Wal-Mart World: The World's Biggest Corporation in the Global Economy

by Brunn; Stanley D.

• ISBN13: 9780415951364
• ISBN10: 0415951364
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Now that Wal-Mart has conquered the US, can it conquer the world? AsWal-Mart Worldshows, the corporation is certainly trying. For a number of years, Wal-Mart has been the largest company in the United States. Now, though, it is the largest company in the world. Its global labor practices and outsourcing strategies represent for many what contemporary economic globalization is all about. But Wal-Mart is not standing still, and is opening up stores everywhere. From Germany to Beijing to Mexico City to Tokyo, more than a billion shoppers can now hunt for bargains at a Wal-Mart superstore.Wal-Mart Worldis the first book to look at this incredibly important phenomenon in global perspective, with chapters that range from its growth in the US and impact on labor relations here to its fortunes overseas. How Wal-Mart manages this transition in the near future will play a significant role in the determining the character of the global economy.Wal-Mart World'simpressively broad scope makes itnecessary reading for anyone interested in the global impact of this economic colossus.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. vii
Wal-Mart and the World
The Geostrategy of Global Business: Wal-Mart and Its Historical Forbears	p. 3
Wal-Mart Nation: Mapping the Reach of a Retail Colossus	p. 15
Wal-Mart's World	p. 27
Early Years and Store Location
Discounting Northern Capital: Financing the World's Largest Retailer from the Periphery	p. 47
Wal-Mart Supercenter Market Share of Grocery Retailing in U.S. Metropolitan Areas	p. 55
Wal-Mart-scapes in Rural and Small-Town America	p. 63
Organizational Culture
Falling Prices, Happy Faces: Organizational Culture at Wal-Mart	p. 79
Wal-Mart: The New Retail Colossus	p. 91
Labor and the Wal-Mart Effect	p. 99
Wal-Mart as a Phenomenon in the Legal World: Matters of Scale, Scale Matters	p. 115
Culture, Communities, and Conflicts
The Institutional Semiotics of Wal-Mart Flyers and Signage in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and China	p. 143
Cathedrals of Consumption: A Political Phenomenology of Wal-Mart	p. 163
Visualizing Wal-Mart as Home: Where the Heart Is and King of the Hill	p. 179
Examining Wal-Mart's Relationships with Local Communities through Investigation of Advertising	p. 193
Wal-Mart and Partisan Politics: From Agricultural Volatility to Red-State Culture	p. 203
The Wal-Martification of Teotihuacan: Issues of Resistance and Cultural Heritage	p. 213
Globalization
Global Production and Distribution: Wal-Mart's Global Logistics Empire (with Special Reference to the China/Southern California Connection)	p. 227
ASDA: Wal-Mart in the United Kingdom	p. 243
Challenges Facing Wal-Mart in the German Market	p. 261
The Myth of Wal-Martization: Retail Globalization and Local Competition in Japan and Germany	p. 275
Penetrating the Great Wall, Conquering the Middle Kingdom: Wal-Mart in China	p. 293
Consuming Wal-Mart: A Case Study in Shenzhen	p. 315
Supermarkets and the (M)art of Ling Shou	p. 331
Globalization of Food Retailing and the Consequences of Wal-Martization in Mexico	p. 343
Wal-Mart Goes South: Sizing Up the Chain's Mexican Success Story	p. 357
Bibliography	p. 369
Contributors	p. 399
Index	p. 403
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