Cultural behaviour is characterized by cultural dimensions that indeed are used to categorize and organize the cultural data (Ford and Gelderblom, 2003). This cultural problem is researched by variety of scientists with different background (from anthropologists to psychologies and business experts). Among these scholars are Edward Hall (1972), Font Trompenaars (1993), Hofr (1996), Greet Hofstede (1991). There have been created highly varied models based on different approaches. Some of them focus on objective cultural aspects as political and economical contexts (Hoft, 1996) and another cultural dimensions concentrate on subjective aspects as values, believes, feelings, expectation and acting (Ford and Gelderblom, 2003).

One of the best known and widely used cultural models has been developed by Greet Hofstede. Working for IBM, he explores employees' values, creating and than analyzing a huge database covering approximately 70 countries and 3 regions, over 20 languages and more than 116000 responses.

Of course, there are some criticisms on Hofstede's cultural model. First of all, a number of scientists argue that surveys made by Hofstede are not enough appropriate instruments for measuring cultural differences (Moon, 2006). Also they disagree with identifying culture with a particular nation or that each country has only one dominant culture (Marcus & Gould, 2000). Other negative arguments are the old IBM data sources and the organizational cultural effects on providing information about entire national cultures (Moon, 2006). Moreover his model has been categorized as stereotypical (Bourges-Waldegg & Scrivener, 1998) and rigid (Nocera & Hall, 2003). According to Curzon's cross- cultural analysis, Hofstede's classic cultural theory is not completely effective in terms of new technological web design, because it was designed for variety of different purposes not necessary including the aria of corporate web design (Jagne, Smith, Dunker and Curzon, 2004).

However these critiques have minor importance and do not depreciate Hofsted's contribution to investigating and developing a fulfilling cultural model. Singh and Pereira (2005) emphasize the values of Hofstede's cultural typology and find it as a solid basis for research and analysis of cultural differences, through which basis corporate web presence should be easily adapt to local cultures (Singh & Pereira, 2005). Furthermore Hofstede's typology provided “high and beneficial level of analytical flexibility making it easily and effectively applied to Web communication” (Singh, 2004).

Based on his research work, Greet Hofstede identifies five key cultural dimensions – Power Distance (PDI), Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), Long- vs. Short-term orientation (LTO). The definitions of these cultural dimensions are as follows (www.geert-hofstede.com):

Power Distance - that is the extent to which the less powerful members accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.

Individualism vs. Collectivism - on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Masculinity vs. Femininity - refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values.

Uncertainty Avoidance - deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules as possible. People within these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their environment to express emotions.

Long- vs. Short-term orientation – this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius.

Since Hofstede's dimensions are too broad, user-interface experts Aaron Marcus (president of the global design firm Aaron Marcus & Associates) and Emilie Gould (professor at Rensselaer Institute) applied them to the practice of web design, focusing on another five culturally based characteristics – Metaphors, Mental models, Navigation, Interaction, Appearance (Marcus, 2001): Metaphors are fundamental concepts communicated via words, images, sounds, and tactile experiences. The pace of metaphor invention and neologism will increase because of rapid development, deployment, and distribution through the Web.

Mental models stand for structures or organizations of data, functions, tasks, roles, and people in groups at work or play.

Navigation explains the movement through the mental models, i.e., through content and tools. Examples include dialogue techniques such as menus, dialogue boxes, control panels, icons, tool palettes, and windows.

Interaction symbolizes Input/output techniques, including feedback. Examples include the choices of keyboards, mice, pens, or microphones for input and the use of drag-and-drop selection/action sequences.

Appearance represents visual, auditory, and tactile characteristics. Examples include choices of colors, fonts, verbal style, sound cues, and vibration modes.

Analyzing the combination of both approaches could significantly contribute to getting a clear notion of cultural impact on corporate web design .