Preface

The acceleration of globalization and the growth of emerging economies present significant opportunities for global business expansion. One of the quickest and most effective ways to tap into global markets is to leverage the web. However, there is a dearth of books, courses, and training programs that can help companies understand the dynamics of conducting global e-business. Well-trained web globalization professionals are difficult to find, reflecting, at least in part, the lack of academic offerings and specialized training in this area.

In the broadest sense, web globalization requires an interdisciplinary potpourri of skills from areas such as international business and marketing, advertising, project management, IT and e-commerce, language technology, linguistics, intercultural communications, technical writing, and even human resource management. Thus it has been difficult for universities, organizations, and professional bodies to provide the kind of comprehensive web globalization training required for tapping global e-commerce markets.