Glocalization

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Glocalization, a neologism and portmanteau of globalization and localization, entails one or both of the following:

The creation or distribution of products or services intended for a global or transregional market, but customized to suit local laws or culture.
Using electronic communications technologies, such as the Internet, to provide local services on a global or transregional basis. Craigslist and Meetup are examples of web applications that have glocalized their approach.

The global and the local may be regarded as two sides of the same coin. A place may be better understood by recognising the dual nature of glocalization. Very often localization is a neglected process because globalization presents an omnipresent veneer. Yet, in many cases, local forces constantly strive to attenuate the impact of global processes. These forces are recognizable in efforts to prevent or modify the plans for the local construction of buildings for global corporate enterprises, such as for Wal-mart.

Glocalization as a term, though originating in the 1980s from within Japanese business practices, was first popularized in the English-speaking world by the British sociologist Roland Robertson in the 1990s.

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