Wal-Mart World

With a billion shoppers worldwide, Wal-Mart World is the first book to look at this incredibly important phenomenon in global perspective, its broad scope makes it essential reading for anyone interested in the global impact of this economic colossus.

Part I: Corporation History and the American Experience 1. Northwest Arkansas: The Home of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 2. "Reading" Wal-Mart's Success Through the American Experience: Mixes of Frontierism, Consumerism, Grassroots Entrepreneurialism, Rural Renaissance and Globalization Part II: The Corporation 3. Global Production Networks and Local Distributors: Wal-Mart and the Logistics of Production 4. The Wal-Mart Nexus: Corporate Elites and Networks 5. Wall Street and Wal-Mart: Overcoming Headquarters Isolation To Finance the Creation of the World's Largest Retailer 6. The Wal-Martization of the U.S. Food Industry 7. Wal-Mart Supercenter Market Share in Grocery Retailing the U.S. Metropolitan Areas 8. Women Workers at Wal-Mart Part III: Globalization 9. Wal-Mart's World 10. The Geopolitics of Global Business: Wal-Mart and the Wider World 11. Retailers of the World Unite: What Happens When Retailers Rule the World 12. Wal-Mart, Inc., gov.: Far Eastern Tales of Consumer-Led Democracy 13. Penetrating the Emerging Markets: The Entry and Expansion of Wal-Mart in China 14. Consuming Wal-Mart: A Case Study in Shenzhen 15. Challenges Facing Wal-Mart in the German Market 16. The Myth of Wal-Martization: Retail Globalization and Local Competition in Germany and Japan 17. Wal-Mart in Mexico: A Retail Sector in Transition 18. Is Wal-Mart the New Standard Bearer of Industrial Relations in America 19. Wal-Mart as a Legal Strategy 20. Is Design Review an Effective Tool in Shaping Wal-Mart To Fit the Inner City Setting? 21. The Resistance of Rural African-American Communities to Wal-Mart Developments Part V: Consumerism and Popular Culture 22. The Institutional Semiotics of Wal-Mart's Retail Internationalization 23. Cathedrals of Consumption: Commodity Signs and the Walmartization of Consumer Consciousness 24. Marketing, Advertising, and Local Community Relationships in Wal-Mart's Expansion 25. Wal-Mart as a Country Store: A Case Study in Folk Culture and Globalization 26. Wal-Mart and the Rural Landscape 27. Finding the Heart of America in the Aisles of Wal-Mart: Where the Heart Is as a Popular Culture Discourse 28. Photoessay on Wal-Mart