 0.01 significance level). The results suggest thatcompanies with superior business revenue are more likely to design sophisticated Web sites for servicing theircustomers in both countries.

3.5. The comprehensiveness of the e-commerce features and its relation with revenue

According to the descriptions of Cronin (1995), the companies that are interested in selling directly on theWeb should provide support for marketing and customer services. Those companies should provide electroniccommerce (E-C) features that satisfy online customers. These features are products/services information, priceinformation, news of new products/services, customer service/support, online transactions and services, onlinequotations, online payment, and FAQ. Again, to measure the comprehensiveness of E-C features, one point isassigned to each feature mentioned above. The total points of each Web site is calculated when the E-Cfeatures are present in the corresponding Web site. High scores of E-C features represent high levels of E-Ccomprehensiveness. The average company in the US has 4.7 E-C features while the average company inTaiwan has only 3.3. It appears that the companies in the US have a higher level of comprehensiveness of ECthan those of Taiwan.

Fig. 9 depicts the relative comprehensiveness of E-C features among sites in the two countries. Threecategories of companies are divided in terms of the comprehensive level of E-C features. Only 1.1 differencesare shown between the US and Taiwan in the high level group. However, in the low level group, E-C adoptionin the US more than doubled that in Taiwan (2.8 in the US vs. 1.2 in Taiwan). These figures imply thatcompanies in Taiwan have a wider discrepancy than those of the US in terms of E-C adoption.

Fig. 10 illustrates the comprehensiveness of E-C features in each revenue level. Companies with high levelsof revenue tend to provide a variety of electronic commerce functions. Pearson correlation analysis was againused to examine the association between the two variables. The correlation coefficients were 0.247 in the USand 0.261 in Taiwan (at the 0.01 significance level), and both present a significant positive relationship. The

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6.8

4.4

2.8

5.7

3.0

1.2

0.0

1.0

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4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

High Middle Low

Comprehensive level

Poin

ts o

f E-C

feat

ures

U.S. Taiwan

Fig. 9. The relative comprehensiveness of E-C features among sites in US and Taiwan.

5.5

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8.0

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Revenue level

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U.S. Taiwan

Fig. 10. Comprehensiveness of E-C features by revenue in US and Taiwan.


results suggest that companies with superior revenue are more likely to deploy new Web technology forserving online customers in both countries.

3.6. The relationship between industry type and comprehensiveness of Web features

Table 3 examines the relationships between industry type and comprehensiveness of Web features or E-Cfeatures. Significant differences are found between industries in terms of Web features using one-way analysisof variance (ANOVA) statistics. Fig. 11 exhibits the value of Web features in various industries. Theaerospace, finance, electronics, cosmetics, insurance, and retailing industries score high on Web features inboth countries, whereas the plastics, textiles, and advertising industries are far behind. This demonstrates thatcompanies in some industries tend to develop sophisticated Web sites across different countries. Industriesfacing heightened competition are keen on providing Web contents and features to potential customers. Othercompanies in certain industries might not have the urge to provide comprehensive Web features. The findingscan provide us with some understanding of the practice of Web diffusion in various industries. It can be usedas a guideline for companies to adopt, implement or diffuse Web technology.

3.7. The relationship between industry type and comprehensiveness of E-C features

Significant differences were found between industries in terms of E-C features. The results imply that someindustries are eager to provide sales and marketing functions to online customers. As shown in Fig. 12, the

ARTICLE IN PRESS

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Fig. 11. The comprehensiveness of Web features by industry type in US and Taiwan.

Table 3

Differences between industries in terms of Web and E-C features

Country Features type Industry types F-ratio Significance level

Taiwan Web features 20 11.597 o0.001

E-C features 20 18.769 o0.001

US Web features 20 6.538 o0.001

E-C features 20 19.091 o0.001


electronics, retailing, insurance, entertainment, finance, aerospace and cosmetics industries in America tookthe lead in comprehensiveness of E-C features (5.0 or above), whereas the advertising and plastics industrieswere low in E-C features (3.0 or less). On the other hand, the aerospace, finance, insurance, cosmetics,retailing, and entertainment industries in Taiwan demonstrated a high acceptance of E-C functions (3.9 orabove). The metals, advertising, and chemical had less desire to embrace E-C (less than 2.0 in E-C features).

It seems that cosmetics, aerospace, entertainment, insurance, finance, and retailing are the hottest fields inE-C in both countries. Consumer, household, and information intensive products are the targets of E-C acrossvarious countries. On the other hand, companies in the advertising, plastics, forestry, chemical, construction,metals, and textiles industries are not too enthusiastic to take further steps toward E-C in both countries.Construction and raw material product types might not be the targets of E-C across different countries.Interestingly, companies in advertising demonstrated low interest in both e-commerce functions and Webfunctions across both countries.

4. Conclusions and implications

4.1. The strategic use of the Web

Adopting and diffusing IS technology are critical to the prosperity and survival of a company. Webadoption, as a kind of IS technology, has risen almost twofold (41% to 80%) since 1998 in Taiwan (To &

ARTICLE IN PRESS

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Fig. 12. The comprehensiveness of E-C features by industry type in US and Taiwan.


Liao, 2000). Also, the Web adoption in the US has increased one-half (65% to 98%) since 1996 (Liu et al.,1997). The growing trends show that the Web in both countries has experienced an exponential increase andhas had high acceptance in most organizations. Companies embrace the Web for keeping prosperous andsurviving. Web technology now provides better opportunities to establish a distinctive strategic position thandid prior information technology (Porter, 2001). The Web, for example, may bolster a company’s competitiveadvantage by packaging and promoting unique products or services into distinctive styles. Hence, companiesin different industries are encouraged to determine their own business practices on the Web and to build a sitesuitable for their special purposes. This is especially true for companies in Taiwan, owing to the relative lowpercentage of Web presence. With the strategic use of Web technology, companies are able to coordinateonline and offline efforts, add value to the business processes, and create new business models for reinforcingtheir own core competence.

4.2. The diverse use of the Web

There are several reasons for companies to create their own Web sites including reducing the costs ofmatching buyers and sellers, promoting companies’ image, increasing visibility, improving customer service,enabling market expansion, and lowering stakeholder communication costs (Watson, Akselsen, & Pitt, 1998).Our findings, however, indicate that the majority of companies in Taiwan and some in the US only regard theWeb as a platform to promote their products/services or as a channel to broadcast their news/image. It is riskyfor those companies to overlook the potential of the Web since their rivals may exert these opportunities.Thus, we suggest it is important that companies build more features in their Web sites for special purposes.The Web could be used to differentiate one company’s products and services from another, to strengthenstakeholders’ communications, to attract potential customers, and to enable market expansion.

Companies in Taiwan have limited Web features in customer services/support and search capability.Researchers argue that the failure of the Web in some companies is attributed to poor online searchingcapabilities and the lack of an online facility to guide potential customers during the buying process (Zeng &Reinartz, 2003). The study, therefore, suggests that the Web sites in Taiwan need not only to improve userassistance for easily locating needed pages, but also provide necessary help for solving customer problems. An


appropriate facilitator with which the online customers can be satisfied will help to retain customerrelationships and set these sites on the way to a bright future.

4.3. Contributions to practice

Knowing how the top ranking companies use their Web sites may provide not only a more fertile ground forbusiness use of the Web, but also a greater knowledge of online electronic activities. Since these companiesgenerally act as IT leaders, it is rational that other companies may follow their steps in terms of Web adoptionand diffusion. Meanwhile, revenues and industry types are also considered as important internal and externalfactors for Web adoption, respectively. Revenues relate to the capability of a company to adopt the Web whileindustry types reflect the competitiveness and threats a company may face.

In addition, American experiences (e.g., the movement from limited functions sites to more sophisticatedsites with online business) can serve as guidance for Web design in a newly industrialized country like Taiwan.

Table 4

Practices unique to the US or Taiwan

P1: Web technology has become well integrated into almost all American corporations. In Taiwan, an overwhelming adoption of the

Web has been witnessed during the past a couple of years and is expected to increase continually and make steady progresses.

P2: The Web is a necessity in almost all types of industries in the US. In Taiwan, the companies in the information-intensity industries

are at the leading stage of information usage. However, the traditional industries are less likely to adopt Web technology.

P3: The traditional industries in the US might be in more mature stage of Web adoption than those in Taiwan. The lower percentage of

Web adoption in Taiwan across almost all industries implies that newly industrialized countries might be at different level of Web

usage compared to those of advanced countries, such as United States.

P4: The companies in the US view customer information as far more important to the prosperity and survival of the company than

those in Taiwan.

P5: While providing search capability and Web site direction are a must in American companies, companies in Taiwan might not share

the same vision. In the future, the demand of search functions on the Web in newly industrialized countries such as Taiwan is likely

to rise.

P6: The Web presence is substantially high in all revenue levels due to the extent of the recent popularity of Web technology in the US.

However, companies with lower revenue are less likely to adopt the Web in Taiwan. This implies that even the top 1000 companies

in Taiwan are still experiencing major transformations in Web adoption.

P7: Companies in the US have higher points than companies in Taiwan in terms of the comprehensiveness of Web features. The high

level of comprehensiveness indicates that companies in the US are in the lead in using innovative technology to conduct business.

P8: Wider discrepancy occurs between high and low levels of Web comprehensive groups in Taiwan implying that some companies are

still at the premature stage of Web adoption.

P9: Companies in the US have a higher level of comprehensiveness of electronic commerce than those of companies in Taiwan. Wider

discrepancy occurring between high and low levels of E-C comprehensive groups in Taiwan implies that some companies were still

at the early stage of E-C adoption.

Table 5

Practices common to both US and Taiwan

P10: Providing company overview information such as company address and phone, company history, organization and operation,

company capabilities and updated news are considered to be basic functions in most sites while most companies avoid providing

information of environmental threats and competitions.

P11: Publicizing products and their news on the Web are natural, but advertising products price is uncommon.

P12: Most of Web sites are being used for promoting company image or other purposes, but not for direct selling which needs online

features to do business. Generating revenue directly from the Web is not the major concern for most top ranking companies.

P13: Companies with superior business revenue are more likely to design sophisticated Web sites for servicing their customers and to

deploy E-C for serving online customers in both countries.

P14: Aerospace, finance, electronics, cosmetics, insurance, and retailing industries are high on Web features in both countries, whereas

the plastics, textiles, and advertising industries are far behind.

P15: While consumer, household and information intensive products are the targets of E-C in the US and Taiwan, construction and

raw material product types are not.

P16: Companies in the advertising industry demonstrate low interest in both Web and E-C functions in the two countries.


This study presents a thoroughgoing analysis of the similarity and differences in Web site features between theUS and Taiwan. A summary of the lessons learned is presented in Tables 4 and 5. The study captures thecurrent status of Web adoption and could help companies to adjust their Web strategies towards futuregrowth.

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Chechen Liao is an associate professor of management information systems in the College of Management at National Chung Cheng

University, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Memphis. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Journal

of Global Information Technology management. His current research interests focus on electronic commerce, knowledge management, e-

supply chain management, and the impacts of information technology on organizations and individuals. His articles have appeared in

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Journal of Database Management, International Journal of Information and

Management Sciences, International Journal of management, Journal of Information Management, MIS Review, Journal of Management

and Systems, and other refereed journals and conference proceedings.

Pui-Lai To is a professor and Chair of the Department of Management Information Systems at National Chiayi University in Taiwan. She

received her Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Memphis. Her current research interests focus on electronic commerce, customer

relationship management, and the impacts of information technology on organizations and individuals. Her articles have appeared in

Journal of Database Management, International Journal of Information and Management Sciences, International Journal of

http://www.cw.com.tw


Management, Journal of Information management, Journal of Management and Systems, and other refereed journals and conference

proceedings.

Meng-Lin Shih is a doctoral student in the Department of Information Management at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. He is

also a lecturer in the Department of Information Technology at the Ching Kuo Institute of Management and Health, Taiwan. He holds a

master degree in Information Management from Tamkang University, Taiwan. His current research interests include electronic commerce,

Internet marketing, and supply chain management.