Title: How individual differences in cultural values and cognitive style affect perceived usability of e-commerce websites

Authors: Jay Jung; Jae Min Jung; Sonya Zhang

Addresses: Georgia Institute of Technology, 225 North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA ' California State Polytechnic University, 3801 W Temple Ave, Pomona, CA 91768, USA ' California State Polytechnic University, 3801 W Temple Ave, Pomona, CA 91768, USA

Abstract: This study investigates how individual users' cultural values and cognitive styles impact their evaluation of e-commerce website usability, highlighting the significance of individual differences from diverse cultural backgrounds in usability assessments. By treating culture as individual differences variables within the same country, we employ Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Nisbett's cognitive styles to test six hypotheses on two global B2C fashion websites using the heuristic usability method from the Microsoft Usability Guidelines (MUG). Findings indicate that individualism, power distance, masculinity, and cognitive style significantly influence perceptions of the content, made-for-medium, and emotion attributes in MUG usability evaluations. The study emphasises the importance of personalisation in global e-commerce website design and cautions against using a country-specific cultural approach in usability testing with diverse users. We offer insights to improve e-commerce website design for a global audience by understanding how cultural values and cognitive styles influence users' perceptions of website usability.

Keywords: e-commerce usability; cultural values; cognitive styles; individual differences; heuristic evaluation; Microsoft usability guidelines; MUG; Hofstede's cultural dimensions; Nisbett's cognitive styles; perceived usability; cross-cultural usability; global e-commerce design; user personalisation; cultural customisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2024.144216

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2024 Vol.11 No.4, pp.350 - 372

Received: 03 Mar 2024
Accepted: 01 Oct 2024
Published online: 31 Jan 2025 *

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