Glocalisation: Meaning, Examples and Benefits

Last Updated On: June 3, 2022 by The Migration Translators

Glocalisation history

Glocalisation took place several decades ago when businesses decided it was time to enter overseas markets to grow their business. However, at the start international businesses found it hard to follow another country’s business rules and regulations. Many English speaking businesses seriously believed that doing business in English was sufficient. They soon discovered that they weren’t going to gain much from overseas customers if English was to be the only language used. This resulted in marketing their business’s products in local languages. The foreign companies also needed to adapt localisation to boost their customer base overseas which led to the introduction of the term glocalisation.

What is glocalisation?

Glocalisation is globalisation and localisation combined and refers to the marketing strategies and business methods of foreign businesses in the local market. When a business enters a completely new market, it has to modify its products and services so that they meet consumer demands in the local market and they also have to tailor their campaign so that it conforms to local laws and local customs. The products are glocalised so that the local customer will accept them more readily..

Glocalisation examples

• Coca Cola adopted glocalisation so it could reach its global customers after discovering that just having a global marketing campaign wasn’t sufficient. The action it took was to adapt the advertising to local cultures and local requirements. It also modified its drinks to match local tastes. It adapted its products so that they merged with the local markets in terms of customers’ needs and diets.
• McDonald’s has used glocalisation to increase the value of its business globally and one particular example is in India where it marketed its beef burger as McalooTikki burgers.
• KFC has adapted its chicken by selling spicer chicken in India as it is preferred by the consumer.
• Google Pixel has one feature with its phone camera that is not permitted in India and that is disabling the sound of the shutter. Indian law states that camera phones must make a shutter sound when photos are taken so Google Pixel modified its phones to match this law.

Benefits of Glocalisation

• It increases the chance of success when entering a foreign market because it is more relevant to the local market so it can compete more effectively.
• It boosts sales when local consumers like the product and the first success makes it simpler for the business to launch further products.
• It encourages innovation in the targeted country by being competitive.
• It offers local jobs as foreign businesses become more successful and need local labour.
• It boosts the production capacity of an economy as investments by foreign businesses increases the capital accumulation in the new country which allows a country to increase its output in the future.
• It improves access to a range of products so that the local consumer has more choice.
• Competition from foreign businesses also contributes to the dropping of prices and improving product quality as local businesses need to become more competitive if they wish to remain in the industry.
• Foreign investment brings about the transferring of knowledge, skills and technology.

Through the process of glocalisation, international products are modified to suit local tastes of the targeted population. This can help multinational companies to grow and gain the trust of the people of a particular region. However, glocalisation doesn’t always reap benefits for multinational companies because it depends on individuals in each targeted region or country to choose to accept or reject new products.