Glocalization: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

The concept of glocalization is closely associated with the theory of globalization. Although the notion of glocalization, has its roots in Japanese business practices called ‘dochauka’, (means global localization), originally referred to ‘adopting farming techniques to local conditions’, it was popularized in academic circles by Roland Robertson, reinforced by Keith Hampton and Banny William, and  Zygmunt Bauman. For sometimes, the concept was confined to explain the economic dimension of the globalization but gradually it has been extended to other dimensions of the globalization. It has generated a debate among the social scientists not only about its relevance in explaining the process of globalization in local cultures but also enabled the social scientists to re-examine the very conceptual framework of globalization theory. Today, the concept of glocalization has been applied to different academic fields like mass media (including social media), educational leadership, cultural studies, and political analysis and so on. The present paper is aimed to analyze the conceptual and methodological issues emerged as a result of discourse on the phenomenon of glocalization in a critical fashion. It is argues that glocalization is a simulation of hybridization. In contrast to prevailing assumption that hybridization is an organic process the hybridization which represents the glocalization, in fact, is an inorganic way of change and evolution affecting various aspects of today’s social life. The current form of globalization is best described as glocalization. Moreover, the theoretical strands of glocalization posed a number of methodological challenges for social scientists which are yet to be addressed.