Between and Beyond the Global and the Local

Abstract

This article examines how the National Basketball Association (NBA), an explicitly American, yet increasingly global media(ted) institution, can be located within the local context of New Zealand. Specifically, the article provides: (a) a brief overview of how and why the NBA transformed itself into a global sport commodity; (b) a contextualization of contemporary New Zealand along with a cursory examination of some empirical examples of the global/local nexus of the NBA; and (c) an analysis of how the NBA and American sporting culture serve as points of difference within what Robertson terms the `hegemonic global'.

‘Civilised Games’?: Beijing 2008, power politics, and cultural struggles

“…6 Such identity politics are contoured and shaped within the context of consumerism, advertising and marketing. 7 The IOC purport to promote, globally, a message of internationalism, cosmopolitanism, environmentalism and 'fair-play'. 8 To achieve this, IOC officials defend their involvement with commercial interests on pragmatic grounds.…”

Japanese post-industrial management: the cases of Asics and Mizuno

“…66 This was exemplified by the 'natural' association that led to American footwear companies such as Nike and Reebok developing particularly strong links with the National Basketball Association's global movement. 67 Third, and perhaps most importantly, as Nike and other western firms invested heavily in marketing, so Asics and Mizuno focused upon manufacturing and employee education. In line with the cultural values traditionally espoused in Japanese industry, Asics and Mizuno emphasized the high quality of their manufacturing processes and end products and were largely blind to the potential of branding and marketing.…”

“Get the Puck Outta Here!”

“…(p. 79) Although the utility of the term Americanization can be contested, Canadians tend to be wary of the influences of American media products and couch these concerns in terms of cultural dependency and a loss of local identity (Jackson, 1994(Jackson, , 2001. This occurs in countries other than Canada, where similar reactionary stances have been made to foreign (and more specifically, American) investments and commodities (Jackson & Andrews, 1999) as a part of a reaction to global processes.…”