A cultural content analysis of multinational companies’ web sites Ramazan Nacar and Sebnem Burnaz Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Istanbul, Turkey Abstract Purpose – This study aims to analyse the appropriateness of the information content and organization of multinational companies’ (MNCs) web sites for Turkish local cultural values with the aim of supporting global brand management decisions. Design/methodology/approach – In order to gather data for the study, 108 MNCs’ web sites are analysed by content analysis which is an objective, systematic and quantitative way of conducting information about communication content. Findings – It is seen from the analyses that foreign multinationals could adapt their web sites’ information content to local markets appropriately and sufficiently. However, the face (language) and the way (menu) that these data are presented were not adapted as compared to information content on their web sites. Research limitations/implications – This study has mainly considered the company side of web sites and neglects the consumer side. Future researchers interested in this area could also investigate how consumers perceive adaptation activities of foreign multinationals through web sites in their countries. Originality/value – One of the major decisions MNCs face in using web sites regards how to organize and present the web site content to fit local needs and values. Although adaptation becomes a major concern, there is no standard for the multicultural content of web sites. There are several cross-cultural studies in the literature which compare countries by correlating the analysed variables with Hofstede’s scores. Rather than comparing home and host countries of foreign multinationals based on certain dimensions, it is found to be more appropriate to assess on what terms and to what degree these companies could adapt or standardize their global communication channels, namely their web sites, in Turkey. Keywords Web sites, Multinational companies, Adaptation, Content analysis, Turkey Paper type Research paper Introduction The decision regarding standardization versus adaptation of marketing mix elements is an ongoing debate in cross-cultural studies in the global brand management literature. Standardization of advertisements especially is debated comprehensively. Since web sites are considered as global channels for brands which cross over national borders (Fletcher, 2006), this debate can become even more heated. A “one size fits all” approach leads global brands to use the same advertisements in all countries mainly by simply translating them, without any attempt at adaptation to the relevant cultural context. However, the same message in a uniform style does not produce the same meaning in every country, because cultural backgrounds of countries are distinct (Okazaki, 2004). Therefore, multinational companies (MNCs) have to do more than translate the language in order to be successful in adapting their web sites’ content to local cultural needs and values. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1352-2752.htm QMRIJ 14,3 274 Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal Vol. 14 No. 3, 2011 pp. 274-288 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1352-2752 DOI 10.1108/13522751111137505