From Globalisation to Internationalisation to Americanisation: the Example of ‘Little Americas’ in the Hotel Sector

Abstract

There is currently much debate and discussion about the globalisation of the world’s economy. Much of this rhetoric, however, has little empirical purchase. A range of studies have questioned both the ontology and epistemology of globalisation (for a review of this literature, see Warhurst et al., 1998). These authors conclude that the epistemology of globalisation is erroneously applied to the ontology of an international economy. At the same time, despite claims for its demise, some commentators are suggesting that Americanisation best characterises the world’s economy (see for example, Friedman, 1999; Hutton, in Giddens and Hutton, 2000). This chapter enjoins these debates by critiquing the globalisation thesis and asserting the internationalness of the world’s economy, providing an empirical illustration of Americanisation with the development of the international hotel sector.