How do MNCs act on the web? The examination of localisation and standardisation practices of b2b MNCs originating from USA, France, Germany, and Switzerland

Abstract

Websites offer new opportunities for marketing and companies are investing more in websites. MNCs are balancing between the choice of standardisation to pursue efficiency of scale and local adaptation of the websites to reach local markets. The purpose of this study is to analyse how companies are doing the decisions to localise their websites and why they are making these decisions. The thesis aims to fill a gap in the literature by studying how the managerial decision-making is linked with the actions of the MNCs regarding company websites. Qualitative methods are used as the research method to study to find the reasons behind managerial decision-making, understand the influence of external factors, and establish the cross-case industry and national comparison to understand the differences. The findings show that complete standardisation resulting in having a global site in one (commonly English) language without any information and referral to international operations is not a common practice. The degree of localisation varies and is influenced by the quality of communication between HQ and subsidiaries, market potential and country size. This thesis can be used by B2B marketing professionals to assess their potential for localisation of their international B2B websites and understand how to establish the process to achieve the planned degree of localisation. Additionally, the thesis contributes to the existing literature with the recent empirical findings from B2B case companies.