The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon
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 theo...
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University of Iceland
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 https://doaj.org/article/2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f 2023-05-15T16:43:27+02:00 The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon Kristín Loftsdóttir Már Wolfgang Mixa 2017-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 https://doaj.org/article/2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f EN IS eng ice University of Iceland http://www.irpa.is/article/view/2665 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 https://doaj.org/article/2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 13, Iss 2, Pp 189-2010 (2017) Costco Iceland globalization post-crash Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 2022-12-31T13:49:52Z 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 foreigners’ into ‘the Icelandic population against Iceland’s elite retail sector. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla 13 2 189 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Icelandic |
topic |
Costco Iceland globalization post-crash Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
spellingShingle |
Costco Iceland globalization post-crash Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 Kristín Loftsdóttir Már Wolfgang Mixa The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
topic_facet |
Costco Iceland globalization post-crash Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
description |
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 foreigners’ into ‘the Icelandic population against Iceland’s elite retail sector. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristín Loftsdóttir Már Wolfgang Mixa |
author_facet |
Kristín Loftsdóttir Már Wolfgang Mixa |
author_sort |
Kristín Loftsdóttir |
title |
The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
title_short |
The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
title_full |
The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
title_fullStr |
The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
title_full_unstemmed |
The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
title_sort |
opening of costco in iceland: unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon |
publisher |
University of Iceland |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 https://doaj.org/article/2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 13, Iss 2, Pp 189-2010 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://www.irpa.is/article/view/2665 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 https://doaj.org/article/2431b1c0251240b2bccc45c39aec001f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2 |
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Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla |
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13 |
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2 |
container_start_page |
189 |
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