Globalization, Localization, and International Coproduction As an Emerging Form of Governance in the Global Animation Industry

This paper examines the interaction of globalization and localization and the rise of international coproduction as a noble governance form in global cultural industries. The expansion of Western media and cultural industries to emerging markets has been intensified since the 1990s thanks to worldwide deregulation and liberalization and the introduction of new media, such as satellite TVs and the Internet, which facilitate the integration of national, regional and global markets. At the same time, the growth of cultural and media markets in emerging countries has presented new opportunities and challenges for both global and local firms. Global media giants have found their strategies should be adjusted to better serve local audience who is not solely satisfied with their global content, and local firms have become more ambitious in bringing their content to overseas. Examining the case of the global animation industry, this paper argues that as global firms seek to tap into local markets (‘localization’) and local producers try to enter foreign markets with their own products (‘globalization’), international coproduction, a form of cross-national, inter-firm partnership for animation production and distribution, provides both actors with new opportunities to collaborate for a project amenable in markets across different cultures, languages and regulations. It facilitates global leading firms to better address local markets and access talents in emerging economies, while local firms can benefit from newly acquired skills in creative development, marketing and distribution as well as expanding outlets for their content overseas. The paper concludes with discussion of the challenge for firms in managing cross-national cultural production networks and the implication of this new form of inter-firm governance to the future of a global cultural economy.