The product website bears the headline “Wide (lit. full) assortment in all Rosendahl series” (Fuldt
sortiment i alle Rosendahl serier) and is surrounded by the previously described main menu on the
top and the bottom menu on the bottom of the page. The website is available through the blue main menu and its link “series” (serier), and it includes a submenu with a light brown background colour, which is placed below the main menu. The main image on top of the website illustrates a table that is laid for a meal. A headline in a light grey box introduces the text below.
P a g e 74 | 101
The text only consist of one sentence, which welcomes the user to discover more about the company’s products on the website.
Screenshot 14: The product profile website of Rosendahl (DEN)
Culture
The text of the content is focused on the user’s needs and seeks to forecast the results of actions before use, and thus, it is characterised by a high individualism and high uncertainty avoidance
approach respectively. In addition, a pop-up box informing the user about the website’s cookie policy
accounts for a high individualism approach.
Linguistic
The content structure is characterised by a high individualism approach, as the site offers to the point information, e.g. an overview of the company’s product series in the submenu, and the enumeration of the same series in the text. The headline can be interpreted as an extreme claim, which is likewise a sign of individualism. Finally, the text bears an overall formality, which accounts for a high
uncertainty avoidance approach.
Technical
As there are no access restrictions, the website bears a low power distance approach. The availability of three menus in total, which offers exploration and control, is a sign of a high masculinity approach.
Visual
As the company profile website, the product profile website is characterised by a “realism theme” which focusses on to-the-point information, which is a high masculinity approach.
P a g e 75 | 101
Further, the website layout is overall simple, which accounts for a high uncertainty avoidance
approach.
The English and German versions
Visually, the English and the German versions are identically with the Danish versions. However, the adapted submenu does not include the items “Kay Bojesen”, “Arne Jacobsen”, “Picto” and “Global”. Likewise, these series items are not named in the text.
Culture
The English text does not include an introduction that names the functions of the website, and thus accounts for a lower uncertainty avoidance approach, focussing on precision and punctuality.
Linguistic
The English and the German websites include the same high individualism approach and high
uncertainty avoidance approach as the Danish website by e.g. including to the point information, and
offering a simple content layout.
Summary DEN UK GER Culture ↑IDV ↑UAI ↓UAI Linguistic ↑IDV ↑UAI ↑IDV ↑UAI ↑IDV ↑UAI Technical ↓PDI ↑MAS Visual ↑MAS
Table 16: The cultural values on the product profile website of Rosendahl – part 1
3.3.3.4.
The product profile website – rep. 2
The second representative product profile website is a website which presents new products. The website is surrounded by the previously described main menu on the top and a menu on the bottom of the website. It is accessed through the main menu item “Curious?” (Nysgerrig?) and the sublink “News autumn 2013” (Nyheder efterår 2013). Besides the previously described main menu, the
P a g e 76 | 101
website includes a submenu, which includes the links “Brochure” (Brochure), “Newsletter”
(Nyhedsbrev) and “News autumn 2013” (News autumn 2013), which refers to the accessed website. Below the menus, there is an image of some white cups and a flask in a decorative theme. The website is introduced by a text in a grey box. Below this introduction, there are seven colourful image and text arrangements, which present new products of the company.
Screenshot 15: The product news website of Rosendahl – rep. 2, part 1 (DEN)
Screenshot 16: The product news website of Rosendahl – rep. 2, part 2 (DEN)
SOURCE: http://www.rosendahl.dk/nysgerrig/nyheder-efteraar-2013/nyheder-ss2013 (retrieved 05.10.2013)
P a g e 77 | 101
Screenshot 17: The product news website of Rosendahl – rep. 2, part 3 (DEN)
Screenshot 18: The product news website of Rosendahl – rep. 2, part 4 (DEN)
Culture
Overall, the website is highly oriented towards individualism, as the website focusses on new and unique products of the company. The individual text-image arrangements further highlight what the consumer will gain from the new products. The last arrangement bears, however, rather collectivistic
approaches, as the product is described as being for “the whole family” (til hele familien), which
positions the consumer as a part of a social group. In addition, a pop-up box informing the user about the website’s cookie policy accounts for a high individualism approach.
SOURCE: http://www.rosendahl.dk/nysgerrig/nyheder-efteraar-2013/nyheder-ss2013 (retrieved 05.10.2013)
P a g e 78 | 101
The website bears low and high masculinity approaches. On the one hand, a low masculinity approach is seen in the focussing of the quality of life, suggesting the products as perfect wedding gifts or by highlighting the products’ user-friendly features. On the other hand, a high masculinity value is highlighted by the overall focus on the product effectiveness of the individual products in all arrangements.
Linguistic
All text-image arrangements include factual information about the promoted products e.g. measures, amount, retail prices and a link to a retailer, which are a signs of high uncertainty
avoidance. In addition, five of the seven arrangements include a download link for an extended
description of the promoted product.
The website content includes high individualism values, as there are various extreme claims about the product by e.g. describing the products as “indispensable”.
Overall, the content complexity of the text-image arrangements, which include factual and subjective claims, account for low uncertainty avoidance values. In addition, the website content also includes some colloquial phrases. While these would account for an informal language use, some of the phrases can also be interpreted as an approach of using local terminology, which is a high uncertainty
avoidance approach.
The availability of three menus and the inclusion of fact-oriented product information in the text- image arrangements are signs of a certain structured access to information, which is a high power
distance approach.
Technical
The availability of three menus in total account for a rather unclear and complex navigation structure, and thus a lack of control can be interpreted as low uncertainty avoidance value. The websites provides detailed product information to any visitor, which is a low power distance
approach. The appearance of a pop-up box, which informs the user about the use of cookies, is a sign
of a high power distance approach.
Visual
The design of the website is characterised by a high individualism approach, as the website bears independent and personalised visual elements, and in addition, all text-image arrangements show the products by themselves. The overall visual complexity of the website is also a sign of a low
P a g e 79 | 101
The German and the English versions
The German and English websites are not available via the main menu but must be accessed by the bottom menu “Inspiration” and the sublink “Product news” (in German: Produktneuheiten). In this way, the websites do not include a submenu below the main menu.
The websites differ in their layout, as the English website includes five text-image arrangements and the German version only includes three text-image arrangements. Both sites include the first arrangement, “Pretty in pink. Rosendahl grand cru” and the seventh arrangement “Grand cru outdoor. Plastic-fantastic for the whole family” (In German: Lasst uns rausgehen! Rosendahl Grand
Cru Outdoor). Only the English website also includes the arrangements 2, 3 and 4. However, the
German website includes one element, which is not named on the other websites. It bears the headline “The blue summer. Rosendahl Grand Cru” (Der blaue Sommer. Rosendahl Grand Cru) and promotes a series of blue glasses.
As it appears that the texts of the Danish text-image arrangements have been widely rewritten in English and German respectively, the cultural value approach of the English and the German websites will be analysed separately.
The English version
Culture
The English website is characterised by a low uncertainty avoidance content orientation and high
individualism approach. For example, individualism can be seen as the needs of the user are
focussed, and the products are further described by their new and unique characteristics. Statements that highlight the newness of the products further account for evolution and change approach, which adds low uncertainty avoidance values to the website.
The English website also includes a range of low and some high masculinity values. On the one hand, the texts offer the visitor some factual information, which includes information about the products’ effectiveness and thus account for a high masculinity approach. On the other hand, the products are described as being able to add value to the consumer’s quality of life, which is a low masculinity value. In addition, the descriptions account for unifying values, which is a further low masculinity approach.
Linguistics
As the Danish website, also the text-image arrangements of the English website include factual information about the promoted products, which are signs of high uncertainty avoidance. However,
P a g e 80 | 101
these descriptions do not include amount, retail prices and links to retailers, which are a signs of low
uncertainty avoidance.
The website includes high individualism approaches, as extreme claims are used to describe the advantages of the products.
In addition, the website combines approaches of high and low uncertainty avoidance approaches. On the one hand, the website content is complex, including factual and subjective claims. On the other hand, the content structure bears characteristics of high uncertainty avoidance, as local language phrases are used frequently.
Technical
As the Danish website, the English website bears a low power distance value, as its content is available for any visitor, signs of a high power distance approach due to the appearance of a pop-up box, which informs the user about the use of cookies, and the availability of three menus in total account for a low uncertainty avoidance value.
Visuals
As the visual appearance is widely identical with the Danish version, the English website is characterised by high individualism approaches and a low uncertainty avoidance.
The German version
Culture
The German website includes a dominant use of high masculinity approaches, focussing on
effectiveness of the products. However, one arrangement also includes a low masculinity approach, while highlighting the quality of life, by linking the promoted products to a pleasant situation. The German website includes high individualism approaches, as there is a focus on newness and uniqueness in the description of the products.
By claiming that persons with a high social position appreciate the company’s products, the “the blue summer” arrangement accounts for a high power distance approaches. In addition, there is a certain description of a company tradition, which accounts for a high uncertainty avoidance approach.
Linguistic
As the Danish website, also the text-image arrangements of the German website include factual information about the promoted products, which are signs of high uncertainty avoidance. However, these descriptions do not include amount, retail prices and links to retailers, which are a signs of low
P a g e 81 | 101
There are some elements of high individualism approaches, as there is a focus on argumentative speech and extreme claims. However, with a general focus on local terminology and perspectives, the website also follows a high uncertainty avoidance approach.
Technical
As the Danish website, the German website bears a low power distance value, as its content is available for any visitor, signs of a high power distance approach due to the appearance of a pop-up box, which informs the user about the use of cookies, and the availability of three menus in total account for a low uncertainty avoidance value.
Design
The overall independent theme and the illustration of products by themselves account for a high
individualism approach.
Further, website includes low uncertainty avoidance approaches as there is a multiple colour use and the promoted products are illustrated with decorations. The traditional in a blue and grey colour scheme of the navigation menu, however, increase this overall low uncertainty avoidance approach.
Summary DEN UK GER Culture ↓↑IDV ↓↑MAS ↑IDV ↓UAI ↓↑MAS ↑IDV ↑UAI ↑PDI ↓↑MAS Linguistics ↑IDV ↓↑UAI ↑PDI ↑IDV ↓↑UAI ↓↑PDI ↑IDV ↑UAI ↓↑PDI Technical ↓UAI ↓↑PDI ↓UAI ↓↑PDI ↓UAI ↑↓PDI Visuals ↑IDV ↓UAI ↑IDV ↓UAI ↑IDV ↓UAI
Table 17: The cultural values on the product profile website of Rosendahl – rep. 1