Online Conversations: A Semantic Network Analysis of Cultural Differences in Conversations on McDonald’s Corporate Facebook Sites between Taiwan and the USA

Abstract

Examining cultural differences of language used on corporate Facebook sites between Taiwan and the USA Chang et al 2015 conducted a semantic network analysis of Interprtettion of the results were based interpreted the corporations are now re- cognizing and include these powerful tools of social media in their advertising and marketing communication strategies [2] [3]. However, a successful multinational corporation is required to satisfy the localization needs in its website design [4]-[6]. Localization refers to the process of providing a platform that incorporates local con- tent and functionality [7]. The key to a successfully localized website is one that has been developed within the local culture [8]-[12]. Culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another” ([13], p. 9). Within the cultural norms of each group, individuals demonstrate proper behavior in a given situation, including language usage [14]. Hofstede (2001) has suggested that language is “the most clearly recognizable part of culture” ([13], p. 21). The two most common languages on the internet are English at 27.3% and Chinese at 22.6% [15]. According to Hofstede’s typology of culture, the culture of indi- viduals whose official language is English is markedly different from that of those whose official language is Chinese. That is, most of the people who communicate in English belong to an individualistic culture, and most of the people who communicate in Chinese a collectivistic culture. The present study thus attempted to examine differences of language usages on Facebook, the most prevalent SNS communication tool on a global level [15], between the Chinese language and English language. The two countries chosen to study were Taiwan and the USA because Facebook is the most popular SNS in both countries, and the official languages of the two coun- tries are Chinese and English, respectively. ...At a time when attracting Facebook fans is an important marketing communication strategy worldwide, the present paper con- tributes to our understanding about fans’ interaction on Facebook across different cultural contexts. The goal of this article is to explore the manifestation of culture in language usage posted by McDonald’s Facebook site op- erators and the accompanying replies posted by fans on the sites in Taiwan and the USA, utilizing the collectiv- ism-individualism dimension suggested by Hofstede’s model of culture. Data were gathered from the whole year of 2012 on the official McDonald’s Facebook sites in the two countries. A semantic network analysis tool, Wolfpak, was used to analyze the words generated from the postings written by Facebook site operators and fans in Taiwan and the USA in 2012. 2.