Navigating Cultural Boundaries: A Comparative Study of Content and Execution Styles of Foreign Online Content Creators in Thailand and Taiwan from a Cross-Cultural Communication Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/ajac.2026.116Keywords:
Foreign online content creators, Execution style, Cross-cultural communication, Digital acculturation, Soft powerAbstract
This research article investigated the phenomenon of foreign online content creation through the lens of Cross-cultural Communication, focusing on two distinct yet culturally significant East Asian hubs: Thailand and Taiwan. As digital media platforms facilitate the rise of “Cultural Intermediaries,” foreign creators residing in these host countries play a pivotal role in translating local cultures for global consumption. The specific objectives were to: 1) categorize the thematic content produced by these creators, 2) analyze their execution styles as strategic forms of digital acculturation, 3) investigate their intercultural perspectives toward the host societies, and 4) evaluate local audience reception through digital engagement. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, the study analyzed 20 foreign content creators (10 per country) by evaluating their top 10 most-viewed videos (totaling 200 videos) and a corpus of 10,000 audience comments. Data was analyzed using analytic induction to interpret content through High/Low-context and Acculturation frameworks. The findings revealed that content in Thailand leaned toward “Experience-oriented” exoticism, while Taiwan focused on “Value-oriented” social integration. Execution styles effectively bridged the gap between creators’ native Low-context backgrounds and the host countries’ High-context environments, creating strong parasocial bonds. This study concluded that foreign creators acted as vital digital bridges, facilitating a unique form of global-local dialogue and contributing to the co-creation of national Soft Power.
Highlights
• Identifies a strategic narrative divergence between “Experiential” branding in Thailand and “Value-oriented” sociocultural decoding in Taiwan as decentralized national branding.
• Proposes the “Three-Filter Model” (Cultural, State, and Commercial) to explain how digital audiences negotiate authenticity and Parasocial Interaction (PSI) with foreign influencers.
• Reveals the “Digital Mentor” phenomenon, where audiences prioritize a creator’s cultural and linguistic struggles over technical quality, fostering a new form of digital diplomacy.
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