Glocal product design: A sustainable solution for global companies in regional and/or local markets

Paper in proceeding, 2007

The concept of Globalization highlights macro-micro relationships and is an alternative to the concept of Globalization. Product design and development is one of the areas in which this concept could be applied. In this research, a case study on mobile phones and the Iran market demonstrates that, while there are differences between Iranian users and users in developed countries, the range of mobile phones available in the Iran market is similar to that in global markets. Moreover, a comparison between two global companies shows that including product specifications based on the characteristics of regional markets leads to business advantages. According to these findings, Glocal Design would be a solution for product design and development in the era of globalization and in this way, new models could be developed in future research.