Cross-cultural comparison of interactivity and advertising appeals on antismoking web sites in the United States and South Korea

Abstract

Purpose - This study aims to examine the content of health promotional web sites in two culturally distinct countries, the USA and South Korea, by investigating the level of interactivity and types of advertising appeals presented on antismoking web sites. Design/methodology/approach - Antismoking web sites in the two countries were collected through the three major search engines (msn, Yahoo and Google) using relevant keywords. The final sample contained a total of 89 web sites (USA = 67, South Korea = 22) that met the condition of promoting antismoking behavior rather than just selling antismoking products. Three bilingual coders were hired for the analysis. Findings - The South Korean antismoking web sites presented significantly higher levels of interactivity than their USA counterparts. By contrast, there is hardly any differentiation between the two countries in the amount of advertising appeals used on the health web sites. Research limitations/implications - Even though antismoking is certainly an important global issue, the findings related to antismoking web sites may not be generalizable to various other health-related topics. Future research should replicate our findings on interactivity and advertising appeals in the context of various health issues. Practical implications - To cross-cultural researchers, the results provide more theoretical and practical rationales for cross-cultural differences beyond such well-known typologies as Hofstede's Individualism/Collectivism and Hall's high-low context. Originality/value - This study provided at least two useful findings for practitioners and researchers: better definition of the roles of cultural differences in the level of interactivity and the types of advertising appeals in promoting health information online and a broadening of the scope of cross-cultural advertising research to health promotional contexts online.