GLOCALIZATION AND LOCAL ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: THE CASE OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Abstract

The main objective of the paper is to introduce the term glocalization from economic as well as from sociological point of view and to describe the concepts of alternative economies. Companies and firms are no longer operating only in their domestic markets, but they are considered as international corporations with customers in all parts of the world. Marketing departments of these companies try to understand conditions and cultural traditions in different regions of the world, otherwise there is no chance for the company to be successful in international and even global level. Localization, as very important part of glocalization, offers us opportunity to think about alternative economic systems and to confront it with globalization. Therefore, alternative economic systems and its two basic types are described theoretically and then, we introduce their practical implementation in social reality. We point out the attention on the examples from the Slovak Republic and highlight the background of origins and problems connected with establishing of these systems. Finally, we summarize the most important facts which result from the comparison of the systems.

Keywords: alternative economy globalization, glocalization, LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems), localization, time banks.

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2015.081