16

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

THE E-COMMERCE MOVEMENT FROM STANDARDIZATION TO LOCALIZATION IN CONSUMER PRODUCT MULTINATIONALS Robert Wolk School of Business, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA, USA [email protected] ABSTRACT Multinational consumer product corporations (n=150) were divided into thirty sectors and examined for their progress towards providing language and cultural diversity elements beyond the English Language and American Culture on their Web sites. The method of selecting corporations was based on the highest market capitalization for the five largest within each sector. Conceptual models are constructed to demonstrate the movement from standardization to localization and the degree of consumer involvement of industry sectors in relation to their ecommerce strategy. The correlation of market capitalization to languages offered is significant. Keywords: Global e-commerce, Localization strategy, Consumer product Web sites, Language 1. INTRODUCTION Barbie speaks Italian. The Mattel, Inc. Web site for Barbie is part of the everythinggirl.com super site of dolls and accessories for kids and collectors. The global entry is located in Barbie’s animated room. Once there, the user selects the language and culture for the Web experience. There are two English sites, American Barbie and United Kingdom Barbie. The United Kingdom Barbie says “hello” when the mouse arrow goes over the title, while the American Barbie says “hi”. The content and style of the two English sites are quite different, carefully reflecting subtle cultural differences. There are two Spanish speaking sites for “America Latina” and “España”. Barbie also speaks French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, and German. At each site is an invitation to make Barbie the home page increasing the stickiness factor of the games and activities available. The Barbie Web sites represent the movement of global corporations towards providing Web sites with supporting local content for their products. The Barbie site increases the value of the Barbie product by providing a sense of community and belonging for the customer. Marketing of Barbie in the selected countries is made easier when the product is supported by a Web site in the home language with local cultural elements displayed. The past five years have revealed a major change in the development of global Web site strategic thinking. International corporations, which had previously used only English language Web sites to reach intended audiences, are rapidly developing multi-language, multi-cultural sites aimed at a global audience of online consumers. The exact number of global online Internet users remains a subject of debate with estimates ranging as high as one billion individual users (globalreach.com). Rugman and Hodgetts (2001) utilized the International Management Strategy Matrix developed by Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) to credit Proctor and Gamble for combining a high national responsiveness with a high level of economic integration (table 1). Proctor and Gamble initiated Project 2005 allowing for the grouping of all 200 brands into seven business units. These units are coordinated from different countries utilizing strategies for local and regional cultures and business conditions.

ISSN 1608-5655 (Online), Category: Research articles, Publisher: IAAMSAD

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No 2, 2007

17

Table 1. International Web site Strategy Matrix

High Economic Integration Low Economic Integration

Low National Responsiveness Coca-Cola

High National Responsiveness Proctor and Gamble Philips

The Pringles.com Web site demonstrates this strategy of localization. For every country and culture that Pringles is marketed, the Web site produces a separate Web site area in the native language with content specifically geared for that region (table 2). All sites are accessed from the home page with its map of the world. Simply drag the mouse to the country or region desired and click. Soccer related promotions might be used in one region, while a movie tie-in is used in another area. In Italy, there is a promotion with recipes for utilizing Pringles Chips. Table 2. Global Web site promotions by country for Pringles during August of 2005 Canada

Trivial Pursuit New Flavor Jalapeno Low Calorie Options Interactive Music game featuring Hip Hop, Punk, and Rock

USA

Trivial Pursuit Cross promotion with Guinness World Records and Win a Camera Contest Star Wars Contest Safety Promotion Dippers and Dips New Paprika Flavor Win an Apple Mini Ipod Contest Cross Promotion with Avis Rental Soccer Promotion Dippers and Dips Pringles Games (PacMan) Music downloads Professional soccer Promotion Cross Promotion with LG Televisions Screen Savers Star Wars Theme and Promotions Funwars Games Paprika flavor Promotion Outdoor Sports Promotion

United Kingdom

Spain Germany

Russia

Greece Brazil

Examination of Pringles Web sites in 2002, found separate sites in three countries with limited content. The new integrated Pringles site allows for the user to pick their culture from one central site. 1.1. Stickiness Strategy at Nabiscoworld.com The stickiness strategy requires Web site construction in a manner that encourages individuals to remain at that site for extended periods. The Nabisco site includes over fifty free quality games for all ages and recipes for Nabisco products. Every game features a consumer product from Nabisco. Each game, like the soccer game seen in figure 1, has a Nabisco product sponsor prominently displayed.

18

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

Figure 1: Oreo soccer Game

Nabiscoworld.com includes an abundance of recipes and promotions along with the games. The result of this effort is a high stickiness factor. In an interview for Wharton Alumni Magazine, Sharon Fordham, E-commerce Manager for Nabisco, describes her e-business strategy as follows: “We’ve pretty much broken it down into three areas: e-business is all about leveraging the Internet as a powerful new communications medium, a new transaction medium and a productivity tool. We’ve fashioned our strategies in support of that view of the world,” she says. As a result of those strategies, Fordham says Nabisco has established a powerful online lead. The company’s two primary websites –candystand.com and nabiscoworld.com – “lead the industry by far.” Despite the purported size and excellence of the nabiscoworld site, the availability remains only in the English Language. Cultural references are directed towards the American culture. The candystand site for the candy products associated with Nabisco is only available in English. In this comparison between Pringles and Nabisco, the more mature site (Pringles) has moved from standardization to localization and from ethnocentric to geocentric. Nabisco remains at ethnocentric. 1.2. Whirlpool vs. Maytag Whirlpool, Inc. presents another example of the need for Global Web sites to address local cultural. Different cultures require different products. In India, for example, the local culture does not support large refrigerators with huge freezer compartments. Whirlpool’s India site features products produced specifically for the local market in India. Whirlpool uses Indian models for their Web page. The blond blue-eyed models are used in the Nordic cultures and appropriate models are employed for thirty-four different global cultures. Meanwhile, over at former competitor Maytag, only three country sites are available other than the US. The English speaking countries of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia are the only local sites available from Maytag.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW The global firm requires more than language translation for their Web sites to be successful in multiple countries and regions. The content must be adaptable to the host culture and the products adapted to local needs and requirements. Research by Cyr and Trevor-Smith (2003) compared Web sites in Germany, Japan, and the United States. Significant differences were found in web site design, color preferences, site features, and content.

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No 2, 2007

19

Marcus and Gould (2000) followed the work of Gerte Hofstede (1990) in applying the latter’s theory on cultural dimensions to Web site design amongst different cultures. Hofstede identified five dimensions: power-distance, collectivism vs. individualism, femininity vs. masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long vs. short-term orientation. Marcus and Gould found that cultural Web sites design was heavily influenced by the dimensions outlined by Hofstede. One example found educational Web sites in high power distance (PD) cultures stressed authority, prominence to leaders, authority symbolism while low power distance cultures used Web sites concentrating on students with their pictures prominently displayed and not faculty and administrators. Hofstede’s (1990) use of clustering countries by cultural similarities resulted in six clusters: Anglo, Nordic, German, Latin, Asian, and Japan. Research conducted by Robbins and Stylianou (2003) selected the top fifteen global corporations from each cluster for a total of 90 corporations. The study found that the Anglo cluster corporations were least likely to have Web sites that included language translation. The reliance on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions appears to be nearly universal amongst researchers. Critics suggest abandonment on the dependence on Hofstede in developing the marketing of products using e-commerce Web sites. Holden (2004), outlined a fresh marketing approach to global e-commerce that thinks of culture in terms of evolving relationships and affinity waiting to be discovered. Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions is attacked as outdated and dangerous for marketing professionals who may be trapped into making decisions on a market because it is judged as less masculine than another. The break-up of the former Soviet Union has implications for those that thought that the various parts possessed a level of homogeneity, but these differences were not explored by Hofstede. Another approach to examining Web sites of global corporations was developed by Kim et al (2003) using the criteria of business function, credibility, content reliability, site attractiveness, systematic structure, and navigation. The twelve selected industries included 245 sites. The study found differences from industry to industry suggesting that the nature of the industry impacted Web site design. This study failed to take into account that corporations may create multiple Web sites for different cultures. The argument of whether Web site development should be standardized or localized for cultural differences has been explored by Okazaki (2004). The study examined fifty Japanese multinational corporations that utilized three sites each in Japanese, English, and Spanish for a total of 150 Web sites covering nine product categories. The sites were evaluated using twenty cultural value variables including pragmatism and directness. Significant differences were found suggesting that localization of Web sites relate to cultural values and attributes. Japanese Web site versions were more likely to use curiosity awareness and symbolism. The English versions of the multinational Web sites were more likely to use emotional and psychological appeals to attract and hold their customers. Nitish Singh (Singh and Matsuo, 2002, Singh, 2003, Singh et al 2004, 2005) examined the question of localization of Web content comparing United States, China, India, and Japan in one study and United States, France, and Germany in another study. Singh moves beyond Hofstede in developing a cultural value framework and provides evidence that multinational corporations are moving away from standardization of Web site content to a more localized approach. Cultural differences prove to be more than regional in the examination of Asian sites that are considerably different from each other in language and in cultural dimensions. Strategic implications for global competition rely on the orientation of the firm. Ethnocentric firms rely on the cultural orientation of the home country. Polycentric orientation of the firm works with the culture of the host country. Regiocentric orientation is based on regional culture, while geocentric orientation is global (Pearce and Robinson, 2005). While many Global Corporations strive to sell their products to as many cultures as possible, the accompanying Web site may still be ethnocentric in language and cultural design. This study looks at localization at one point in time in 2005 and examines what languages are chosen by large global consumer product firms. The study seeks to find whether market capitalization is a significant determinant of localization marketing strategy.

20

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

3. METHODOLOGY The Web sites of 150 publicly traded International Corporations were examined for this study during the months of October and November, 2005. The corporations represent the top consumer products firms from thirty different sectors and were accessed from the various sources provided by the Yahoo Finance Web site. Five corporations were chosen from each of the thirty sectors based on the highest market capitalizations. Market capitalization was chosen as the most reliable variable of measuring a firm’s size and performance. General Motors may have the same sales as Toyota, but the market capitalization is only a fraction of Toyota. Earnings are reflected in market capitalization in addition to growth potential. The various Web sites for each corporation were examined for language options and cultural differences. The Web sites were first examined by 60 students split into two teams. Each team examined the 150 Web sites and the results of the two teams were compared for errors with the author examining all 150 corporations for a third check of the results. Many corporations possessed Web sites for each of their product lines and each one may have had multiple language versions. Sites were examined to determine whether the other language sites were merely a translation of the main site or the cultural content was different. Care was taken to examine whether a Web site was localized to the culture or merely a translation of the original English or Japanese Web site. 4. FINDINGS Of the 150 Web sites surveyed during October of 2005, a total of 149 had operating web sites. All of the sites were in English, although many had multiple English sites to accommodate local cultures in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and India. Spanish sites were available for 46.98% of the multinational corporations (table 3) with many offering multiple options for different Spanish speaking cultures. This was also true of some French, German, Portuguese, and Chinese sites that accommodated various cultures within those languages. Table 3: Languages Chosen by Consumer Product Corporations (Over 15%) Language Spanish French German Japanese Italian Dutch Portuguese Chinese Korean Russian Swedish Danish Polish Norwegian Finnish Hungarian Czech

Number 70 67 56 51 43 42 41 39 37 33 31 31 29 27 27 26 25

Percent 46.98% 44.97% 37.58% 34.23% 28.86% 28.19% 27.52% 26.17% 24.83% 22.15% 20.81% 20.81% 19.46% 18.12% 18.12% 17.45% 16.78%

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No 2, 2007

Greek Turkish

23 23

21

15.44% 15.44%

The consumer products sectors with the highest count of multiple language and culture Web sites included auto makers, electronic equipment, toys and games, and cigarettes. The sectors with the lowest count of languages offered were farm products and beverage wine and distillers. Three stages in global Web site development can be identified by examining the extent by which language and cultural differences are incorporated into the design. The early stage utilizes English language and culture and leaves translation responsibility to the user. The standardization stage is identifiable in those Web sites where some language options exist for primary markets. These sites primarily take English language text and culture and obtain foreign language translation with little difference in culture, design, or American references. The third stage finds a mature Web site that encompasses the language required for each culture and the design differences adapted for each country and region. The automotive sector provides an excellent of a mature sector.

Early Stage

Standardization Stage

Web site available only in English with English/US Culture

Web site is translated into other languages, but culture remains English/US

Localization Stage Web site utilizes multiple languages and cultures

Figure 2: Three stages of International Web site Maturity When market capitalization was compared to the number of language sites offered, the Pearson correlation of .412 indicated a relationship between the two variables. Spearman’s rho revealed a lower correlation of .398. The two variables produce a higher correlation when some sectors are eliminated. Web sites may be less of a marketing tool in some sectors as in farm products, office products, and beverage wine. 5. DISCUSSION The importance of this study is threefold. First, it provides a snapshot in time of the movement from standardization of Web site design to localization of content. The importance of the increasing penetration of the Internet to new cultures in recent years has not been lost on strategic planning. Second, it provides the extent that some languages and cultures are benefiting from the movement to localization. Okazaki (2004), found that Japanese multinational Web sites were always translated into English. English multinationals from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia utilized Japanese language Web sites in only 30% of the sample. This difference is significant in understanding the marketing prowess of Japanese corporations. The third benefit of the study is the examination of multinational consumer products corporations to discover whether market capitalization is related to localization of marketing through Web site content. The growth of global sales of firms like Whirlpool and Toyota is reflected in their Web site development. Corporations that truly desire to be global players may be encouraged to develop their Internet presence. The correlation between market capitalization and

22

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

mature Web sites may signify the commitment of individual corporations to multinational markets. The contrast between the mature Whirlpool Web delivery and the immature Maytag Web sites offers an explanation of the future of these corporations in 2005. The ability to communicate effectively with varied cultures through the medium of the Internet in an approaching era where English speaking users may become the global minority is a concern for all strategic planners. 6. FUTURE STUDY Additional variables may improve the value of the data. The initial data set left out some large consumer products companies due to low market capitalization. The inclusion of all thirty sector allowed for the inclusion of some relatively small corporations at the expensive of some large consumer electronics companies. Sales and revenue variables may produce different correlations. Comparison of this data in a longitudinal study in 2007 would offer another look at progress towards localization. 7. REFERENCES Bartlett, C.A. and Ghoshal, S. (1998) Managing across borders: the transactional solution. Harvard Business School Press. Bingi, P., Mir, P. and Khamalah, J. (2000) “The challenges facing global E-Commerce: A multidimensional perspective”. Information Systems Management Journal, 17 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/. Cyr, D. and Trevor-Smith, H. (2003) “Globalization of Web Design: An Empirical Comparison of German, Japanese, and U.S Website Characteristics”, Journal of the American society for Information Science and Technology. 55, 1-10. Kim, S., Shaw, T. and Schneider, H. (2003) “Web site design benchmarking within industry groups. Internet Research”, Electronic Networking Applications and Policy. 13, 17-26. Hofstede, G. (2001) Cultures consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nation’s”, 2nd Ed. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, California. Holden, N. (2004) “Why marketers need a new concept of culture for the global knowledge economy”. International Marketing Review, 21, 563-572. Marcus, A. and Gould, E.W. (2000) “Cultural dimensions and global Web-interface design: What? So what? Now What?” Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Human Factors and the Web in Austin, Texas on June 19th, 2000. Accessed on November 10th, 2005 from http://www.amanda.com/resources/hfweb2000/hfweb00.marcus.html. Okazaki, S. (2004) “Do multinationals standardize or localize? The cross-cultural dimensionality of product-based Web sites”. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy. 14, 81-94 Pearce, J.A. and Robinson, R.B. (2005) Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control. Boston: Irwin McGraw Hill. Robbins, S. S., and Stylianou, A. C., (2003) “Global corporate web sites: an empirical investigation of content and design”. Information and Management, 40, 205-212. Rugman, A. and Hodgetts, R. (2001) “The End to global strategy”. European Management Journal. 19, 333-343.

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No 2, 2007

23

Shaoyi, H. (2001) “Interplay of Language and culture in global E-commerce: a comparison of five companies’ multilingual websites”. ACM Special Interest Group for Design of Communication ISBN 1-59113-295-6. Schneider, G. (2005) Electronic Commerce. Thomson Publishing, Boston. Sharon Fordham, “Nabisco’s rising star”, Wharton Alumni Magazine http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/alum_mag/issues/fall2000/wharton_now6.html (accessed Sept. 12, 2005). Singh, N. (2003) “Culture and the world wide web: a cross-cultural analysis of web sites from France, Germany and USA”, American Marketing Association, 14, 30-1. Singh, N. and Matsuo, H. (2002) “Measuring cultural adaptation on the web: a study of US and Japanese web sites”, Advances in Consumer Research, 29. Singh, N., Zhao, H., and Hu, X. (2003) “Analyzing the cultural content of web sites: acrossnational comparison of China, India, Japan and US”. International Marketing Review. 22. 129-146. Singh, N., Kumar, V., and Black, D. (2005) “Adaptation of cultural content: evidence from B2C e-commerce firms”. European Journal of Marketing. 39, 71-86. Yahoo Finance Consumer Products Index. Accessed 10/2/05-10/21/05 from http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/ind_index.html.

APPENDIX List of Consumer Multinational Corporations Studied (2005)

Corporation/Symbol WHIRLPOOL CP [WHR] LENNOX INTL INC [LII] MAYTAG CP [MYG] HELEN OF TROY LTD [HELE] NATL PRESTO IND [NPK] TOYOTA MTR CP ADS [TM] HONDA MOTOR CO ADR [HMC] DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG [DCX] FORD MOTOR CREDIT [F] GEN MOTORS [GM] JOHNSON CONTROLS INC [JCI] MAGNA INTL CL A [MGA] TOMKINS PLC ADS [TKS] AUTOLIV INC [ALV] S P X CP [SPW] DIAGEO PLC ADS NEW [DEO] ANHEUSER BUSCH [BUD] COMP DE BEBA AM ADS [ABV]

Market Cap $m 4800 1600 1300 534 299 150000 53000 51000 16000 15800 12600 7400 3700 3700 3200 43900 32800 23000

Sector Appliances Appliances Appliances Appliances Appliances Auto Makers Auto Makers Auto Makers Auto Makers Auto Makers Auto Parts Auto Parts Auto Parts Auto Parts Auto Parts Brewers Brewers Brewers

24

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

FEMSA FOMENTO ADS [FMX] MOLSON COORS CO CL B [TAP] COCA COLA CO THE [KO] PEPSICO INC [PEP] CADBURY SCH PLC [CSG] COCA COLA ENTRPR INC [CCE] COCA-COLA HELLEN ADS [CCH] BROWN FORMAN INC B [BF-B] CONSTELLATION BRD A [STZ] TODHUNTER INTL INC [RUM] WILLAMETTE VALLEY [WVVI] 360 GLOBAL WINE CO [TGWC.OB] XEROX CP [XRX] PITNEY BOWES INC [PBI] HNI CORP INC [HNI] DIEBOLD INC [DBD] STEELCASE INC [SCS] ALTRIA GROUP INC [MO] BRITISH AMER TOB ADR [BTI] IMPERIAL TOBAC ADSSC [ITY] REYNOLDS AMERICAN [RAI] GALLAHER GRP PLC [GLH] PROCTER GAMBLE CO [PG] CLOROX CO [CLX] ECOLAB INC [ECL] CHURCH DWIGHT CO INC [CHD] DARLING INTL INC [DAR] WRIGLEY WM JR CO [WWY] THE HERSHEY COMPANY [HSY] TOOTSIE ROLL IND [TR] M&F WORLDWIDE CP [MFW] IMPERIAL SUGAR CO [IPSU] DREYERS CALL PUT [DRYR] DEAN FOODS CO [DF] LIFEWAY FOODS INC [LWAY] BRAVO! FOODS INTL CP [BRVO.OB] GALAXY FOODS CO [GXY] MATSUSHITA EL INDL [MC] SONY CP ADR [SNE] KONINKLIJKE PHLP NEW [PHG] HITACHI LTD ADR [HIT] ECHOSTAR COMMUN A [DISH] FRESH DEL MONTE PROD [FDP] CHIQUITA BRANDS NEW [CQB] DELTA & PINE [DLP] ALICO INC [ALCO] CRESUD SACIF ADR [CRESY] UNILEVER N V N Y [UN] UNILEVER PLC AMER [UL] KRAFT FOODS INC [KFT]

6800 5300 100000 95400 20000 9000 6700 7100 5000 189 21 2 13

Brewers Brewers Beverages Soft Beverages Soft Beverages Soft Beverages Soft Beverages Soft Bev. Wine & Dist Bev. Wine & Dist Bev. Wine & Dist Bev. Wine & Dist Bev. Wine & Dist Business Equipment

9500

Business Equipment

3100

Business Equipment

2400

Business Equipment

2000

Business Equipment

146600

Cigarettes

43300

Cigarettes

20200

Cigarettes

11600

Cigarettes

9900

Cigarettes

138100

Cleaning Products

8200

Cleaning Products

8100

Cleaning Products

2200

Cleaning Products

231

Cleaning Products

16200

Confectioners

13700

Confectioners

1700

Confectioners

305

Confectioners

144

Confectioners

7900

Dairy Products

5500

Dairy Products

89

Dairy Products

58

Dairy Products

36

Dairy Products

39300

Electronic Equipment

33300

Electronic Equipment

32000

Electronic Equipment

21400

Electronic Equipment

12700

Electronic Equipment

1500

Farm Products

1100

Farm Products

917

Farm Products

337

Farm Products

185

Farm Products

71900

Food/Diversified

700

Food/Diversified

50500

Food/Diversified

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No 2, 2007

GROUPE DANONE ADS [DA] KELLOGG CO [K] LEGGETT PLATT INC [LEG] HUBBELL INC B [HUB-B] ETHAN ALLEN INTERIOR [ETH] FURNITURE BRNDS INTL [FBN] SELECT COMFORT CP [SCSS] NEWELL RUBBERMAID [NWL] LANCASTER COLONY [LANC] BLOUNT INTL INC [BLT] LIFETIME BRANDS INC [LCUT] LIBBY INC SC [LBY] TYSON FOODS INC CL A [TSN] HORMEL FOODS CP [HRL] SMITHFIELD FOODS [SFD] PILGRIMS PRIDE CP [PPC] SEABOARD CP [SEB] BANTA CORP [BN] ENNIS, INC. [EBF] STANDARD REGIST [SR] COURIER CP [CRRC] FRANKLIN COVEY CO [FC] AMCOR LTD ADR [AMCR] BALL CP [BLL] SEALED AIR CP NEW [SEE] OWENS ILLINOIS [OI] CROWN HOLDINGS INC [CCK] KIMBERLY CLARK CP [KMB] INTL PAPER [IP] STORA ENSO OYJ [SEO] UPM KYMNENE CP ADS [UPM] AVERY DENNISON CP [AVY] COLGATE PALMOLIVE [CL] AVON PRODUCTS INC [AVP] ESTEE LAUDER COS INC [EL] ALBERTO CULVER CO [ACV] YANKEE CDLE CO INC [YCC] CANON INC ADR [CAJ] EASTMAN KODAK CO [EK] OCE ADR [OCENY] X RITE INC [XRIT] SPATIALIGHT INC [HDTV] MCCORMICK & CO [MKC] SMUCKERS J M NEW [SJM] DEL MONTE FOODS CO [DLM] FLOWERS FOODS INC [FLO] CORN PRODUCTS INTL [CPO] FOSSIL INC [FOSL] RC2 CORPORATION [RCRC] MOVADO GROUP INC [MOV]

25600

Food/Diversified

18900

Food/Diversified

3600

Home Furnishings

2800

Home Furnishings

1000

Home Furnishings

947

Home Furnishings

658

Home Furnishings

6000

Housewares

1400

Housewares

819

Housewares

259

Housewares

172

Housewares

6300

Meat Products

4500

Meat Products

3400

Meat Products

2400

Meat Products

1700

Meat Products

1200

Office Products

437

Office Products

430

Office Products

418

Office Products

143

Office Products

4400

Packaging

3900

Packaging

3900

Packaging

2900

Packaging

2700

Packaging

27300

Paper Products

13300

Paper Products

10400

Paper Products

10200

Paper Products

5700

Paper Products

27200

Personal Products

12700

Personal Products

7800

Personal Products

3900

Personal Products

1100

Personal Products

49

Photography

6600

Photography

1200

Photography

251

Photography

162

Photography

4100

Processed Goods

2700

Processed Goods

2100

Processed Goods

1700

Processed Goods

1500

Processed Goods

1200

Recreational

681

Recreational

437

Recreational

25

26

International Journal of Computers, Systems and Signals, Vol.8, No2, 2007

CHARLES & COLVARD [CTHR] STEINWAY MUSICAL [LVB] GOODYEAR TIRE RUBBER [GT] JARDEN CP [JAH] CARLISLE COS INC [CSL] APTAR GROUP INC [ATR] ANSELL LTD ADR [ANSL] BRUNSWICK CP [BC] OAKLEY INC [OO] CALLAWAY GOLF CP [ELY] NAUTILUS INC [NLS] K 2 INC [KTO] V F CP [VFC] RALPH LAUREN POLO CP [RL] LIZ CLAIBORNE INC [LIZ] JONES APPAREL GP INC [JNY] BENETTON GP S P A [BNG] NIKE INC CL B [NKE] COACH INC [COH] REEBOK INTL [RBK] TIMBERLAND CO A [TBL] WOLVERINE WORLDWIDE [WWW] MATTEL INC [MAT] HASBRO INC [HAS] LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES [LF] JAKKS PACIFIC INC [JAKK] TOPPS CO INC THE [TOPP] VOLVO AB CL B ADR [VOLVY] PACCAR INC [PCAR] OSHKOSH TRUCK CP [OSK] NAVISTAR INTL CP [NAV]

307

Recreational

222

Recreational

2500

Rubber/Plastic

1900

Rubber/Plastic

1900

Rubber/Plastic

1800

Rubber/Plastic

1300

Rubber/Plastic

3500

Sporting Goods

1200

Sporting Goods

1000

Sporting Goods

679

Sporting Goods

447

Sporting Goods

6200

Clothing

5300

Clothing

4100

Clothing

3200

Clothing

1900

Clothing

21300

Footwear

11600

Footwear

3400

Footwear

2200

Footwear

1200

Footwear

6400

Toysgames

3400

Toysgames

821

Toysgames

451

Toysgames

310

Toysgames

16700

Trucks/Other

11100

Trucks/Other

3200

Trucks/Other

1900

Trucks/Other

Received: July 3rd 2006 Accepted in final format: December 15th 2007 after one revision

About the author: Dr Robert Wolk is the chairperson of the Department of Management, School of Business, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA, USA. His research is in the areas of IT management, IS research, e-commerce and IS education. He can be reached at [email protected] .