ABTL quoted in Computerworld global web site article
computerworld.com
Global Web Sites Prove Challenging
U.S. companies struggle with foreign languages, trade laws, cultural gaffes
[...]
Foreign labor practices are challenging, too. "In Europe, if you want to recruit people, they require a
two- to three-month notice period before they can leave their company," said Joshua McCarter,
vice president of international development at Autobytel.com Inc. in Irvine, Calif. Autobytel.com,
which is expanding in Europe, Japan and Australia, has started a "knowledge database" about its
globalization efforts "to help us avoid any of the implementation mistakes we may have made, as we
go from country to country," McCarter said.
Autobytel has discovered that different cultures may require radically different business models for
e-commerce. Online auctions for selling cars haven't been successful in the U.S., for example. "But
in Holland, people have been buying at auctions for the last 500 years, and car auctions are
successful," said McCarter.
[...] |
