The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon
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Útgefandi
Stofnun stjórnsýslufræða og stjórnmála við Háskóla Íslands
Úrdráttur
The multinational retailer, Costco, opened its first store in Iceland during spring
2017. Not only was the opening greatly anticipated but following the store
opening, Costco became one of the key issues in the Icelandic media. Our
analysis focuses on Costco’s opening from insights derived from theories of
globalization of mobility, where we emphasize that discussions about Costco in
Iceland cannot be separated from the post-crash atmosphere after the massive
economic crash in 2008. Our perspective is particularly influenced by Tsing’s
(2005) emphasis on the unpredictability of global phenomena that move around
and transplant in a new context. Our analysis both contextualize Costco’s arrival
within Iceland’s historical and social context and analyzes some of the main
themes in the Icelandic media discussion during the opening. The dualistic
opposition of ‘us’ (Icelanders) against ‘them’ (foreigners), which has been quite
salient in Iceland, were largely invisible in discussions about Costco’s opening.
Costco in Iceland was quickly incorporated into a discourse as a positive force
against Icelandic corruption that started after the crash. The ‘us against them’
themes thus turned from being ‘Icelanders against
Lýsing
Efnisorð
Costco, Iceland, Globalization, Post-crash, Stórmarkaðir, Matvöruverslanir, Hnattvæðing, Fjölþjóðafyrirtæki, Bankahrunið 2008
Citation
Kristín Loftsdóttir, Már Wolfgang Mixa. (2017). The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon. Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla, 13(2), 189-210. doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2