A relatively recent term that has come into favour to shed light on the transformative processes of globalization has been "glocalization." In a narrow sense, "glocalization" has come to suggest the interplay between the global and the local dynamics to produce very different kinds of political, social, and economic relations. Several studies suggest that the intersection of global strategies and local elements produces the source of a durable competitive advantage in the case of multinational firms. However, little research has empirically investigated the ways in which multinational firms are able to successfully apply a glocal approach in order to obtain superior performance. This research discusses this issue focusing on the hospitality sector, where we analyze the use of the word “glocalism” to explain an innovative approach managed by an international player to obtain competitive advantage in the tourism experience economy. The aim is to support that these two components of the tourist experience, both localization and globalization, can represent a strong advantage in order to build authentic and memorable tourist experiences in the case of an international tourist player. The ability to combine global and local dynamics for an international hotel group in the upscale and luxury hospitality supply is deeply discussed in this paper. International hotels are becoming destinations in themselves and, in times of the experience economy, they have the ability to interpret the needs of their global customers while merging them to local attractions and peculiarities. How does an authentic “Glocal tourist experience” represent for an international company a competitive advantage in the mature crowded upscale and luxury hospitality market? We analyze this topic focusing on the level of integration among global and local elements in the upscale and luxury hospitality sector by following a qualitative methodology based on case studies. The case study will stage three international hotels of the Accòr group in Italy (two MGallery and one Sofitel) focusing on their approach towards the exploitation of local opportunities of the destination mixed with a global approach. The cases studies – with an experiential and in-depth qualitative interview research method –support the importance for the management of international hotel chains to be able in combining global standards with local excellences to create memorable tourist experiences. Starting from the empirical evidence of these case studies, we propose a framework useful in the case of multination firms operating in the tourism sector to successfully apply a glocal approach to reach durable competitive advantage.

The Glocalization of International Firms: An Empirical Investigation in the Hospitality Sector

PRESUTTI, MANUELA;
2015

Abstract

A relatively recent term that has come into favour to shed light on the transformative processes of globalization has been "glocalization." In a narrow sense, "glocalization" has come to suggest the interplay between the global and the local dynamics to produce very different kinds of political, social, and economic relations. Several studies suggest that the intersection of global strategies and local elements produces the source of a durable competitive advantage in the case of multinational firms. However, little research has empirically investigated the ways in which multinational firms are able to successfully apply a glocal approach in order to obtain superior performance. This research discusses this issue focusing on the hospitality sector, where we analyze the use of the word “glocalism” to explain an innovative approach managed by an international player to obtain competitive advantage in the tourism experience economy. The aim is to support that these two components of the tourist experience, both localization and globalization, can represent a strong advantage in order to build authentic and memorable tourist experiences in the case of an international tourist player. The ability to combine global and local dynamics for an international hotel group in the upscale and luxury hospitality supply is deeply discussed in this paper. International hotels are becoming destinations in themselves and, in times of the experience economy, they have the ability to interpret the needs of their global customers while merging them to local attractions and peculiarities. How does an authentic “Glocal tourist experience” represent for an international company a competitive advantage in the mature crowded upscale and luxury hospitality market? We analyze this topic focusing on the level of integration among global and local elements in the upscale and luxury hospitality sector by following a qualitative methodology based on case studies. The case study will stage three international hotels of the Accòr group in Italy (two MGallery and one Sofitel) focusing on their approach towards the exploitation of local opportunities of the destination mixed with a global approach. The cases studies – with an experiential and in-depth qualitative interview research method –support the importance for the management of international hotel chains to be able in combining global standards with local excellences to create memorable tourist experiences. Starting from the empirical evidence of these case studies, we propose a framework useful in the case of multination firms operating in the tourism sector to successfully apply a glocal approach to reach durable competitive advantage.
2015
Global Enterprise Management: A New Perspective on Challenges and Future Development.
135
151
presutti; m.; holt; s.; camillo; a.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/489168
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