Cross-cultural comparison of German and Japanese mobile messenger communication

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to investigate cross-cultural differences in communication with Mobile Instant Messenger (MIM). A survey was conducted to ask German and Japanese students about how they usually communicate via MIM. The results of the survey indicate that German students had the tendency to use a direct communication style that is typical for low context cultures, such as voicing their opinion directly or creating clear and easy to understand messages. On the other hand, Japanese students were more likely to use an indirect communication style typical for high-context cultures by incorporating images into messages that could be interpreted in different ways. The results of the survey suggest that cultural differences in communication also affect how people communicate in MIM. Implications for future research and MIM applications are discussed.