This paper examines the twinned processes of globalization and localization in the food industry from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. A striking feature of the globalization of the food industry has been that both very large and very small business enterprises have been agents in the process. Large multinational corporations are much more visible in the market due to their market dominance, financial power, and brand publicity. Yet, smaller enterprise and individual entrepreneurs were crucial actors in enriching local, as well as global, food culture by taking advantage of their cultural knowledge and ethic networks. An equally striking feature has been that in both cases there has been a great deal of localization, intentional or unintentional. The globalized food market today is a product of co-creation by these agents.
The interplay between the global and the local has been a crucial factor that has helped shape organizational behavior in multiple industries. The importance of local conditions in particular has attracted attention from scholars interested in how and why local communities continue to matter for organizations after the increasing expansion of global networks and connections. This paper moves this body of literature forward to reveal the complexities of globalization and localization processes.
From an array of recognizable labels on supermarket shelves to personalized fast food and beverage orders, in today’s highly globalized culinary environments, people are accustomed to access to standardized food products wherever and whenever they eat. Yet, locality continues to matter enormously. Because what people eat is deeply rooted in their own culture and local conditions, including the availability of ingredients, preferred taste and flavor, and tradition and beliefs associated with food, the food industry provides a unique perspective in how the global and the local interplay in the dynamic development of an industry.