GLOCALIZATION - Think Global Implement Local

“Global”, the word every company in the world wants to add to its branding. A global company exists everywhere, the brand becomes a talking point and they lead the competition. The deals and revenue soar from millions to billions, huge offices come up and everyone in the world dreams to be part of them. The teams are geographically far located but with modern set of tools available, they ensure that work and communication flows smoothly. They start to think to have a single global platform and that’s where the challenge lies.

I have witnessed this. A company in US specializes in providing IT solutions via their state of art software, planned to go global by making a global platform which all other countries can use. The hard work was done, and deadlines were met with core efficiency. The date has arrived for launching. Initially it supported English, French, Arabic and Japanese versions. Localization teams did brilliant jobs to translate the software into these for customers with offices in multiple locations around the world. Everything seems to be going well after the launch of the software, and the staff raised a toast when the first product inquiries come in. Soon they realized that simply translating the software into different languages was not enough. Customers who purchased the program start complaining. Issues arise, e.g. for Middle East customers, because they are used to enter text right to left and most text fields didn’t accept the text. They also have a Sunday to Thursday work weeks as against Monday to Friday work weeks elsewhere. The reporting, scheduling and planning modules crashed due to this. A relaunch was planned and special strategy teams were formed to further accommodate a wide assortment of language requirements.

The whole problem might have been averted if the company had thought about the software as multiple local systems rather than a single global platform. Each local system can respond to different triggers like laws, languages, business practices, and cultural values that differ for each region. Although you cannot have a standardized process across the platform, you can still have different flavors of that process, each defining the region it is made for.

A strong localization strategy is required to ensure technologies may get adopted seamlessly by international markets. A search engine is a universal technology to navigate the internet across the world. While the world is using the Internet, the way local audiences navigate via search engines varies. For example, in China, e.g. Baidu is the most popular search engine as it presents itself very natural to native Chinese speakers; it ensures it showcases the unique language, culture, and technology needs of that part of the world and this is where global platform like google fails to local competition.

To make Localization efforts successful, the local partners and users should adapt to the new technology or offering. Training are beneficial, but many other factors are involved in ensuring that the new offering is attractive enough to adopt at the local level. In one survey, for example, 40% of 300 executives at international organizations felt that their product or service offerings were stronger than local options when it came to addressing customer needs and the operating environment. However research has shown that high-performance global companies loose against local companies at establishing relationships with local people and administration, implementing ideas and products, and encouraging creativity and innovation. Classical example is Uber who is extremely successful in USA. But when it tried to enter China as an individual company, it had to face a stiff competition from local taxi service Didi, Just like any other country, China has its own unique laws, tastes and culture which is based more on relationships rather than on transactions. Uber didn’t realize this and too a hit for $2 billion over 2 years.

Solution:

International organizations face similar challenges in China, India, Middle east and elsewhere—especially in terms of managing software, systems, and technologies in a global context. The key to address these challenges is Glocalization where Local leaders are entrusted to drive global success.  A strategic team is put in place who can create networks of knowledge rather than a centrally based system. Instead of having the traditional top-down model, they can create a system of business partners who have the power to operate at the local level. They are responsible for complete management locally and function in their own way culturally. The parent company’s mission and vision will provide common ground. However the decision making power at the local office allows them to ensure regional needs are met, and they remain engaged with the larger international mission and using standardized software to negotiate challenges internationally and domestically.

In a study, it was found that Companies who made this transition from may see 30-40% higher returns when compared with companies working with a more centralized model.

Success Stories

The leading theme park company Disney has relied on glocalization to build international theme parks. The US parks are world attractions. However, when Disney opened its Paris park -- the first one owned and operated by the American headquarters -- one aspect of French culture initially clashed with Disney's. A fact well known but dismissed was that the French like to drink wine, and they were not going to allow any alcohol on our premises as it’s a park for kids. This led to a sort of the brand getting unpopular. Sales dip and this led to the think tank awakened to the need to let the French drink wines. Now Disney is building a theme park in China, and they will not have a main street because the Chinese aren't familiar with the concept. Same goes for India. They need to be uniquely Disney but authentically the region’s culture shows in everything they do.

Another example is the auto industry. Every time they tried to build a world car, it failed. So, instead of trying to manufacture an “global” American car and sell it “locally” overseas, or to go completely local by scrapping out all American components and build a car for a particular country, Ford came up with its Figo model, which "has global parts, but is a local car," The car's size, shape and styling were tailored to Indian tastes, and it became the fastest-selling car in India.