Disney’s successful adaptation in Hong Kong: A glocalization perspective

This paper applies the principles of glocalization theory to Disney’s successful adaptation in Hong Kong. Glocalization refers to the interface of the global and the local. After Hong Kong Disneyland’s lack of success within a year of its opening in 2005, Disney executives attempted to cater to the local Chinese context. From a glocalization perspective, four major changes were made: (1) reduction of prices; (2) adaptation to local visitors’ customs; (3) change of décors and settings; and (4) adaptation of labor practices. Ever since, Hong Kong Disneyland has proved successful: park attendance and revenues from growth have increased.     

ASDA: Organic Growth of a Retailer in the United Kingdom?

This article analyzes the role of glocalization in Wal-Mart's venture in the United Kingdom. In 1999, Wal-Mart acquired ASDA, a British food retailer. Glocalization refers to strategies adopted by multinational corporations to cater to local tastes and differences after entering a foreign market. The authors' main argument is the following: after Wal-Mart acquired ASDA, it did not manage to successfully impose its Wal-Martization strategies because they consisted mainly of “organic growth” strategies. Organic growth is a practice whereby a corporation overpoweringly imposes its home-based blueprint of product consumption and corporate culture on foreign cultures. As demonstrated in this analysis, Wal-Mart had to drop its Bentonville-based shopping and corporate formula and, instead, adopt the principles of glocalization.     

Grobalization: An Analysis of the Wal-Martization of the World

This article analyzes the Wal-Martization of the world by using a theoretical concept called grobalization. Grobalization refers to imperialistic goals, desires, and needs of large corporations, or even entire countries, to impose themselves in various areas of the world so that their power, influence, and profits can grow. As a form of unbounded capitalism and cultural imperialism, grobalization is both a specific and an extreme form of globalization. The rapid global expansion of Wal-Mart, the largest and most successful corporation in the world, exemplifies the reality of grobalization. The Wal-Martization of the world has revealed that local cultures are being overwhelmed by grobalization. As the grobal penetrates the local ever more, less and less of that local will remain uninhibited by grobal influences. As illustrated in the Wal-Martization of Mexico and China, cultures are changing as a result of grobalization.