Challenges of Globalization upon Disneyland
The dynamics that define the constantly evolving global business space generate the challenge of remaining innovative and relevant for clients throughout the world, by juggling the genuine “real thing” of well-known brands with their cultural adaptation to local markets. Disneyland is at the crossroad between permanently reinventing itself by proposing new experiences for its diverse clients while focusing on providing the American original Disneyland experience through all its overseas locations. In this context, one major challenge that the company is likely to confront with in the future is based on the standardization/adaptation dilemma, as it will need to predict the ingredients for a successful integration of the Disneyland concept in the increasingly evolving social realities. Standardization implies creating global businesses by standardizing all, or the majority of its business elements (market access, industry standards and technology, marketing mix, competition), whereas adaptation refers to customizing all or some of these elements (Beamish & Ashford, 2006).
Living in a global space allows individuals to interact with various cultures, lifestyles and, in relation to Disneyland’s activity sector, with diverse entertainment modes. This leads to increased diversification of their entertainment needs, which can no longer be satisfied through standard entertainment activities proposals. This situation is likely to impact Disneyland’s activity, which will be challenged to address to a more diverse public. The solution for this challenge stays in its ongoing research and market segmentation. Through research, the company will understand what the dynamics that form the diversified entertainment needs are and through market segmentation it will be able to establish various entertainment services, adapted on the identified entertainment needs.
In the context of the increased globalization, there are societies that criticize it, while remaining loyal to their local cultures and traditions. Targeted customers not embracing the globalization is yet another challenge that Disneyland will face, as it will continue to provide innovative, yet genuine American entertainment opportunities for transposing the American entertainment needs globally.
In fact, Gordon and Meunier (2011) indicate that globalization is perceived as a threat to culture and identity for it erases the cultural barriers through the emergence of technology, generating absorption of global values. Disneyland proposes a local American value in a global space, which makes it a global brand. As there are people that are resilient to globalization and to the absorption of global values, Disneyland will need to deal with this challenge by positioning itself as “something that is created elsewhere but is not perceived foreign” (Dominique Coquet in Lane et al., 2009, p. 136).
Other challenges imposed by the globalization upon Disneyland include adjusting to economic globalization (Yeung, 2002). This is a challenge because the organization is facing various economic conditions in the regions wherein it operates. As such, Disneyland is currently activating in United States, Japan and France, each being developed countries, but with different socio-economic and political evolution. Aiming to have a unitary economic and public affairs operation mode is unrealistic, considering the different contexts wherein it unfolds its business. Flexibility and adaptation of Disneyland’s business model on each of these countries’ particularities (in terms of socio-economic and politic aspects) is the solution for overcoming the lack of a unitary system. Moreover, the operations from one region can be used for helping the operations in the other regions, in case of slowdowns. As such, while Disneyland Resort Paris encounters financial difficulties due to the current recession period, the organization can sustain its operations through a strategic partnership between its locations by transferring the profits from California or Tokyo to its European location.
References
Lane, H.W., Maznevski, M., Dietz, J. and DiStefano, J.J., 2009. International management behavior: leading with a global mindset. West Sussex: John Willey & Sons.
Beamish, K. and Ashford, R., 2006. CIM Coursebook 06/07 marketing planning. Oxford: Elsevier.
Yeung, Y., 2002. New challenges for development and modernization. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
