The acceleration of globalization and the growth of emerging economies present significant opportunities for global business expansion. One of the quickest and most effective ways to tap into global markets is to leverage the web. However, there is a dearth of books, courses, and training programs that can help companies understand the dynamics of conducting global e-business. Well-trained web globalization professionals are difficult to find, reflecting, at least in part, the lack of academic offerings and specialized training in this area.
In the broadest sense, web globalization requires an interdisciplinary potpourri of skills from areas such as international business and marketing, advertising, project management, IT and e-commerce, language technology, linguistics, intercultural communications, technical writing, and even human resource management. Thus it has been difficult for universities, organizations, and professional bodies to provide the kind of comprehensive web globalization training required for tapping global e-commerce markets.
The sheer lack of structured information on this topic was one of my primary motivations to undertake the daunting task of creating a text that can provide a comprehensive overview of the strategies, processes, and resources necessary to create an effective global online presence. I have leveraged my ten years of research, training, and consulting experience in this area to develop content for this book. During these years I have completed research and consulting projects, spanning several disciplines, to acquire a better understanding of various global e-commerce issues, such as knowing about international online business strategies, developing culturally customized websites, assessing web localization efforts, conducting global website usability testing, segmenting global online users, and developing global e-commerce profiles for various countries. This research and consulting experience, along with my experience in developing several academic courses in the field of web localization, has enabled me to offer readers a broad, interdisciplinary, and unique perspective for enabling global e-business. In addition, the help from industry experts in terms of examples, cases, and other materials for which I am extraordinarily grateful has allowed me to enrich the book with practical insights and other points of view.
My goal is to provide the reader with a truly comprehensive non-technical guide to web localization strategies for tapping global e-commerce markets. I hope such a non-technical treatment of this subject matter will enable a variety of professionals, students, and academics to understand the dynamics of this complex process. It is my sincere wish that knowledge of web localization issues should not remain restricted to specialized IT and translation professionals but, instead, be widely dispersed among various functional areas throughout organizations undertaking this important task. I also hope that more universities can train students with the cutting-edge skills necessary to thrive in our global and networked economy.
While this book is not a panacea for all global e-business challenges and the limited academic offerings in this area, it is a step toward a better understanding of how to develop, localize, manage, assess, and optimize international multilingual websites. The book presents a blend of strategies, models, checklists, tools, research insights, examples, and cases to help readers comprehend the complexities of global e-commerce and learn practical ways to facilitate the conduct of global e-commerce. Readers will gain insights into how to analyze the global e-business environment, manage global e-commerce expansion efforts, and implement the necessary infrastructure for an effective international and multilingual website presence. The book also provides an overview of various tools and emerging technologies to facilitate the conduct of global e-business.
The book leverages information from several sources, such as articles, academic databases, industry insights/reports, expert viewpoints, company websites, and other web resources. Descriptions of the content accessed from the web are based on the information available at the time of the access (2009 to 2011). I have also provided an extensive resource section that may prove helpful for additional research on various topics related to localization and global e-business. Examples mentioned in the book are based on my research and do not represent any conscious favoritism, bias, or endorsement from me to promote one specific tool or company over any other.