Nabil Freij, Owner at Global Vision (http://www.GlobalVis.com), joins us to discuss balancing globalization and localization for greater organic growth... Read the Transcript

Nabil Freij Founder & President GlobalVision International, Inc.  http://enablingglobalization.com

Nabil Freij is the founder, owner and president of GlobalVisionInternational, Inc. a software localization and translation specialist in the USA with offices around the world. Freij has worked for over 25 years in the hardware, software, and localization industries. He has traveled the world and lived in five countries. He is frequently published and quoted. His blog can be read at http://globalvis.com/blog.

Two forces of business are thriving today: Globalization and Localization. In this article, we consider these two schools of thought and new strategies that may strike the balance between them to the benefit of the bottom line and world cultures alike. Globalization was a natural evolutionary step in business... if you can make it in one country, expand to other countries that may enjoy your products and grow your market. Markets, however, became a bit more sophisticated. Tailored products were in demand and localization became key. Across the world, localization often takes the form of global products tailored for local preferences. It was only a matter  of time until the desire to bring economy of scale to localized products drove businesses to merge these two strategies. Enter “glocalization.” Jun and Zhiqiang suggest that, “Both perspectives have their pros and cons, a balance between international standardization and local adaptation is vital.” The answer may be in a concept called reverse innovation. Curwick cites Tuck School of Business’s Director of the Center for Global Leadership, Vijay Govindarajan as suggesting that, “many multinational companies will have to ditch the strategy of glocalization and replace it.” This new strategy is dubbed, “reverse innovation.” In other words, why not let every market bring forth innovation that can then be spread across other markets. Companies are not really reversing innovation, but sourcing that innovation from all possible markets.... a more descriptive name might be market-sourced innovation. But a strategy by any other name would be as effective. It is time for the next step in the evolution of glocalization. To find the balance between globalization and localization for your business, consider the following. Balancing globalization and localization can spur organic growth worldwide. Globalization is a natural step for any evolving business. Localization, tailoring products local markets, encourages growth only to a point. Organic growth comes from innovating products and services for each global market. Lastly, let innovation in each global market enjoy localization worldwide.