The growing importance of locality under the conditions of globalization

Abstract

The simultaneous increase in the importance of globalization and locality may appear paradoxical, yet their close analysis indisputably shows the logic of the development process. The changes that took place in the last decades of the twentieth century consist in departure from space as the form of organization and in basing it on territory. The territorial aspect of the network consists in the territorial proximity of partners, which is beneficial to a  company because it needs easy access to technological, financial and commercial information. The network, which is a  form of the spontaneous order and an evolutionary product, is a  result of interaction between decentralized units. The transition form hierarchical structures to decentralized ones requires the accumulation of a  far higher level of social capital.