Glocal Tier is the market segment in which emerging giants have advantages over multinationals. This segment is full of niche marketing opportunities that are too small for the multinationals. There are significant distribution channel problems in regional markets that multinationals do not know how to navigate. Perhaps each regional market requires a degree of customization that is unacceptably small for economy of scale manufacturing in multinational business models. Emerging giants have in-depth knowledge of local product markets, and can easily access local talent and capital markets. Companies that figure out how to serve the rising Chinese and Indian middle class in the glocal tier become emerging giants, eventually able to take on multinationals in selected markets.

Local Tier contains the majority of companies in the developing world. Using local factors of production, these companies produce items of local quality at local prices. Unable or unwilling to take on risk to access larger talent and capital markets, these companies will continue to stay small, with a limited ROI scenario.

Bottom Tier component includes that huge market of those who can afford only the least expensive products. Companies in this segment will remain very small, localized, independent businesses with little if any ROI.

In their analysis of the Glocal Tier, the authors specifically concentrate on the emergence of CEMEX of Mexico, Tata Group of India, Jollibee Foods of the Philippines, and Wahaha Group of China. Lots of good investment potential in these emerging giants.