MASTER'S THESIS – COPENHAGEN UNIVERSITY

Dissertation in Anthropology 2015/2016 for the Department of Anthropology.

In completion of a Master of Arts in Business and Organisational Anthropology.

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Supervised by Dr Lars Richard Rasmussen

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"Hygge" at the cost of price ­ or ­ price at the cost of

"hygge" ? An Anthropological Investigation of Shopper's

Perceptions, Expectations and Danish Cultural Values Inside

a Commercial Shopping­environment

By

Nicholas Hayden Winther

2016

196,000 anslag

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Abstract The present dissertation explores the perceptions and structural expectations of shoppers at Danish

home and furniture retailer JYSK. The aim is to present a nuanced and empirically grounded

understanding of the experiences and structural expectations of shoppers, and through a combination of

ethnographic interviews and observations the study attempts to explain the polarized gap between the

understandings of what a hyggelig shopping­trip is for my informants.

The study found several conflicting understandings of hygge as well as multiple co­existing 'contracts'

between JYSK and its customers, revealing a conflict of cultural values which are practically being

negotiated on the sales­floor. Whereas one group of informants ­ the convenience­based informants ­

appeared to systematically place more emphasis on convenience as a way to experience hygge, another

group of informants ­ the moderation­based informants ­ found the exact opposite ­ the absence of

atmosphere and convenience to be hyggeligt for them.

The study thus explores the different ­ often conflicting ­ definitions of hygge which seem to co­exist and

operate simultaneously – often in contradiction with each other, to assess whether the meaning of hygge

itself is being renegotiated. These results were achieved and demonstrated, methodologically, through a

Batesonian frame­analysis of systematically gathered interviews and observations of shoppers at JYSK. The study also sheds light on the growing relevance of business anthropology, not only in providing

valuable business­centred insights about consumers, but also its additional capacity to contribute to

current issues and debates in anthropological theor y.

Keywords: Frame­analysis, JYSK, perceptions, hygge , structural expectations, Danish cultural values,

atmospherics, ethnography, denotational shifts, shopping­experience, environmental influences, symbolic

battle­field, social classes.

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INDEX Chapter I: The Rise of JYSK in the History of Danish Discount Retail The Beginnings of JYSK The Values of JYSK The JYSK Consumer Expectations in the 1980s and 1990s Chapter II: Danish Cultural Values and Consumption Practices Interiority and Exteriority: Materialistic Shelters of Morality Practices of Consumption Rooted in Historically Idealised Values Constructing Hygge Through Design Chapter III: On The Organisation of the Frameworks of Perception Frame­Breaking ­ The Denotational Shift The Relationship Between Personal Identity and Social Identity Psychological Frameworks: Negotiating the Definition of Reality The Danish PH­Lamp Part II: The Analysis ­ The Shopping­Experience at JYSK Introducing the Moderation­ and the Convenience­Based Frameworks Finding I: Diverging Understandings of Hygge in the Atmosphere of JYSK: The Critical Point: Hygge or Non­Hygge ? The In­store Music ­ Positive Experiences The In­Store Music ­ Negative Experiences The Social Aspect ­ Positive Experiences The Store’s Design and Layout

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On the Contextual Presentation of Merchandise: JYSK on Vermlandsgade vs. “The JYSK­apartment ” Convenience­based Expectations Moderation­based Expectations “Småt men Godt” Negotiating the Nature of the Context A Matter of Setting ­ or Framework

Finding II: ­ Mapping out the Contracts The Appearance of ‘Contracts’ The Strategic Sacrifice of Hygge ­ and the Weakening of the Convenience­based Contract Variations in the Symbolic Interpretations of the Store­lightning A Historical Comparison of the Contracts The Original Contract The ‘Emotional Connection’ as a Binding Incentive The Weakening Contract with the Convenience­based Group Image­Problems with JYSK and with Larsen Himself Finding III ­ The Symbolic Battle­field of Hygge

Moderation­based Hygge Convenience­based Hygge Hygge as a Vehicle for Social Control in an Egalitarian Culture Part III: The Analysis Framework and Methodology Passive Participant Observation The Ethnographic Interview Ethical Considerations The Issue of Consent Interpersonal Relations in the Field Untranslated Danish Data

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Reflexivity and Social Distance The Ethnographer’s Body: Acquiring Bodily Competence in new Roles

Chapter 6: Reflections on the Frame­analysis The Issues of Framing and Representation The Fragile Frameworks of an Ethnographic Interview at JYSK Reflecting on Sensitive Questions and Self­reporting: The 'Scene­effect' Ethnography ‘at Home’ The Emergence of Business Anthropology On the Genesis of the Danish Class­Habitus Danes as “Class Deniers” Conclusion Bibliography

1. Introduction

The present dissertation sets out to explore the attitudes, perceptions and structural

expectations of shoppers at Danish home and furniture retailer JYSK at Vermlandsgade.

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The aim was to explore how shoppers at JYSK organise their perceptions and expectations of

what a hyggelig shopping­experience means for them, during their visit to JYSK.

It became clear to me in the field that the feeling of hygge was the most common and widely

used way for my informants to describe how they had perceived their shopping­experience as

well as varying parts of the atmospheric or environmental surroundings (e.g the music, staff etc).

I was struck by how often I would hear the word hygge , which was often many times per

interview, which made me focus more on the concept of hygge , its practical usage by my

informants, as well as how, when , and why it was used by my informants to describe to me how

they felt or how they perceived various parts of their shopping­experience.

It turned out, that hygge was not remotely experienced in the same way by all my informants,

and it became clear that I needed to further explore how my informants experienced their

atmospheric surroundings during their shopping­trip in relation to their use and construction of

hygge ­mood.

Using a Batesonian frame­analysis, I therefore started to look at how my informants

constructed, deconstructed as well as evaluated their experiences of the environment in relation

to hygge ­ and how they often seemed to do so very differently from one another.

To some informants, for example, the framework of hygge could only be created or maintained if

the atmosphere lived up to certain high atmospheric criteria such as for example specific music

playing, convenient and precise in­store communications, or employee service. To the opposite

group hygge was a feeling that could only be maintained under radically different ­ sometimes

exact opposite ­ and comparatively very moderate atmospheric circumstances.

As a result of uncovering the two diverging understandings – or competing – 'versions' or

understandings ­ of hygge , the study went on to explore, how different informants practically

perceive—and negotiate between—core Danish cultural values, such as “moderation ”,

“informality ”, “egalitarianism” and “middle­class life ”; and I explore whether these values cancel

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each other out or if they can operate and even co­exist simultaneously for different groups of

informants.

As a consequence of this wondering, the following research­question was formed: "Hygge" at

the cost of price ­ or ­ price at the cost of "hygge"? How do informants practically

negotiate their perceptions of the hyggelig shopping­experience during their visit to

JYSK.

The research­question opens up for a Batesonian frame­analysis of the different frameworks of

perception informing and guiding the thoughts and actions of my informants inside JYSK

(Bateson 1972), and it paves the way for an exploration of the relations between several

different experiences and perceptions of a hyggelig shopping­atmosphere and

shopping­experience.

It also allows me to address some equally interesting questions that relate to the

research­question such as:

1. Why do some informants continue to shop at JYSK if they consider it to lack hygge

and/or convenience?

2. How do their 'contract' with JYSK practically differ from the 'contracts' of other groups?

3. Are there any overlaps between the frames?

4. Does the contradictory way in which informants understand hygge suggest there is a

symbolic battle going on for the right to define the feeling of hygge ?

These and more questions will be investigated in the analysis and in the following discussion.

As a result of the ethnographic data collected in the engagement phase, the most relevant

findings are listed as the following:

Finding I The results of the qualitative ethnographic interviews, inside and around the perimeter of JYSK

on Vermlandsgade, revealed a polarized experience of how a hyggelig shopping­experience

was perceived in relation to various parts of the environment for different informants.

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For many informants, hygge appeared to play a central role when it comes to describing,

defining, and understanding their experience, because, regardless of how they perceived their

surroundings, hygge was the most common way for informants to try to establish a common

measurement of understanding in relation to their experience.

However, it soon became more complicated when I tried to understand what exactly my

informants meant by hyggelig .

The results in the first finding show that two competing – even conflicting ­ 'versions' of hygge

appear to co­exist simultaneously when my informants were asked about their

shopping­experience and how they perceived the atmosphere of JYSK.

The moderation­based framework and the convenience­based framework emerged as the two dominant versions of a hyggelig shopping­atmosphere.

Finding II As a result of the frame­analysis of informant­experiences in the previous section, it emerged

that two dominant 'versions' – or guiding structural frameworks ­ of a hyggelig

shopping­experience were used to 'map out' how two different 'contracts' could co­exist between

JYSK and my informants, namely the moderation­based contracts and the opposing convenience­based contracts. In this second finding, I continue to explore the most fragile parts of the frames, the parts where

the Fregean “denotational shift ” may occur in the experiences of my informants, and where their

frames of experience may break.

Results in this finding show how a group of informants increasingly appear to reject former

values ­ and former 'versions' of hygge ­ such as “moderation ”, “informality ” and

“price­consciousness ” and instead valued ­ and expected ­ an added atmospheric element of

convenience.

The finding also sheds light on the various strategic sacrifices that all my informants had to

make when deciding to shop at JYSK as opposed to other places, and lastly offers a historical

comparative analysis of the contracts of the original JYSK customers of the 1980s and 1990s

and my contemporary JYSK informants whom I met and spoke to on Vermlandsgade.

A comparative historical analysis between the earliest JYSK customers and my contemporary

informants found several diverging tendencies, which not only led to problems for my

convenience­based informants in experiencing hygge , but also revealed a potential value

conflict concerning how hygge was defined, negotiated and what it practically meant for my

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informants when they were navigating the store­environment which may serve to emotionally

alienate informants (­from both groups­) from JYSK and founder Larsen over time, potentially

causing the contract between JYSK and its customers to weaken or break.

Finding III Hygge has in anthropological literature often been described as something only the Danish

middle class could obtain.

On the basis of my findings, I argue that hygge , as a historically informed and culturally

idealised social construct, may be starting to add a new layer to its layers of meaning as a result

of how different social groups perceive it in relation to their changing surroundings, such as

those experienced on the sales­floor of JYSK in this field­work.

I therefore highlight the difference between how it is commonly understood in social and

anthropological discourse, and how it is practically used and understood by my informants in the

field showing how my study is related to and contributing to the anthropological heritage of

empirical studies.

The dissertation consists of three parts as follows:

Part I: The context of the study In this part I introduce the contextual setting my study builds on.

In the first chapter, I will describe the emergence of the JYSK­company, the personal

involvement of founder Larsen, and describe how his own ideals and values were instrumental

in the shaping of JYSK.

In the second chapter, I will move on to discussing several core Danish cultural values, such as

“moderation ”, “informality ”, “egalitarianism” and “middle­class life ”, all values which Larsen

believed in and which helped him create a business enterprise catering exactly for those values

in “ordinary ” working­class Danes.

In the third chapter, I turn my attention to the theory on the organisation of perception and

experience, and describe and review the most useful tools which can help to understand how

attitudes and perceptions are gradually formed over time, and how there are structural principles

which govern our experience of the world.

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In the last chapter of the first part, I discuss the emergence and role of business anthropology

and describe a few theoretical problems with the analysis of frames which have been pointed

out recently.

Part II: The analysis of the study In this part I begin by introducing the shopping­experiences of my informants. I listen to their

attitudes and perceptions of the physical, the ambient and the social environment of JYSK.

Using a Batesonian frame­analysis, I systematically catalogue their experiences and structural

expectations, in relation to their experiences and structural expectations of hygge .

Thereafter, I present the convenience­ and the moderation­based frameworks of experience and the resulting ‘contracts’ that constitute their relationship with the JYSK company.

I compare and contrast the contemporary contracts with the original contract between JYSK and

its first generation of customers in the 1980s and 1990s and map out several commonalities and

also differences. I then turn my attention to the phenomenon of hygge itself, its many symbolic

meanings and social and cultural associations, and I interpret this as evidence of a class­based

struggle to earn the right to control its meaning.

Lastly, I reflect upon the so­called ‘scene­effect’ and discuss what its potentially distorting

effects may be on my collected data, and I also evaluate the role and potential of business

anthropology in relation to being able to contribute to current issues within contemporary

anthropological theory.

Part III: Framework and Methodology In this part, I begin by reviewing the methods concerning the process of data­collection.

I discuss my role as a passive participant observer in my field as well as the main source of

empirical material, which is the classic ethnographic interview. In this regard, I also consider

principal ethical concerns and in relation to this: The issue of consent as well as how to

responsibly manage interpersonal relations in the field.

I then move on to reflecting upon the topic of data­treatment. This includes theory­building,

treatment of raw­data, and my decision not to translate the data from Danish into English.

Lastly, I consider contemporary debates on framing and I discuss the emergence of business

anthropology and evaluate its relevance to the anthropological perspective. I also discuss the

emergence of the class­habitus and consider the problems of studying issues relating to social

class in an egalitarian society, where most Danes objectively would consider themselves as

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‘class­deniers’. To conclude the chapter, I discuss the limitations of frame­analysis and the

potentially distorting effects of asking sensitive questions and the so­called ‘scene­effect’, and

finally, I discuss the fact that I am doing my ethnographic fieldwork ‘at home’.

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Part I: The context of the study

Chapter 1: The Rise of JYSK in the history of Danish

Discount­Retail

In order to understand the context that my fieldwork takes place in, I want to describe 'The rise

of JYSK '.

For this purpose, I have chosen to make use of founder Lars Larsen's own self­biography

“Go'daw Jeg hedder Lars Larsen og jeg har et godt Tilbud! ” (transl . “Hi! My name is Lars Larsen

and I have a good offer! ”) which he published in 2004.

The reason for this is, although it is his own private account of the rise of his own enterprise,

that it is simultaneously a book which was sent out to all Danish households (appx. 2,4 mill.

households at the time) and therefore can be seen as a relevant cultural artefact which many of

my informants may be familiar with in one way or another.

Hence, although the publication could be viewed as a 'tactical marketing­ or PR­stunt', it is also

itself a 'story'—or a collectively shared cultural vision—which has influenced the views, opinions

and structural perceptions that my informants have come to form of not just JYSK, or Larsen

himself, but also of the social, ethical, moral and cultural values, among others, which gradually

shaped his growing enterprise.

According to Danish news­media Berlingske Business (2004), the self­biography by Larsen is

the most­read of its kind in Denmark. Over 800,000 Danes have already read the whole book.

And twice as many (1,6 mill.) have read “parts of it ”, or “plan to read it ”.

Studies conducted by the independent research institute for market and opinion­analysis

SONAR have shown that “62% of those, who have read the book, left school before the age of

twenty ” (ibid . 2004).

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Notably, however, these statistics have been formed by self­reporting, which itself can be

questioned in relation to how these numbers correspond to how many people have really read it

to finish. I will discuss this issue more in the chapter on methodology; however, I still use the

book of Larsen as a pool of information about my chosen field.

Lars Larsen himself does not find it strange that many Danes without a long education have

read the book and was quoted responding: “We champion [low] prices here at JYSK so our

customers typically come from the lower end (...) [of Danish society]”. Instead he found it

interesting that the book was read by many who do not normally read.

In the last section of the chapter, I explore what kind of 'first generation' customers (or his

earliest customers) would historically visit JYSK, what their structural expectations to their visit

were, how much they were willing to sacrifice whilst on the hunt for the best possible bargains.

This information I will make use of later in the study's analysis, to compare and contrast it to

what the contemporary customers in 2015 expected from their visit to my field at JYSK on

Vermlandsgade.

The Beginnings of JYSK

On the first of August 1979 on Silkeborgvej in Aarhus founder “købmand ” (transl . 'businessman')

Lars Kristinus Larsen followed his “tovlige ” (transl . 'crazy') idea and opened his first ever JYSK

Sengetøjslager.

It was the first of over 100 stores to be opened in Denmark and over 2,200 worldwide, as of

today’s writing, in more than 37 countries. It was also the beginning of a piece of Danish

enterprise history with a young man from Thy on the Western coast of Jutland, who, with his

intimate understanding of the Danish ­especially the Jutlandish­ mentality came to champion the

early concept of discount (­albeit a slightly modified version of Discount­), and who is now

famous for the concept of “det gode tilbud ” (transl . “The good offer ”) (Larsen 2004:44).

This concept hit a nerve within the Danish mentality because it in many ways mirrored the core

Danish values discussed in the preceding sections such as “moderation ”, “ordinariness ”,

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“modesty ” as well as the cheapest deals the home and furniture market had ever seen (Linnet

2011).

The name, “JYSK Sengetøjslager ”, according to Larsen, was supposed to signal as much as

possible of what he, himself, stands for: His stores are meant to be “warehouses ” without fancy

interior decorations or expensive installations, just simple, plain and functional in essence: Here

one can find the cheapest deals for a good price – because customers have “the unique

opportunity to buy straight from the warehouse ” (Larsen 2004:45) without additional costs from

any middlemen or “grossister ”.

Larsen was personally deeply involved in the opening of the first 50 JYSK­stores in Denmark,

and throughout his focus was simple: The location had to be cheap, yet convenient for the

customers, have plenty of storage­space, and inside the stores everything must be functional.

However, importantly for Larsen, and this is where his own homemade discount concept

departs from our traditional understanding of the discount­concept, was the idea that staff had to

be highly trained and knowledgeable about the products in order to be able to deliver all the

help and expertise that the customers could want (Larsen 2004:42).

The customers loved his simple, yet convincing, concept, and at almost all of his early openings

in Jutland and even Sealand from the year 1981 onwards, people were forming long queues

down the streets before the stores had even opened their doors. It was a massive success, and

people quickly began to cherish Larsen, who by many (incl. Larsen himself) was seen as almost

synonymous with JYSK (Larsen 2004).

After the first 50 stores had opened, Larsen himself had limited time to personally participate in

the openings like he had done earlier, and instead he spent much of his time doing what he

says he does best: Travelling the world (“indkøbsrejser ”) (initially Portugal, then later—and still

currently—countries such as Brazil, Thailand and China) in search of the “best offers ” available

at the factories or product­fares where he would buy merchandise in bulk before shipping it back

to Europe (Larsen 2004).

Larsen was often portrayed as identical with his business in many ways, not just by himself but

also by the Danish media (Larsen 2004). He became renowned for refusing to fly 'first class' on

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his many trips around the world, but instead opted in for what he called “monkey class ”, and he

would encourage that his team share rooms in “modest ” hotels instead of everyone getting a

luxury hotel­room each (Larsen 2004:81). He thought of this as wasteful and “unnecessary

luxury ”, and this 'philosophy' is very closely related to the arch­typical Danish values of

“modesty ”, “moderation ” and “hanging between high and low ” which I will discuss later (Linnet

2011).

Larsen became known for championing important Danish values in his concept and many of his

customers loved this.

Many working­class Danes could relate to him being “down­to­earth ” and “human ”, just another

person that they – as ordinary Danes ­ could relate to (Linnet 2011:28).

Larsen himself was raised by his widowed mother who taught him to cherish these Danish

values (his father had passed away just before he was born). Throughout his youth, he says

that he always identified himself indeed as “hanging in between high and low ” of society (Linnet

2011:28). He often spoke about his experience as a child where he was invited home, as

“Slikmutters søn ” (transl . “Son of the owner of the towns sweets shop ”) to some of the elites of

the society of his day (transl . “hjem til borgerskabet ”): Barrister Lind, Butcher Kristensen, Baker

Andersen, Veterinarian Jørgensen, Ford dealer Mortensen, Doctor Belter... etc­., while he was

also not afraid to visit his school­friend “Svend ” at the local “fattighus ” (transl . “poorhouse ”).

The Values of JYSK

Larsen considers the Danish people to be “masters of hominess ” (Larsen 2004:146). Nobody

else in the world have such intimate knowledge of the home sphere of life, interiority and cosy

decorations etc. than do the Danes.

He often thinks of JYSK as essentially exporting Danishness and Danish values around the

world through his stores (Larsen 2004:146).

On his first ever opening of a transatlantic store in the American state of New Jersey, he, for

instance, invited a copy of world­famous Danish author H.C. Andersen along with animated

figures of Vikings along to the opening.

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Larsen and JYSK have always been viewed as one and the same thing by many Danes (Larsen

2004:117).

As mentioned, this is because he managed to connect to the values and the worldview of the

“ordinary ” Dane, the modest “middle­class ” Dane who simply wanted a good deal – without all

the unnecessary presentations, “formality” and status­seeking decorations. He managed to

connect to the arch­typical Danish core­mentality of “middle­class lifestyles ”, “informality ” and

“egalitarianism ” which themselves are built on hundreds of years of continuous

meaning­building (Linnet 2011:31).

In 1987 a new form of media came to Denmark, TV­commercials. Larsen had followed the

spreading of TV­commercials across Europe and realised that this “TV halløj ” (transl . “TV stuff ”)

could be a useful tool for his own business. Given that he, already at the time, was seen by

many as identical with his business, it “was in the cards ” that he himself, “KØBMANDEN ”,

should be the symbolic front figure of JYSK in these new TV­commercials (Larsen 2004).

Over time, his personal status became that of a “national icon ” through his famed television

appearances, where he, personally, stood in front of the Danish people during prime sending

time and pitched his good deals starting off with the quintessentially JYSK phrase: “Go'daw –

Jeg hedder Lars Larsen og jeg har et godt tilbud! ” (Transl . “Greetings – My name is Lars Larsen

– and I have a good offer! ”) (ibid . 2004).

Danish audiences could easily “connect ” ­ or emphasise ­ with this simple, clear, message, and

despite competitors in the industry having to spend hundreds of thousands of Danish kroner on

“fancy, high­tech, state­of­the­art ” TV­commercials, he was the one that the Danes would

remember (Larsen 2004:114).

As the Danish trade union magazine “Fagbladet ” wrote in 1987 “Han går rent ind ” (transl . “The

audience accepts his message ”). According to Larsen, profits rose 15­20% in the entire area

which TV­Syd covered.

The JYSK Consumer Expectations in the 1980s and 1990s.

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After having described the Rise of JYSK and many of the cultural values surrounding its

emergence, I want to look at the typical JYSK­customer at the time during the rise of the

company.

The typical customers of JYSK, whom Larsen describe, and whom JYSK catered for in its

earliest of days, I argue, can be described as the same type of ”ordinary Danes ” whom Linnet

(2011) and Löfgren (1987) speak about. Linnet describes the ordinary, working­class Danes, by

character, as very price­conscious and often showing great willingness, perseverance and also

pleasure in the search for a ”good bargain ”.

There was a strong symbolic significance attached to deciding to shop at JYSK, because those

who did showed that they were ”price­conscious ” and would ”make do ” with slightly

lesser—although acceptable—quality (although Larsen sometimes states that his merchandise

is of top quality).

This view echoes his own values and attitudes of, for example, not needing five­star hotel

accommodation and first­class travel (Larsen 2004). There was no need for ”fancy and

unnecessary excess ” which in many ways corresponds to Larsen's own personal views that

”luxury ” was a form of ”unnecessary waste ” (Larsen 2004:81).

Many of Larsen's stores were strategically located outside of city­centres, on more cost­effective

locations, and although this was—according to himself—a bit of ”an experiment ” (it being a very

unorthodox placement for a big furniture­store at the time), he felt a suspicion that many Danes

would be ”willing to travel far ” for the best bargains (Larsen 2004:44) – just like he himself

showed great willingness to travel far away around the globe in search of the best offers.

As long as the stores were easily accessible and had good parking opportunities, the location

was perfect, and this also made it possible to make bigger sized stores which could house more

merchandise (ibid . 2004).

Overall, Larsen's concept was simple and easy­to­learn, and many customers felt that he in

many ways was like one of them, and indeed both Larsen and his own first­generation

customers did have many social, cultural and moral values in common.

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He was himself a man self­identifying as “hanging in between high and low ” of society (JYSK

2004:13; Linnet 2011:25), as he described in his biography, and he knew that many of his

customers also shared this view about themselves.

The successful rise of JYSK, I argue, was largely due to the fact that he managed to 'strike a

nerve' in the core­Danish cultural mentality of catering for those price conscious “ordinary ”

Danes, “hanging in between high and low ” of society, and the fact that he successfully managed

to forge a symbolic image of himself, as well as his brand, which in many ways corresponds to

central cultural elements in Danish society (Linnet 2011; Goffman 1959), cultural values and

consumption practices which I’ll explore in the following chapter.

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Chapter 2. Danish Cultural Values and Consumption Practices

The following chapter will present a socio­historic review of the formation of several core Danish

values, including the phenomenon of hygge , that, despite of being a construct of hundreds of

years of meaning­building, still, in many ways, captures central aspects of what it means to be

Danish today, according to Danish social anthropologist Linnet (2011).

The aim is to give a contextual understanding of the cultural values which I argue are negotiated

at the JYSK shopping arena where my fieldwork took place, and as such function to give an

understanding of why and how these values are important in relation to the analysis of my data.

Hygge is an example of a highly regarded Danish value, which, over time, has become a ”social

phenomenon ” that virtually all contemporary Danes can relate to, and its importance as an

idealised ”national icon ” is ubiquitously experienced among native Danes in everyday situations

(Linnet 2011:38).

The deeper meaning behind the word hygge , as mentioned, is a product of centuries of

meaning­building, and ever since its initial appearance in the Old Norse language it has served

as a dynamic vector of cultural and social meanings which were formed as a direct result of the

continuous relationship between the Danish nation, the surrounding world and finally, its people

(ibid . 2011:38).

Using the emic Danish understanding of hygge , the aim of this chapter is to situate the study

thematically within the broader socio­historical context of Danish middle­class consumption

practices and Danish cultural values which have been found to be historically rooted as a trait in

Scandinavian culture and every­day life (Linnet 2011:21).

Hansen (1980) found that hygge is not itself an implicit cultural value, but rather ”it represents

implicit cultural values such as balance and moderation ” (Hansen 1980 cited in Linnet 2011:23).

Disagreeing, however, I argue that many Danes are not aware of the many social, cultural,

ethical, economic and even religious complexities behind its creation, and thus I find that the

word itself, in everyday life, has come to represents a distinct cultural value by itself. Its

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everyday ”ritualistic ” and ”habitual ” usage is ubiquitously understood within contemporary

Danish society as a potent carrier of ”normative meanings ” and ”cultural assumptions ” among

native, middle­class Danes (ibid. 2011:23).

The processes of meaning­building of hygge are rooted in—or are the complex product

of—environmental, historical, economic, religious, and political conditions which over time have

come to account for the present­day emic understanding of the practice of hygge (ibid .

2011:40).

According to Linnet (2011:22), the etymological origin of hygge emerges from the Norwegian

language and before that from Old Norse. For many hundreds of years, the notion of hygge has

been rooted in the ego­centric three­class system, with the ego representing the middle­class

worldview of ”hanging between high and low ” (Liechty cited in Linnet 2011:24; Faber 2008).

The word, which also stands for a desirable form of social interaction, captures rudimentary

Danish cultural values concerning “egalitarianism ”, “sociality ”, “the home ”, middle­class lifestyles

(including its implicit codexes for patterns of consumption, for example, why go on holiday to

far­away, exotic places, when camping at home with the family can be even better?

Hygge, I agree with Linnet (2011), simultaneously acts as a ”vehicle for social control ”, because

it inaugurates its own ”hierarchy of social attitudes ”, and furthermore it implicitly contains a

negative stereotyping of any social classes, apart from themselves (the Danish middle­class), as

unable of creating or facilitating hygge (Linnet 2011:21).

As such, hygge in many ways is comparable to other “egalitarian producing mechanisms ” such

as meat­sharing, mocking, witchcraft/sorcery accusations or gossiping found in the

anthropological record, for instance seen among the ! Kung herdsmen of the Kalahari Desert in

Namibia, because it acts as an encoded social practice that also aims to control anyone who

have 'gotten too big for their boots' (Weston 2011; Douglas 1963).

Such principles similarly aim to establish – and maintain ­ an egalitarian social order in which

feelings of pride, prestige or other status­enhancing feelings are being considered dangerous

and a threat to the social cohesion of the group (Weston 2011).

20

For this reason, I agree with Gullestad (1992:174) that hygge can be viewed as a form of

“inter­class­critique ” of the “fine people ” of the upper social strata, according to the principle of

'equality as sameness' (Linnet 2011:36).

Historically, the meaning of the present­day hygge appears to show a ”structural continuity ” with

the eighteenth­century meanings rooted in a power­struggle between the aristocracy and the

bourgeoisie or the so­called 'ordinary Danes' of the day: The peasants (Linnet 2011:31).

Several times in Danish history, Denmark found itself losing large territories to foreign powers,

and to emotionally cope with these losses, ordinary Danes of the time began to focus on the

positive aspects:

They have not lost it all – they still have each other, and they still possess the ability to enjoy

each other’s company (ibid . 2011).

Schwarz (1980:4 in Linnet 2011:37) found this to be a central aspect of the Danish national

identity, and several popular Danish sayings such as ”hvad udad tabes, skal indad vindes ”

(transl . “What is lost to the outside, must be won on the inside ”) reflect this deeply rooted

collective national mentality.

The self­image as 'small, but significant' became a way to imagine and romanticize the Danish

national character, and associated desired values began to build up around this notion of the

'underdog': The idealised focus on interiority, moral superiority, moderation and authenticity

became ways for people to make sense of—and justify—their disadvantaged economic and

territorial situation (ibid . 2011:37):

The 'ordinary Danes' may not have had any political, economic or military power, but they had

verbal and social power to resist their oppressors (Weston 2011).

From early times, the elites of Danish – and even Scandinavian ­ society were depicted as

having a “shallow ”, “superfluous ” and “inauthentic ” social life with little intimacy and little

emotional involvement between family members (Löfgren 1987 in ibid. ; Linnet 2011:31),

because all their efforts were imagined to be directed toward personal enrichment.

According to Hastrup (1992 cited in Linnet 2011:31), envy has always been perceived as a

”dangerous force ”, not only within Danish society, but also within the wider realm of

Scandinavian culture.

21

Interiority and Exteriority: Materialistic Shelters of Morality

In this section I will move on to discussing how the home has become an idealised Danish

symbol of “safety ”, “moral superiority ”, “informality ” and a form of romanticized ‘inner sanctum’

where hygge is commonly experienced through ritualistic social practices, such as playing

games, joking or watching a movie etc. (Linnet 2011:23).

Danish novelist Jeppe Åkjær noted the analogy of a little child who is hygging inside the womb

of its mother as a form of ”arch­hygge ” (Åkjær cited in Linnet 2011:32), all while the whole world

outside is in flames.

A central Danish cultural dynamic is revealed between the inside social space of the womb (or

analogously, the family­home) and the compromised outside space which is not only seen as

dangerous but also morally inferior compared to the safety and self­proclaimed moral

righteousness of the inside realm (Linnet 2011:32).

The home came to represent a sacred—and sheltered—form of ”safe habitat ” only for trusted

like­minded peers (ibid . 2011:22), a place where 'special rules' apply and where individuals from

similar social backgrounds are free to congregate and practice hygge all whilst experiencing an

intimate form of ”emotional closeness ” (ibid . 2011:24), within a confined physical space, and

where active efforts must constantly be made to repress any signs of difference or social

distinctions (ibid . 2011:24; Goffman 1959).

The home – although itself materialistic in nature ­ is also a sacred symbolic shelter against the

profane realm of the outside world (Durkheim 1912; Linnet 2011; Bille 2012). The outside world

is imagined to be dominated by market­forces, empty values, pretensions and snobbery. In the

outside sphere, people are qualitatively different from one another in terms of worth, status and

prestige, but on the inside realm, everyone is thought to be equal (Linnet 2011:32). Outside, the

forces of the market determine who belongs where in the social hierarchy of Danish society.

Inside, there is no social hierarchy.

Similar instances of egalitarian­producing mechanisms found in contemporary Danish society

are the so­called “Jante Law ” drawn up by Danish­Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose

(1899­1965).

22

Its ten rules serve to bring anybody who has gotten too big for his/her boots 'back down' again.

Like hygge , it seeks to keep the ordinary middle­class individuals under control, punish and

sanction any deviant behaviour or thoughts that become too aspiring or pretentious for what is

considered socially acceptable behaviour (Linnet 2011:33). This stops any hierarchical relations

from forming and keeps everyone on an even playing­field.

Practices of Consumption Rooted in Historically Idealised Values

Given the cultural and social idealisation of hygge among the Danish middle­class, acts of

consumption became a practical means to facilitate the feeling of hygge, but only if certain rules

were followed. Hygge is thought to be unattainable by higher (or lower) social classes due to

their perceived focus on excessive and “conspicuous consumption ” practices that only serve to

create a ”symbolic distinction ” (Linnet 2011; Bourdieu 1977; Veblen 1902). According to the

middle­class world­view, such distinctions do not really exist and are thus merely symbolic

(Linnet 2011:26; Bourdieu 1977).

Hygge , as the highest, most revered, and most civilized form of socialization, was henceforth

monopolised by the ordinary middle­class Danes. This explains why the middle­class attitudes

to, for example, getting a new phone, when the old one is still working, would be considered

unnecessary and wasteful. Or why going on a simple holiday in a caravan can be just as good

as going on a cruise.

Advantageous social skills that enable or facilitate hygge, such as telling stories, joking and

keeping up an attitude of ”making do ”, are essentially all that is needed for hygge in the Danish

middle­class mentality (ibid . 2011:27).

The quality of social interaction known as hygge is, for the reasons discussed above, a highly

esteemed form of social interaction that can be created through social activities such as

consumption, but it can also be facilitated through thoughtful (­yet inexpensive­) interior designs

and decorations.

23

Constructing hygge Through Design

In the previous sections, I described how hygge is designed socially, by being dependent on the

presence as well as continuous participation of a 'certain kind' of people. In this section I will

review physical and ambient means, by which hygge can be created.

In order to create a hyggelig atmosphere, certain physical and ambient criteria must be fulfilled.

Hygge is quintessentially ”antithetical to excess ”, so the room (which itself must be small and

intimate in size) must be thoughtfully decorated, perhaps with dim mood­lighting from candles or

from a cosy fire­place (forms of lightning that are too bright would not be considered hyggelig

because they lack intimacy) (Bille 2012; Linnet 2011:34).

The reason why hygge is hard to facilitate in a large open space or in a room with an open door,

is that the sheltering­effect begins to fade, because of the risk of anyone uninvited entering to

disrupt the framework of hygge (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:345). This applies particularly to

someone who is unable to create hygge , as it is commonly thought about people from the upper

or lower social classes because of their perceived moral inferiority (Linnet 2011:31).

Danish anthropologist Mikkel Bille (2012) found that Danes often use the lightning in a room to

help create the right conditions for hygge . Dim, indirect and local mood­lightning from a hooded

PH­lamp, for example, he argues, physically makes the room feel smaller and also creates a

form of emotional intimacy between participants. The lightning therefore acts as a symbolic

marker for “informality ”, “sincerity ” and “trust ” and thereby helps sheltering the participants from

the threatening and morally inferior outside realm.

Candles, but also lamps, preferably with a dim yellow glow, are well suited for this purpose (Bille

2012; Bille & Jørgensen 1996; Linnet 2011:34) – as opposed to bright white light which is

perceived as too intense and cold.

All this helps foster a “safe ” and “private ” egalitarian social atmosphere which is required for the

creation of hygge ­mood (Linnet 2011:36; Bille 2012).

24

With regards to the decorations and material objects, it is important that neither of these

symbolize any prestige, achievements or wealth (Linnet 2011:26). Objects such as fine arts,

hand­painted portraits, diplomas, trophies or other displayed awards thus cannot feature as part

of the room's interior decorations, as they are believed to merely intend to display or emphasize

symbolic distinctions between people. “Low­key ”, yet thoughtful decorations—preferably

hand­made—are an ideal way to create a hyggelig interior.

Inexpensive sparkling­wine may be served with a home­cooked meal (ibid . 2011:26­27). This

would be considered ideal, because home­cooked meals signal that the host values

inexpensive, but well­tasting, food over expensive catered food with too much emphasis on

exclusivity and presentation.

Practically, this is a very fine balance to strike for the host.

Based on this review, I conclude that several Danish cultural values, which I have discussed

above, have played a prominent role in shaping my informants’ values­sets about consumption,

including when, why and how often one is expected to consume, but also where consumption

must ideally take place.

All this information is symbolically read as signals which inform the world about one's inner

cultural values, and in the next chapter I will discuss how these signals about consumption and

cultural values are created, dispatched and communicated via psychological frameworks in the

social world (Bateson 1972).

25

Chapter 3. On the Organisation of the Frameworks of Perception

The concept of framing has, ever since its introduction in 1972 by English Anthropologist, social

scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist, Gregory Bateson, widely

been used in various disciplines ranging from sociology (Goffman 1959; Goffman 1981) to

psychology, psychiatry (Watzlawick, Helmick & Jackson 1967; Telles Ribiero 1994), systems

theory, linguistics, media­ and communication studies (Leeds­Hurwitz 2014; Tannen 1993) and

anthropology (Frake 1977).

The versatile and pragmatic use to understanding and exploring aspects of social

constructivism, reality and meaning­building in different contexts have, for instance, been of

great use within the discipline of psychiatry to develop, what Bateson himself referred to as an

“epistemological base for psychiatric theory ” involving family therapy, schizophrenia and

psychotic discourse (Bateson 1954/1972:7).

It is clear that, although Bateson is unanimously credited with originality of the concept, it is also

widely recognized that Canadian­American sociologist and writer, Erving Goffman, and others,

have since made important contributions to the theory of framing in social construction theory.

In his “Frame Analysis ”, for instance, Goffman elaborately and conveniently extends the basic

model of Bateson's frames into his own dramaturgical model, and the result is a complex, yet

rich network of designs, fabrications, out­of­frame activity, inside­the­frame activity, anchoring,

keying, and ­ perhaps most importantly – the building and breaking of the frameworks of

experience (Goffman 1974).

Goffman is widely recognized for his ability to link micro and macro sociology, isolate structural

(cognitive) frameworks of understanding and analyse the tools we use to create social meaning.

The concept of framing has since evolved into an essential instrument when it comes to

addressing and attempting to understand the realities, meanings, perspectives and values of

individual social actors who are constantly being influenced by a wider social and environmental

context (Goffman 1974; Goffman 1959).

26

Meaning­building, meaning­sharing and meaning­conflicts are thus some of the essential

keywords in the theory of framing.

I have chosen to make use of Bateson (1972) and Goffman (1974) in relation to my data

because of their suitability in dealing with informants’ perceptions, meaning­building and

meaning­sharing, and I believe the tools these authors offer are ideal in doing so.

“The first step in defining a psychological frame might be to say that it is (or delimits) a class or

set of messages (or meaningful actions) ” ­ Gregory Bateson (1972a, 46)

Frame­analysis – or framing – is the pragmatical study of semantic­communicational indicators

of contextual meaning (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

It is about what constitutes the frame, about what it delimits or excludes, as well as what it

contains and for what reasons this may be.

Psychological frameworks can exist on several levels; the most obvious and important are

known as primary frameworks, because they immediately define – or delimit ­ the context from

what is outside.

They provide context to a finite province of meaning (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:21).

Secondary frameworks are what the situation is also , and there are always several competing

frameworks at play, acting within their own logic as well as occasionally overlapping, or trying to

influence, or even break each other (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:345).

Framing is also the act of collectively negotiating as well as co­creating meaning within and

between groups of social actors (Bateson 1972).

It is about negotiating reality collectively.

I believe Goffman (1974) is right in his idea that meaning can never reside alone but must be

backed up and be constantly confirmed and reconfirmed by the internal surroundings in order to

be sustained and maintain the semantic structure of the framework (Goffman 1974).

27

According to Bateson, the context of a situation (séance, ceremony, hygge etc.) determines its

meaning (Bateson 1972).

It does so though adding, removing and negotiating meaning in the endless signs and

constellations of signs that delimits that situation (Goffman 1974).

I share the opinion with Bateson (1972) and other symbolic interactionists, such as Goffman

(1974), that meaning is never 'natural'—or constant—but socially constructed and

re­constructed, and it is naturally very fragile for the same reason (ibid . 1974:439). The context

of a situation is co­influenced and co­determined by the intentionality of the interlocutors.

Individual pieces of 'information' are strategically dispatched as signs, hints, marks, codes,

ciphers, or gestures, as symbols, as vectors of social meaning, and therefore, in combination,

convey (­or frame­) the meaning or context of a situation (Bateson 1972).

Frame­Breaking – The Denotational Shift

The meaning of an object, gesture or symbol is always guarded by a surrounding framework of

finite meaning, which, also itself, however, is constantly fragile and vulnerable to changes.

Psychological frames have to provide an answer to the question of “what is going on here? ”,

and when they no longer do so, the frame has been collapsed and substituted for another

(Goffman 1974:345). The new frame now denotes the answers to the above stated question.

Meaning, for Bateson (1972) and Goffman (1974),is always rooted in the context. Like a

complex and ever­changing puzzle, the whole picture (­or its meaning­) only emerges after one

is able to see, not just one, but many of the pieces grouped together forming a recognizable

pattern.

Each individual bit of information thus only makes sense in a wider context (Bateson 1972;

Goffman 1959; Goffman 1974; Douglas 1979).

”The discrimination between map and territory is always liable to break down, and the ritual

blows of peace­making are always liable to be mistaken for the ”real” blows of combat. In this

event, the peace­making ceremony becomes a battle ” ­ Gregory Bateson (1972:182)

28

Bits of information inside the frame are typically of the same semantic kind and therefore stand

in stark contrast with bits of information coming from outside the frame (Bateson in Engler &

Gardiner 2012:9; Goffman 1974).

If too many bits of information are of a different nature, or kind, than those around it, they will be

an inconsistent force within the frame and threaten to transform or break it (Goffman 1974:439).

It is critical that whatever is inside the frame, is information of a fundamentally different kind,

than what is outside. Outside signals that enter the frame gradually pollute the picture and

thereby slowly alters the context (Bateson 1972). At some particular point—the denotational

shift—the threshold is reached for what essentially alters the context of the matter

fundamentally, and the framework of meaning ­and experience­ is broken. The context that was

is now gone ­what before was a peace­ceremony has now become a battle­, and a new one has

been preliminarily reinstated, until it too will be challenged and eventually broken (ibid . 1972;

Engler & Gardiner 2012; Goffman 1974:439).

The concepts of inclusion and exclusion are thus essential elements in frame­analysis and the

study of meaning (Goffman 1974).

After having introduced the concept of framing in social discourse, the following section will

present theories of how cultural ideals, via social ”rules ” and psychological frameworks, are

produced and re­produced (or co­produced) practically in all social interactions between social

agents and objects in the field (McCracken 1986; Goffman 1974). The following section will also

highlight useful analytical instruments used to understand culturally idealised values or

”blueprints” for how thoughts and behaviour are both performed and experienced by individual

social actors in the course of everyday micro­level face­to­face social interactions (McCracken

1986:72; Goffman 1974; Goffman 1959).

The Relationship Between Personal Identity and Social Identity

An important consequence of socialization is the gradual development of a character or persona

that reflects the wider social group (Bourdieu 1984; Goffman 1959; Cooley 1922). Social and

cultural values are gradually being internalized by individuals and provide background

29

information that will inform and guide the individuals in terms of positioning their identity­projects

or governing the outcome of social interactions (Goffman 1959).

As described in Chapter II, hygge , for instance, became one such potent vector of Danish

idealized cultural values.

It is a primary framework that provides the initial answer to the question: ”What is happening

here? ” The answer: ”We are hygging ” is enough background information for the native social

actors to understand the primary frameworks that define the context or nature of the situation

(Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

Now the question is, what is the relationship between such collectively idealized values such as

hygge and then people's everyday behaviour? How do idealised roles of society 'trickle down' to

become practically recognisable in terms of simple gestures, attitudes, manoeuvres and so forth

(Mead 1913; Goffman 1959)?

With this in mind, we can see that the way the question is formulated, about how culturally

idealised values— such as hygge —can ”trickle down ” into normative or ritualistic everyday

social behaviours, causes confusion: It is indeed not as if society is an externally existing entity

that social actors are removed from, but rather, there is no external society (Mead 1913;

Goffman 1959).

Within the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism, society is nothing but interacting

individuals (1959).

This means that all social values are passed on from individuals to individuals and from

generation to generation and are hence not ”trickling down ” from an external society to us. This

means that all members of a social group—such as the Danish society—to a substantial extent,

have internalized the same basic sets of culturally idealized values (except for deviants)

(McCracken 1987; Bourdieu 1977; Bourdieu 1984).

Psychological Frameworks: Negotiating The Definition of Reality

30

Social values are part of a wider social reality, and the way this reality gets perceived by

individuals is via a complex and continuous process of collective negotiation of the

circumstances.

”Under what circumstances do we think things are real? ” ­ William James 1869 ”Mind ” cited in

Goffman 1959:2)

The frameworks of understanding in symbolic interactionism are psychological frameworks

which define that situation.

A framework unifies meaningful social and cultural context onto otherwise seemingly

disorganised acts of behaviour, comments, cues, looks, ciphers, gestures or remarks (Goffman

1974; Bateson 1972). It unifies all these individual cues into becoming unified by a governing

principle (Goffman 1959:22). It brings order into chaos and establishes a hierarchy of values

and background understandings for everyone involved (Bateson 1972).

The primary frameworks are equal to the initial answer to the question: ”What is happening

here? ” (ibid . 1958:25). Stated more precisely, primary frameworks of a situation provide the

most fundamental background information which actors need to recognize or establish a stage:

”Is this [social situation] an interview, a movie, a shopping trip, an arrest, a dream etc.” (Bateson

1972:186­187)? Though often, the definition of the situation is too complex to fall under just one

such definition, and sometimes a situation is over­arched by several, perhaps competing, or

conflicting, primary, and secondary frameworks.

The structures of experience are, like the fabric of reality, very fragile social constructs that need

constant support to be sustained for very long at a time (Bateson 1972). They are constantly

under threat, being challenged by competing frameworks which are trying to overthrow them

(Bateson 1972).

This power­struggle is an affair that social actors face every day of their lives in social

co­presence (Goffman 1974).

Each social agent holds a significant amount of power in his or her hands to shatter the

defences as well as the ego of another actor or to break the frameworks that define themselves

or their situation (Goffman 1959). The 'winner' earns the rights to further his own

31

identity­projects, values, and, ultimately, define reality; and the loser is forced to internalize the

potentially traumatic sociopsychological consequences of a bad or insufficient public

performance.

”The important thing about reality [...] is our sense of its realness in contrast to our feelings that

some things lack this quality ” (Goffman 1958:2).

This brings us back to where we started this section: It is about the battle to earn the right to

define the situation.

This right can only be won by putting up a convincing public performance (Goffman 1959;

Goffman 1974).

The loser has to accept that someone else is able to take charge of the situation ­ and of reality.

In moments of sociality, or moments where at least two social actors come together in

co­presence, they have to co­produce the frameworks that define reality (Goffman 1974;

Goffman 1959).

Each social actor will experience a personal version of reality internally, but through his actions

he can export his personal vision about reality to his surroundings.

The inferior social actor is forced to accept that he has to psychologically import another's

perspective of reality. This idea is known within sociology as the Thomas Theorem: The theory

posits that ”If men define their situation as real, it is real in its consequence ” ­ Sir William Isaac

Thomas, 1928.

Reality, like society—or culture—is not an external phenomenon; it is an internal

sociopsychological construct that has to be projected outwardly from individual to individual.

32

The Danish PH­Lamp – An Example of a Symbol with Many Perceptions

A Danish PH Lamp

A gesture, or physical object, is always embedded with strategic meaning (Law & Mol 1995;

Goffman 1959; Mead 1913; Bateson 1972), and just like reality has to be collectively negotiated,

so too, does the meaning of gestures, objects and cultural artifacts.

A Danish PH­lamp, for example, is a simple lamp, at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it is

a symbol that stands for or denotes a whole series of social and cultural meanings (Douglas

1979; Bateson 1972; Bille 2012; Goffman 1974).

It has, for instance, become a national Danish symbol, for one. It has become known for

representing Danishness and it is famous for creating a special kind of light, which many Danes

consider hyggeligt (Bille 2012).

However, the light itself, which the lamp casts, also stands for a special kind of mood­lightning

which represents the Danish values of hygge , “informality ”, “egalitarianism ” and “emotional

33

intimacy ” or a form of interpersonal bond, etc., values which many Danes cherish and thus find

contribute to the framework of hygge ­mood (Bille 2012; Linnet 2011; Bateson 1972).

Outside of the Scandinavian context (even outside the Danish), however, the light and the same

lamp has an entirely different collective social meaning. In the Arab world, for example, the light

represents Allah, and Muhammed is denoted by the lamp (Bille 2012:3). The light here

symbolises “clarity, truth and authenticity ”, while darkness represents “evil ” (ibid . 2012:3).

Danes practically use lightning to make rooms feel smaller, whilst many Arabs use lightning to

make them feel bigger (Bille 2012). Small rooms in Denmark symbolise intimacy and hygge ,

whilst bigger rooms in much of the Arab world symbolises “high social status ” and “prestige ” (he

who has a bigger reception­room, must also be very popular and important) (ibid . 2012:3).

The PH­Lamp, however, is also a status­symbol within Danish society. It has become an iconic

symbol of “prestige ” and has been designed by famous Danish artist Poul Henningsen (Linnet

2011).

The irony, of course, is that the very same lamp, albeit the light cast from this particular lamp, is

commonly regarded as reinforcing “egalitarianism ”, “informality ” and “moderation ” values in

order to facilitate hygge (Bille 2012), whilst simultaneously being a material object with an

intention to signify social distinctions (Bourdieu 1977; Douglas 1979; Linnet 2011:21).

Not all Danes can afford an authentic PH­lamp, and this is why it has become known as a

status­symbol of the upper­middle class or the upper­class of Danish society.

For this reason, the PH­lamp serves as an example of the relativity of values, and it shows how

complex and occasionally contradictory values, objects, and symbols can work.

34

Part II: The Analysis ­ The Shopping­Experience at JYSK In the first part of the analysis, the emphasis is on the way in which my informants practically

make use of the word hygge, or indeed fail to do so, in order to describe to me their perceptions

of their atmospheric surroundings which they experienced on the sales­floor at JYSK.

How a hyggelig atmosphere looks and feels to them, the pragmatics it takes for them to create

it, maintain it, and ultimately what it takes to break them, and why some informants

systematically have difficulties in ­ or even cannot ­ experience it in the first place.

Through a Batesonian frame­analysis of the structural expectations and practical semantics of

my informants the chapter will explore, how two different versions of hygge appear to dominate

and co­exist among my informants, the moderation­based framework and the convenience­based framework, revealing a widening gap between how different informants practically perceive and negotiate the store's atmosphere in relation to the feeling of hygge .

The second part of the analysis will go on to look at how different 'contracts' appear to exist

between JYSK and its customers: It will look at the moderation­based contracts as well as the convenience­based contracts and explore their individual strengths and weaknesses, in addition to any potential overlaps between them.

The chapter also investigates the sacrifice that all informants—in one way or another—have to

make, when they decide to visit JYSK, and question why some informants continue to shop at

JYSK despite them not being able to find or create hygge in the environment during their visit.

On the other hand, other informants will have to make an altogether different kind of strategic

sacrifice which concerns the price of the merchandise and its quality, along with other

atmospheric components and convenience.

35

The third part of the analysis focuses on the practical everyday use of hygge that my informants

use in their conversations with me and the, often opposing, definitions in the existing literature

on hygge .

In this section I compare and contrast the two understandings of the concept and consider if the

word itself could currently be practically undergoing a form of change in relation to its definition.

36

Chapter 4: Introducing The Moderation­ and the

Convenience­based Frameworks

In the first chapter of the analysis, I will compare and contrast the moderation­ and the convenience­based frameworks. I will introduce the concepts through a comparative description of how each structurally shapes the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of my

informants regarding the atmosphere at JYSK.

The aim, through the Batesonian frame­analysis, is to establish “under what circumstances ”

some informants are able to experience, or build up a mood of hygge during their visit – and

explore why some informants struggle to do so (James 1869 cited in Goffman 1959:2).

In this chapter I will show how price appears to be an attractive element to both frameworks, but

simultaneously discuss why the convenience­based informants still seem to find it difficult, due to their comparatively higher structural expectations, to build up an experience of hygge . The moderation­based framework, on the other hand, appears to be more tolerant and accepting of the atmosphere and is far more likely to find its various components in accordance with their

perception of hygg e.

The purpose of the chapter is to provide a presentation of the implicit structural rules and

characteristics that govern or guide both groups of informants' experiences in the field at JYSK

Vermlandsgade in relation to the establishment of the traditional understanding of hygge (Linnet

2011; Bateson 1972).

Finding I ­ Diverging Understandings of Hygge in the Atmosphere of JYSK:

The Critical Point: Hygge or Non­Hygge ?

With hygge being the main analytical lens, or instrument, to semantically measure and organise

the diverging shopping­experiences of my informants, I begin the analysis with an analytical

introduction to the concept of frame­breaking (Goffman 1974:345; Bateson 1972;181) which is

37

the precise point in their experience where the denotational shift in meaning occurs. Where one

psychological framework becomes another or where the reality of hygge or non­hygge is at its

most fragile point – the moment just before one reality is substituted for another.

”The important thing about reality [...] is our sense of its realness in contrast to our feelings that

some things lack this quality ” (Goffman 1958:2).

The hygge ­frame produced at JYSK by my informants reveals information about itself by

revealing exactly what it is not (Bateson 1972:179), the point at which hygge discontinues,

where the inside of the frame starts and the outside begins (Engler & Gardiner 2012:27). The

notions of inclusion and exclusion are central to frame­analysis (Engler & Gardiner 2012;

Goffman 1974;201). When a convenience­based informant, for instance, expresses his dislike of the store due to it being too densely packed with goods, it is a simultaneous indication of

what to alter in the physical surroundings in order to make it more likely for hygge to arise in

accordance with the rules (Goffman 1974). In the case of convenience­based informants, that critical point seems to be the price.

"Der er jo nogle meget stærke priser...men jeg ville bruge noget mere tid, hvis butikken var

rarere at være i, det bliver presset fordi at der skal være for mange ting på for lidt plads " – Male

age 30.

The above statement is indicative of the precise “strip ” of information from the “arbitrary slice or

cut from the stream of on­going activity ” (Goffman cited in Davis 1975:599) which forced the

informant to have to negotiate between what, to him, is more important: Hygge or price.

Logically, there are two things which could make him stay for longer: 1) If the atmosphere was more hyggelig (which for him and other convenience­based informants is conditioned by convenience) and 2) If the products were even cheaper, at which point his tolerance threshold

of the frame would also gain a further degree of elasticity (Goffman 1974:439).

Some informants demonstrate a degree of reflexivity about the prices versus the level of

convenience, and about exactly what they can or cannot expect – and hence are forced to

sacrifice ­ because of the price­level, but nonetheless still feel dissatisfied when they are not

offered any help.

38

"Hvis man går og surfer lidt rundt, så har jeg aldrig oplevet, at der kommer nogen og spørger

om de kan hjælpe mig med noget. S å i Deres oplevelse skal man først henvende sig? I min

oplevelse. Men det kan også være fordi at jeg kommer på tider hvor varene skal være så billige

og så kan der jo ikke være halvtreds ansatte vel. Så det kan være, at hvis jeg kommer her på et

tidspunkt, hvor at der er mange andre, at de så har travlt ved kassen. " ­ Female age 60

One of Goffman's (1974) great endeavours, via frame­analysis, was to try to elucidate precisely

how far the frameworks could stretch out—or how much they could endure—before they

collapsed (Goffman 1974:36), and to detect the most critical vulnerabilities of importance to

JYSK when it comes to understanding what customers can endure, what they cannot, and

where, in terms of the nature of their experience, the critical line is drawn. In the case of JYSK

these vulnerabilities appear to be the price—for both groups of informants, but for many

convenience­based informants, price may be one of the only reasons for shopping at JYSK.

"Altså, man betaler jo for det man selv finder, der er jo ikke rigtigt nogen service vel, men det er

jo også nogle billige varer de har" – Female age 50.

Mother: "Her er måske lidt grimt, men her er jo også meget billigt – så der er jo grænser for

hvad man kan forlange. Her er også lidt rodet, ik’? ” (To daughter) . Daughter: "IKEA er jo også billige, men der synes jeg at der er pænere end her ". Mother agrees: "Her er sådan lidt syntetisk, ik’' " ­ Mother and daughter age appx. 16 and 40.

Statements such as these suggest that, as long as JYSK are cheapest on the market, the

typical convenience­based informant will likely continue to be willing to sacrifice hygge (­and

implicitly convenience­) for the cheapest bargains. But the precise moment, a competitor

displays a better, cheaper, or otherwise more valuable offer, the line of tolerance could swiftly

be crossed.

The vulnerabilities and ambiguity of the convenience­based contract with JYSK are therefore much weaker and less elastic and resistant than the moderation­based contract, which is not incited by just price alone, but also by the emotional closeness and loyalty that will develop over

time between JYSK and these informants due to several, repeated, positive and hyggelige

39

shopping­experiences at the store that will be forged over time (Goffman 1974;439; Bateson

1972). This finding is a further hint, that hygge , by itself, must be a goal for JYSK to create for its

customers, because the short­term benefit of a hyggelig environment is that the customers will

stay for longer and buy more merchandise.

Recent studies on retailing have found evidence that hiding the offering (sending the customer

on 'a hunt'), or putting a quart of milk at the back of the store, just creates irritation for the

customer and a desire to leave the environment, often without making any purchases – or

without a good experience (Sorensen 2012:39), which arguably affects the impression of the

stores' image negatively.

Although moderation­based informants occasionally appear to enjoy the 'hunt', the effects for convenience­based informants are detrimental to their experiences as well as their perception of JYSK.

The In­store Music – Positive Experiences

Starting with one part of JYSKs atmosphere that many informants addressed: the in­store music

that the store played during opening hours. The volume , the sound , as well as the quality of the

music varied greatly around different parts of the store which caught the attention of many of my

informants who experienced it in a variety of different ways. To some, it was perceived as

hyggeligt , to others it was the opposite, and to others again it did not appear to influence their

experience because they reported not consciously paying attention to it.

To the moderation­based informants the in­store music was largely positively perceived as contributing to a hyggelig experience or shopping­context. Their lower expectations even meant

that some of them did not even need the music to experience hygge , but its presence did

nothing to disrupt their framework of the atmosphere as hyggelig (Bateson 1972).

“Ej det gør da oplevelsen meget hyggeligere, meget rarere – du ved – så er der lige sådan en

sang som man godt kan li' og sådan noget, det er da festligt. Jeg skal bare over og købe nogle

kedelige håndklæder (laughter). ­ Female age 30

40

The informant above, I categorize as moderation­based because she explained how the music contributes to making the shopping­experience more hyggelig . To this informant, the music was

perceived as adding—or indeed symbolising or denoting—something “festive ” to what she

experienced as an “otherwise dull ” atmosphere with boring products (Bateson 1972).

"Altså, jeg ved, at hvis der er andre steder som spiller det, så giver det en vis stemning, men det

er ikke noget som gør, at jeg vil købe mere, men det giver bare en god stemning, i stedet for at

der er stilhed. Så giver det lidt mere liv " – Male age 40.

Similarly, the next informant qualifies as being moderation­based due to her experience that the music was regarded as adding “life ” or a positive “mood ” to the context, thereby contributing

positively to building up their hygge ­framework (ibid . 1972).

"Jamen [reckons the music is hyggelig ] det er fordi, at så kan jeg fjolle rundt og synge med og

gøre folk pinlige. Jeg synes bare, at den tager en masse omkringliggende støj fra andre

mennesker simpelthen... " ­ Female age 30.

Another female informant found that music makes the atmosphere feel less formal and, like the

male informant noted, more alive and vibrant. Danish anthropologist Linnet (2011) found that

the feeling of hygge is easier to achieve in an informal social context, which is consistent with

how these informants say they experienced it: The music was predominantly perceived

positively, as an informal incentive to “fjolle rundt ” (transl. “be silly” ). Informality and

'down­to­earthness', according to Linnet’s (2011:23) traditional understanding of hygge , are

essential ingredients to be able to create the mood, because they are values which

meta­communicate—or denote—a sense of egalitarianism between everyone present (ibid .

2011; Bateson 1972).

These particular informants all seemed to be in a good mood when I approached them, and one

female was even humming along to the tunes on the radio before I intercepted her for an

interview.

This, I also find to be observable behaviour which is consistent with a “relaxed ” and

“easy­going ” informant, presumably experiencing the mood of hygge . Their psychological

frameworks are in many ways consistent with the way in which Linnet (2011) understands

41

hygge as being able to find joy and happiness even in very moderate environmental

circumstances.

Although the sound­quality was suboptimal (coming from low­quality speakers), and the volume

of the music varied greatly in different parts of the store, this did not seem to matter much to

these informants; they thought it was contributing to a hyggelig atmosphere nonetheless:

Female: "Ej, jeg synes at det bare er hyggeligt med noget musik. Altsaa det er ikke noget jeg sådan savner, men hvis at det er der så synes jeg det er hyggeligt". Male: "Det er ikke noget som at jeg tænker over vil jeg sige". "Genkender man melodien eller sangen eller hvis at man

synes at det er for højt såå.. (Interpreted: “tænker man over det”). Female: "Det skal jo så målrettes til alle aldersgrupper ” ­ Couple age 50.

"Jeg synes ikke det er irriterende men det kommer lidt an på, hvad for noget musik det er, der

bliver spillet, men det er ikke noget jeg har manglet. Ville det kunne få Dem til at forlade butikken? Nej, jeg ville ikke vende om og gå ud, for når jeg går ind i en butik, så er det som regel med et formål eller fordi der er noget som jeg gerne vil ha, så går jeg ikke ud på grund af

musikken. Medmindre det er rigtig, rigtig irriterende " – Two Females age 20.

Some moderation­based informants, like the two informants above, did not expect music as part of their shopping­environment at JYSK, but when and if it was there (and if they notice it),

they often felt that it was still a contributing factor (or at least not a detrimental factor) to

“creating ” a hygge ­mood which some described as “comfortable ” and “relaxing ”. This suggests

that these informants would on other occasions be able to enjoy their shopping in a different

context entirely without any music at all. A further example, which is consistent with the idea of

Linnet (2011:22­23), that the external conditions of hygge can be found in very scarce and

moderate environments and still contribute to building up a psychological framework of hygge

(Bateson 1972). For example, if the music is not of the best quality, or if it is the 'wrong' kind of

music being played, to these informants, it nonetheless still appears to contribute to facilitating

hygge .

"Nej, altså det synes jeg ikke (I asked if the music can get 'too much'), jeg kan godt lide musik når jeg handler, specielt hvis at det er virkelig høj musik, fordi at jeg synes bare det

skaber en virkelig god stemning. " – Female age 40.

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"Det er meget hyggeligt med sådan lidt afslappende musik, det hører man jo tit i sådan nogle

store supermarkeder, hvor man har travlt. Sådan lidt afstressende musik, det havde ikke gjort

noget. Hvis der bare sådan var et lavt lydniveau så ville det ikke genere mig. " – Female age 30.

Instead, what seemed to matter more to these informants was the cheap products that were

available at JYSK. The fact that some even stated that the music had to be “very, very loud ”,

“extreme ”, “too weird ” or otherwise very disruptive for them to consider leaving the store as a

result of a bad experience, suggests that the 'elasticity' of their psychological framework of

hygge is very high and resistant to being broken (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

“Altså hvis at det er stille og rolig musik så er det okay. Det skal bare ikke være sådan noget der

generer mig". "Ikke for meget gang i den, for underligt, for ekstremt, men jeg kan godt lide stille

og rolig baggrundsmusik. ” ­ Female age 40.

"Jeg synes ikke det er irriterende men det kommer lidt an på, hvad for noget musik det er, der

bliver spillet, men det er ikke noget jeg har manglet. Ville det kunne få Dem til at forlade butikken? Nej, jeg ville ikke vende om og gå ud, for når jeg går ind i en butik, så er det som regel med et formål eller fordi der er noget som jeg gerne vil ha, så går jeg ikke ud på grund af

musikken. Medmindre det er rigtig, rigtig irriterende " – Two females age 20.

As the above statements reveal, the “rules ” or “premise system ” of their frameworks are very

few and also subtly defined, and it thus takes a lot of counter­productive signs to disrupt their

experience, ipso facto because moderation­based informants do not hold high expectations which could be more easily compromised by external symbolic influences (ibid . 1965:188;

Goffman 1974).

The In­store Music – Negative Experiences

Contrary to the moderation­based group, who were normally very tolerant toward the in­store­music, to informants belonging to the convenience­based group the effects of the

43

in­store music were often perceived negatively as either unnecessary, annoying or disruptive

and not as contributing positively to the atmosphere.

To many informants in this group, a framework of hygge was not structurally expected as part of

their visit to JYSK and was therefore much harder to achieve, let alone maintain.

"Nej, jeg synes at det [music] er rædselsfuldt. Jeg vil hellere gå stille og roligt med mine tanker.

Man havde ikke så meget musak i gamle dage, ved du hvad, hvis folk vil have musik så kan de

squ tage deres eget med. Så nej, det vil jeg gerne frabedes". Så De har det måske generelt bedre hvis butikker slet ikke spiller musik? "Ja, men jeg går simpelthen, hvis det er et eller andet som irriterer mig for så er det ikke mig, ej, jeg synes det er blevet for meget med alt det

der. Nej jeg skal bare have fred og ro sådan, at man bare kan samle sine tanker. " – Female age

40.

Informants belonging to the convenience­based framework, however, instead expected more service and convenience and were thus overall more demanding of their shopping­experience

as well as (what they perceived as disruptive) symbolic influences in their

shopping­environment. This meant that, under certain circumstances, they would consider

leaving the store due to their perception of various ambient influences (the music, for example)

being above the threshold of what their already fragile framework of convenience could tolerate

before it would collapse (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:345). On the other hand, the tolerance

levels of the moderation­based group appeared to be significantly higher, and nobody I spoke to from that group told me that they had considered leaving the store for that reason alone.

Så musikken skal ikke være meget højere end det her? "Jamen der går jeg. Altså hvis det er sådan noget, altså hvis der er noget jeg skal kigge efter og prøve og jeg skal være derinde

længe, og de spiller sådan noget høj musik så køber jeg mine ting et andet sted. Sådan noget

stille musik synes jeg er meget hyggeligt. " ­ Female age 40.

Before I started my field­work at JYSK I had no idea what 'musak' was, but I soon heard it over

and over again, and I began to wonder why so many people seemed to disagree whether the

in­store music was “hygge­music ” or, on the polar­opposite, “musak ”. The music, alone, means

nothing, I soon learned.

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On its own, it is but an insignificant element in the atmosphere; only in combination with the

other constituent elements of the framework of hygge it takes on its social meaning:

“Hygge­music ”, “musak ”, “banke­banke ”, “dårlig kvalitet ” “støj ”, “pisse­irriterende ”, etc.

"Altså i visse tøjbutikker når jeg kommer ind så skynder jeg mig ud igen fordi at de spiller sådan

noget house musik. Det er ikke fordi at det er for højt, men det er den der banke­type musik.

Banke banke, eller rap, jeg kan slet ikke klare det jeg får knopper over det hele, jeg skal

simpelthen ud igen og det kan kun gå for langsomt. ” ­ Female age 50.

As an individual sign, the music blends in with a myriad of other signs, which are also

completely insignificant on their own. Only in combination does the semantic meaning arise out

of the context and comes to life. This process occurs due to the perceived experiences of the

signs, by informants, as single bits of information in the ongoing stream of activity, loaded with a

deep social meaning, a meaning which only becomes apparent as a complete puzzle, unlike the

individual pieces alone, which themselves are equally insignificant on their own. The music, to

them, symbolises a particular form of atmosphere—or place—one which they do not feel invited

to:

”Ved du hvad der er for sådan nogle unge mennesker som dig når de kommer ind i butikker

med streetfashion osv. Vi andre vi behøver ikke høre på alt det der. Jeg synes at der er

frygteligt irriterende hvis at der er der (music)” ­ Female age 40.

Whereas moderation­based informants would typically be more accepting to the 'wrong kind' of music or no music at all, convenience­based informants often demanded a particular genre, volume or quality of music before they would be able to accept it as positively contributing to

their framework.

"Jeg synes at det er lidt irriterende! " (...) "Jeg synes det er selve musikken, det er sådan noget

(makes sound), jeg hører hip­hop meget og så bliver jeg sindssyg oven i hjernen ". *The Music

Changes* Me: Hvad så med sådan noget som det her? Det er bedre, jeg kan bedst lide sådan noget stille musik . Jeg bliver også meget irriteret når jeg går i Bilka i oktober måned og

de spiller julemusik. " ­ Female age 40.

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Feeling excluded from the environment because of perceptions that the music 'is not for them',

is common among convenience­based informants, such as these. They tend to interpret the music as a meta­communicative sign, which is not perceived as being inclusive to their

expected framework of hygge . In order to be evaluated positively by these significantly more

demanding informants, it needs to be specific to their particular taste in music, because only

then they feel that it “adds ” something to the atmosphere for them: Fast beat, techno music or

tunes that resemble hiphop, rap or rock music are often perceived negatively because many of

these convenience­based informants felt it contributed to creating the 'wrong kind' of atmosphere – an atmosphere they felt excluded them, and this would often leave them feel

unappreciated and undervalued.

The notions of inclusion /exclusion are central to the theory of frames, because they define,

delimit and create their very nature (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

Noticeable when comparing the experiences of convenience­based informants concerning the in­store music with those of the moderation­based group is the infrequency of their use of the word hygge . Hygge to the convenience­based informants is not something they expect from JYSK, and thus creating it becomes very difficult – if not impossible. A few informants, however,

did mention hygge in relation to how they hypothetically wished the store would have been

under different circumstances:

"Jeg bed mærke i det fordi det var irriterende" Me: Hvad med hvis at der så ikke havde været musik I butikken? "Ja så havde det været hyggeligt – det spiller for mig en stor rolle hvilken en

musik butikken spiller ". ­ Couple age 40­50.

"Det er fordi at min far er AV­mand, altså han sælger sådan noget halløj, og så så jeg en af

højttalerne som er virkelig grim og lille og jeg lagde mæke til at lyden faktisk var rigtig rigtig

dårlig så det irriterede mig faktisk. Så det var faktisk lidt et irritationsmoment der gjorde at jeg

lagde mærke til at der var musik ". – Male age 20.

As evidenced by the above statements, the framework of a hyggelig ambient

shopping­atmosphere is very fragile to the convenience­based informants: If the background music playing is perceived as bad quality, the 'wrong kind', for instance, this typically is

46

perceived as a counter­productive ambient symbol, which in itself could be enough to trigger a

collapse of the feeling of hygge (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1074:345). Some convenience­based informants even referred to specific genres (“rock ”, “classic ”, “elevator­music ”, “Christmas

music ”, “techno ”, “klim­bim ”, “musak ”) as important constituent elements of such an atmosphere.

If the genre “rock ”, for example, was perceived as hyggeligt to one convenience­based informant, classical music, in turn, is hyggeligt to another. But likely not vice versa .

The Social Aspect – Positive Experiences

In this section, the same high­expectation­low­tolerance­tendencies that characterise the

convenience­based informants continue to reveal two structurally very different and overall diverging shopping­experiences between my informants at JYSK. Convenience­based informants systematically had more complaints about employees, their expertise and service (or

perceived lack thereof).

One common complaint I heard was that many found it difficult to find and contact with staff,

either because they thought there were not enough employees at work or because they thought

they were too difficult to find in the store.

On the contrary, the attitudes and perceptions concerning other customers and staff were

predominantly positively interpreted by informants belonging to the moderation­based framework. Lower structural expectations to service and expertise meant that, here too, few informants ever complained to me about either, and some even expressed enjoyment over the

fact that they were not given immediate service upon entering the store.

Starting with examples of moderation­based experiences in the social aspect of the atmosphere, we see that hygge is often not far away, because their generally lower

expectations to the service made it easier for them to build up the framework. Unlike

convenience­based informants who often demanded more service and expertise, moderation­based informants often appeared to enjoy 'hunting' unassisted:

”Jeg synes faktisk at det er lækkert at kunne gå rundt uden at folk hænger på nakken af en. " ­

Female age 70.

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Male: "Altså jeg har det sådan at når jeg går ind i butikken så vil jeg ikke overfaldes med det samme, det er fint nok at hilse på, det synes jeg egentlig er rigtig god service. Det der med at

bliver overfaldet inden man overhovedet har set sig om synes jeg ikke er passende... Det er

mere noget jeg oplever i tøjbutikker, hvor at sælgerne er meget aggressive. " Føler I at personalet er nemme at komme i kontakt med? Female: "Ja det synes jeg, jeg handler her ikke så meget, men jeg synes altid at der er en. " ­ Couple in their twenties.

Consistent with their low­expectation moderation­based framework, these informants found it hyggelig to be able to shop by themselves and then reach out to staff for help themselves when

necessary.

Many enjoyed being “left alone ” by what many perceived as “aggressive ” employees, factors,

which they both felt was “annoying ” and “inappropriate ”, revealing the outer limits of the

'elasticity' of their moderation­based framework: Hygge could be disrupted if the informants

felt that they were being “assaulted ” by, what they perceived to be an “aggressive ”

sales­person, in which case their moderation­based framework would be in danger of collapsing (Goffman 1974:345). “Aggressive ” employees were perceived as a

meta­communicative element inconsistent with their vision of hygge and informality and

moderation, which is congruent with the historical understanding of hygge , as portrayed by

Linnet (2011) and others.

Many appeared to enjoy knowing that the employees were available to help, if needed, but did

not mind not being actively approached – as many did found this to be aggressive 'selling'.

Moderation­based informants are characteristic in that they do not like being approached ­ and also, that they do not mind approaching staff themselves.

“Man skal typisk selv opsøge personalet I stedet for at de finder en, og det har jeg det faktisk fint

nok med ” ­ Female age 40.

"Nu er her jo dejligt stille, men for mange mennesker kan det også blive for meget (...) Det er

generelt meget hjælpsomt personale synes jeg " – Female age 20.

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This informant experience staff as ”generally very helpful ” despite them not having actively

approached her, which indicated that, in her mind, staff are helpful if they remain passive (but

still available) in the background without actively 'interfering'.

"Personalet det, det kommer lidt an på hvornår jeg kommer, hvis der står folk henne ved

personalet så går jeg ikke derhen ved småting, men jeg kan godt spørge personalet hvilken

retning (produktet ligger i, ed.)" – Male age 40.

In this view, hygge is a mood and a form of social interaction which requires all involved parties

to participate actively in creating as well as actively maintaining the mood or the psychological

framework. Nobody is expected to take “centre stage ” in this form of sociality, and the context

may not be experienced as overly instrumental, formal or pressurised ­ which an aggressive

seller at JYSK often was (Linnet 2011:23). Instead their hygge ­framework is dependent on a

more “low­key, informal, relaxed and easy­going form of sociality ”, and aggressive

selling­techniques, as shown in the above, were often found to be counter­productive to this

framework (Linnet 2011:23; Bateson 1972).

One moderation­based informant told me that he appreciated when employees approached him ‘intuitively’, viz . waiting until he seemed like he needed help, instead of “assaulting ” him as

soon as he entered, indicating that he prefers very little personal service ­ unlike

convenience­based informants, who sometimes complained that they were not approached actively by staff, even if they were not actively searching, illustrating the stark contrast in their

respective ideas of what good service means.

"Hun spottede squ meget godt at jeg ledte efter et eller andet og så var hun der med det

samme. Det er meget godt det er jeg ikke vant til, at de ikke overfalder en når man kommer ind,

men at når de kan se at man går og leder og søger at man så kommer hen og spørger om man

kan hjælpe med noget. " – Male age 40.

Contrary to Linnet’s (2011) claim, however, that hygge is necessarily a form of interaction, the

fact that many moderation­based informants seemed to be hygging alone whilst they were

49

hunting for bargains, suggests that hygge is not necessarily dependent on interaction, but can

be experienced alone, albeit if the atmosphere is right for it.

Moderation­based informants, on the whole, appeared to concentrate on the 'hunt', and with lower overall structural expectations to their environment, hygge was often not far away, if staff

for instance surpassed their expectations of service or friendliness.

"De plejer at være meget flinke og sådan noget når man kommer ind". "Der blev sågar sagt hej

til os da vi kom ind. " – Two females age 20.

On many occasions I would speak to moderation­based informants who had lots of praise about the staff or the service which they received, which further suggests that it is easier to be

surprised by good service if one has low expectations about the service to begin with. And some

informants even went on to reward JYSK with a large purchase as a result.

"Faktisk kan jeg sige til dig, at jeg var her for nyligt og handle og der havde jeg handlet lidt

rigeligt og jeg havde bare min cykel fordi at jeg har ikke kørekort, så bilen var hjemme hos min

mand, og så havde jeg glemt to ting. Fordi at jeg skulle hjem med alt det der, og der var også

blomster og hvad ved jeg, ikke. Men så kom jeg så et par dage efter og det var jo simpelthen

helt fantastisk, jeg fik de to ting med jeg egentlig havde glemt. Det tror jeg ikke, at der ville have

været ret mange butikker der ville have gjort. Det var jeg meget glad for. " – Female age 40.

One male moderation­based informant specifically praised the “intuitive service ” of JYSK staff,

because he was approached by a member of staff as he was walking around the store in search

of a product.

This behaviour denoted a positive and competent service­experience, he felt, as opposed to

being “assaulted ” by staff directly upon entry (Bateson 1972). Two younger women, similarly,

were positively surprised by being greeted at the door­ something which they too, apparently,

did not expect.

To these individuals, minor, kind or considerate gestures or behaviours are often highly

significant and have a great contributing impact on their ability to experience hygge . This

example is also itself a testament to the idea of Linnet (2011:24) that hygge ­mood is a form of

50

sociality that must be co­created collectively, and that all involved participants must take active

part in its creation, employees and customers alike.

The experience of a middle­aged female who, by accident, forgot a few products at the counter,

only for her to return a few days later and find out that a member of staff had put them aside for

her, is a further illustration of the importance of the social aspect in creating a hyggelig social or

human shopping­atmosphere. It was a small, albeit thoughtful gesture, that was highly

appreciated by the informant.

The example is revealing because it is consistent with the idea of hygge by Linnet (2011:23),

who posits that the traditional framework of hygge often is a “marked form of sociality that could

counter the tendency of the social organisation to become overly formal and instrumental ” and

instead emphasize interpersonal kindness and mindfulness.

An example that comes to mind where I personally was experiencing hygge with an informant,

was one afternoon when I noticed an elderly lady inspecting some outdoor garden lanterns. She

knocked a few over and appeared to struggle to find something, so I approached and

spontaneously offered to help her (something I never did otherwise). She must have thought I

was an employee, because she said she did not see very well and she was looking for an

outdoor candle for her garden. I told her she was not in the right place and guided her to the

right section (which was close), and we had a lengthy conversation about gardening and how

the solar lanterns worked. I personally experienced this encounter as hyggeligt , and I have no

doubt she did as well. We were chit­chatting back and forth doing what Linnet would call

creating hygge through “cooperative efforts ”, including “joking ” and “laughing ” ­ but there is no

question in my mind that I instigated the hygge , by offering my help. Not only did she appear to

be relieved to get help, she also enjoyed our conversation as much as I did. I did not record this

encounter, because the situation happened so fast that I did not even have time to introduce

myself (let alone record it), but I remember that she thanked me wholeheartedly afterwards

before going back on her way, presumably still under the impression that I was a helpful and

friendly JYSK employee.

On the other hand, Linnet (2011) also appears to suggest that creating hygge among perfect

strangers is itself problematic because of its dependency on familiarity, intimacy and the home

(the 'ice' needs to be broken, so to say, before hygge interaction can exist). I argue, however,

51

that the above examples were situations which were perceived as being consistent with the

hygge ­framework by the informants, between two strangers, because it does not violate as

much as it contributes to co­creating the hygge ­framework. For that reason it is an example of

how employees can contribute to actively facilitating hygge , for instance, through—what is often

perceived as—kind and thoughtful personal service by the typical moderation­based informant.

A degree of formality was, as demonstrated by the above statements, what many

convenience­based informants expected from the employees. Although somewhat in line with Linnet's (2011:24) idea that hygge is a “cooperative effort ”, often based on a form of

“egalitarianism ” and “mutual assurance ”, hygge for convenience­based informants often appeared to be a 'one­way­feeling' where the identity­project or ego of the convenience­based customer had to “take centre stage ” in the interaction in order to be facilitated (Goffman 1974;

Goffman 1959; Linnet 2011:24).

Take the young male employee who served customers from behind the counter, wearing

swim­shorts and flip­flops, for example. In accordance with the traditional framework of hygge ,

as portrayed by Linnet (2011) and, by and large, as experienced, by many moderation­based informants, this would likely not be considered to be much of an issue, because it is found to be congruent with their more relaxed expectations of hygge as being dependent on such factors

as “informality ” and “easygoingness ”.

The problem, for these informants, was not that he was performing his duty any worse than he

would otherwise have done, but the problem were the unfortunate signals that his 'beach­attire'

dispatched to some customers from the convenience­based group. In their perception, the service was thus less professional and less formal when he was wearing

that, and this had a profound effect on their shopping­experience. The same can be said for the

poor female employee, 'Stine' (pseudonym), who had her first day at work for JYSK and still

received endless complaints about her “forgetting to smile ” or “looking angry ”.

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The Store's Design and Layout

The following section will present the findings of how moderation­based informants appeared to appreciate a very different form of physical store­environment from that of the typical

convenience­based informants who were guided by entirely different sets of values as well as different structural expectations (Bateson 1972:193; Engler & Gardiner 2012:26). Unlike the

previous sections, however, where the experiences of the two kinds of informants were treated

separately, in this chapter I will provide a combined frame­analysis of the two. This will make it

easier to compare and contrast the two diverging experiences, gradually elucidating the defining

differences and characteristics. Like in the preceding sections, however, the same

high­expectation­low­tolerance­tendencies proceed that have come to distinctly define the

experience of the convenience­based informants, and it should become clear in this chapter that the experiences are not just the exact opposite of each other, but also actively serve to

cancel each other out, meaning that it is both theoretically and practically impossible to satisfy

both sets of informants in the same kind of environment.

On The Contextual Presentation of Merchandise: JYSK on Vermlandsgade

vs. ”The JYSK­apartment ”

The following section presents an analytical comparison of my informants’ dramatically different shopping­experiences between two very dissimilar JYSK­environments. The sharp contrast in framework of the context illustrates how two fundamentally different physical environments practically cater for different kinds of informants. Convenience­based Expectations The JYSK­apartment is a recently developed design concept by JYSK to explore the

surprisingly dramatic effects of what happens when you take all the products found at JYSK and

unify them in a specially­designed apartment, pragmatically very different room by room,

however, stocked ONLY with JYSK merchandise.

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The results illustrate the dramatic framing­effect of what a setting and context can produce in

terms of creating a hyggelig atmosphere—an atmosphere which, according to some

convenience­based informants, was very difficult, even impossible, to create inside regular JYSK stores, because the densely packed environment was often perceived as ”cheap ”,

”boring ”, ”disorderly ” or indeed as a ”warehouse ” which did not appeal to them.

Male: "Der er jo nogle meget stærke priser...men jeg ville bruge noget mere tid, hvis butikken

var rarere at være i, det bliver presset fordi at der skal være for mange ting på for lidt plads. Det

er lidt som at handle i Netto, alså man klemmer så meget ind som man nu kan tillade sig.

Tingene præsenterer sig ikke så godt i JYSK. ” – Couple age 20.

"Ja, jeg synes jo, at den her butik er meget rodet, det er ikke alle der er det.

Hvor var det vi var henne da vi kiggede i starten? (to partner)". Male: "Kirstinehøj". Female: "Den er mere overskuelig, det her er så... (pause) Male: "Den her er som mange små rum. " ­

Couple age 50.

To these two convenience­based informants the presentation of merchandise at JYSK was problematic because it felt too densely packed and also disorderly, a further sign that informants

in this group depend heavily on convenience in order to perceive their surroundings favourably.

They felt that they were not given sufficient help with locating their desired merchandise or even

the possibility of locating the right area of the store to search.

Hygge ­mood in this sort of disorderly context is far from possible for many informants in the

convenience­based group, and instead negative and counter­productive emotions such as stress and frustration often appear to take over.

"Jeg synes, at butikken er rodet, det er ikke delt op i temaer så det er let at gå til – eller det er

nok delt op, men jeg synes, at det er svært at overskue. " ­ Male age 30.

Convenience­based informants are characteristic in that they often perceive the physical environment of JYSK as “rodet ” or “disorderly ”, whereas the very same environment is

commonly interpreted as symbolising a perfect place to find a cheap bargain for

moderation­based informants.

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"Jeg synes, at butikken er rodet, det er ikke delt op i temaer så det er let at gå til – eller det er

nok delt op, men jeg synes, at det er svært at overskue. " ­ Male age 30.

Convenience­based informants, such as these, all have in common that they find the pragmatical environment of ”chaos ” and ”mess ” inconsistent with their framework of hygge . This

kind of informant structurally expects higher standards of convenience and order in the nature of

a hyggelige environment (Bateson 1972). As one commented, it has to be more ”let at gå til ”

(transl . ”easy to find ”).

The framework of hygge ­mood, being dependent on a presentable, orderly and convenient

physical environment, therefore cannot be created very easily at the JYSK store on

Vermlandsgade for convenience­based informants.

Moderation­based Expectations

As revealed in the previous section, not everyone enjoys a convenient and presentable physical

environment where everything looks more formal, pricey and exclusive. For typical

moderation­based informants, there will be difficulties experiencing hygge in such an

environment, because they perceive it as too ”formal ” and ”exclusive ”­perhaps even

”snobby ”—which violates their more traditional understanding of hygge, as presented by Linnet

(2011), or because they associate the orderly and structured way the merchandise is presented

with more expensive products. This is precisely because of how nicely it is presented

contextually – compared to what they would expect from other JYSK stores and other discount

retailers.

Symbolically, this kind of environment is far more likely to appeal to the convenience­based group. This is because their expectations are more consistent with a neat and presentable presentation

of products, whereas, for the moderation­based group, this contextual presentation of products removed the 'thrill of the hunt ' for bargains, and it is inconsistent with their expectations of a

bargain, because an aesthetic presentation of the items goes against their structural

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expectations of bargains and cheap deals. Stated simply; it just does not look like what they

would expect discount to look like (Larsen 2004:44).

”Småt men Godt ”

Going back to the traditional moderation­based understanding of a hyggelig ­environment and

the external conditions required to support such a framework, it becomes clear that it is almost

the exact opposite that this group expect from a hyggelig physical environment—or layout—of a

room.

Semantic­communicational indicators of context, such as ”homeyness ”, ”informality ”,

”down­to­earth ”, ”authenticity ” or ”realness ”, are exactly what moderation­based informants expect of a hyggelig environment, and if things get too ”orderly ”, too ”formal ” or ”presentable ”, it

eventually breaks their framework of hygge (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:345). Hygge ”as a

marker for real family togetherness ”, in this view, is facilitated by ”making do ” with moderate

means and inexpensive solutions and finding enjoyment in personalising the home through

creative solutions, instead of more expensive 'grandiose' installations and 'bought' solutions

which are only for the ”fine people ” (Linnet 2011:27). Rather design your home through ”relaxed

thoughtfulness ” as Hansen (2011) puts it (Hansen cited in Linnet (2011:17).

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An image of a hyggelig sitting room from Boligliv.dk

In the moderation­based imagination, this strategy of design, presentation and decoration would be considered ”inauthentic ” and ”pretentious ”, as if trying to make up for ”lacking real

family closeness ”.

Here we see the role of hygge as a vehicle of social control (Linnet 2011:16).

Negotiating the Nature of the Context

The presentation of merchandise in the JYSK­appartment is VERY different from JYSK at

Vermlandsgade and in many ways represents and appeals to the exact opposite type of

informants.

The JYSK­apartment is a recently developed concept by JYSK which intends to play with the

creative imagination and symbolic—or cultural expectations—of their customers (JYSK 2016).

Culturally idealised styles—or themes—of interior decorations (such as current Scandinavian

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trends using earthy colours, straight lines, natural materials and functionality) are made easily

presentable and even demonstrable in this whole new contextual environment.

”The Scandinavian love for nature is reflected by the many plants and the wooden structures of

the furniture” ­ (JYSK 2016) ”.

JYSK is now able—unlike in its original stores—to show­case its products better in such an

environment, because they add life to each other and in unification create the cultural image of

cherished Danish expectations. This type of physical environment would be highly appreciated

by convenience­based informants, who attach much importance to presentation and order and often complained that JYSK at Vermlandsgade, in stark contrast, to them, was found symbolise

to be the exact opposite 'chaos­based' experience (Goffman 1974):

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A densely packed environment: The store entrance/exit at Vermlandsgade.

”Det er jo en rodebutik ikke, alting står hulter til bulter og man går rundt og leder, og måske er

der noget måske er der ikke " – Female age 50

"Jeg synes at det [the presentation of merchandise] er totalt kaos, men det er jo så en af

betingelserne " – Female age 45

Customers at the 'JYSK appartment', in contrast, are not chaotically presented with objects, but

are presented with a strategic cultural vision, which is also a symbolic vision of how a hyggeligt

bedroom, kitchen or sitting room actually looks like in practice. The objects together create and

amplify their collective semantic as well as individual meaning (McCracken 1987; Douglas 1979;

Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

From a marketing perspective, there is evidence supporting the idea that letting customers see,

try­on, smell, touch or otherwise engage in a demonstration of the products will lead to a better,

richer and more memorable shopping­experience (Lindstrom 2008; Underhill 2009), but it also

directly may invite some customers to buy the products, because they see them demonstrated

and see how others enjoy them (Bentley et al . 2006; Pradeep 2009; Sorensen 2010; Lindstrom

2008; Underhill 2009). However, whereas this may suit the convenience­based group of informants, it may also be detrimental to the experience of the moderation­based group, precisely because this is inconsistent with their pragmatic expectations of a hyggelig

shopping­atmosphere, as discussed in the previous section (Bateson 1972).

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The JYSK Apartment: The Sitting Room – hyggeligt ­ or not?

A Matter of Setting — or Framework

Bringing out the culture from a heap of items, products and merchandise is a matter of creating

the right frame for the customers to guide them through the experience (Bateson 1972; Engler &

Gardiner 2012). Merely stacking objects on top of each other will not bring out the culture that

already resides in them; only when strategically placed in thematically decorated themes of,

say, Scandinavian culture, the culture is made visible, because the framework around it

supports the pragmatics of this particular cultural vision (Bateson 1972; Law & Mol 1995).

At Vermlandsgade, the problem for JYSK was that 1) the culture residing in the products was hardly visible, because the objects alone do not bring out the commonly envisaged cultural

vision and 2) that the perceived disorderly nature of the presentation of the merchandise often practically created its own 'culture of cheapness' among convenience­based informants and that 3) an environment like this is likely to disrupt the ”hygge ”­framework of informants belonging

to the moderation­based group.

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On the contrary, informants belonging to the convenience­based group are much more likely to appreciate such an 'orderly' and 'presentable' environment.

The marketing, PR and communication task for JYSK, as it appears, is to negotiate a balance

between what customer values one wants to fulfil: According to the findings of this study, one

seemingly cannot create a ”hyggelig” environment for everyone with what is too often perceived

as a cheap and 'underdone' presentation of the merchandise.

On the other hand, culturally very price­conscious Danes also want 'The Good Offer' (Transl .

”Det Gode Tilbud ”), and these two values appear incompatible when presented—or

marketed—simultaneously (Linnet 2011).

Much of the literature of Danish cultural values suggest that moderation­based Danes celebrate ”moderation, balance and making do ”, ”low­key ”, ”small means ” environments;

however, as revealed in this study, things can also get ”too cheap ”, too ”discounty ”, so that it

makes customers belonging to the opposite convenience­based framework questioning the quality of both brand and product alike.

Finding II – Mapping out the Contracts

In the following chapter the focus is on how the psychological frameworks of expectations can

be used to 'map out' the existence of different forms of 'contracts' between JYSK and its

customers.

As we saw in the previous chapter, cultural values, and the way in which they are interpreted,

vary greatly among its customers, or my informants. What some see as highly valuable and

hyggelig (for instance, the music, decorations, or physical instalments), others, in turn, find of

low value.

This chapter will continue to explore these differences in framing strategies and perceptions, by

investigating the strong and the weak part of the frameworks of my informants. It will also

inspect the perceived elements of value that both frameworks of the moderation­ and the convenience­based informants have in common, which I found to be the price of the

merchandise. Additionally, I will explore the critical notion of the sacrifice , because all my

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informants, regardless of their structural frameworks of expectations—in one way or

another—were forced to negotiate a form of strategic compromise, trade­off, or loss, by deciding

to do their shopping at JYSK on Vermlandsgade. This, then, leads me to question why some

customers are still willing to shop at JYSK despite these sacrifices.

The Appearance of 'Contracts'

The discovery of the psychological frameworks of the convenience­based and the moderation­based informants leads to the conclusion that their needs and experiences are very different and that, as a result of this difference, their structural expectations of JYSK as well

as what they each perceive as valuable, are diverging and contradictory.

This creates a whole series of difficult challenges for JYSK, because, in order to appeal to and

satisfy the needs and expectations of each set of customers, they must strike a fine, yet critical,

balance in their marketing­strategy, their PR­tactics and communications with customers who

have very different expectations as well as conceptualisations of JYSK as a company and as a

brand. Getting it wrong, and the consequence could be catastrophic in the long term, because

the risk is that they slowly, but surely (because the tendencies found appear to be diverging in

nature), alienate one group of customers, whose needs and expectations are not being fulfilled,

and they are therefore much more likely to be lost into the hands of competitors who are found

to be more successful in doing so.

The Strategic Sacrifice of Hygge ­ and the Weakening of

Convenience­based Contracts

The group who seems to be most at risk of being lost into the hands of competition is the typical

convenience­based informants, who, as demonstrated in the previous chapter, systematically cannot experience hygge at JYSK. This is their strategic sacrifice. Hygge . The question then is,

exactly how much are they willing to sacrifice in order to get their hands on the cheap products

for sale at JYSK? How elastic, tolerant or resistant are their frameworks to disruption or collapse

(Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974:345)?

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Will there be a critical point, at which enough is enough, and if they have no other moral, ethical

or emotional connection to JYSK as an incentive to remain loyal, will it then make them

approach the competition?

The everyday negotiation of value and perceptions on the sales­floor at JYSK are instrumental

in revealing exactly what my informants are willing to 'put up with' in order to access the cheap

bargains on offer.

"(...) det er ikke kvalitetsmusik efter min mening, men den passer meget godt til resten af

butikken for at være lidt fræk (laughs)". ­ Female age 40.

In this instance, the convenience­based informant saw a symbolic association between the “lesser quality music ” and a “lesser quality store ” (Goffman 1974). She interpreted the music as

inferior and made the connection that this principle also had to apply to other aspects of her

experience, much in line with what other convenience­based informants would normally do. Another practical indication that signs cannot be interpreted alone, but only make sense in

unification (Bateson 1972:189).

”Måske er belysningen ikke den fedeste, altså det er jo sådan noget lysstofrør, ligesom at det

hedder JYSK sengetøjsLAGER, så det passer jo meget godt " (...) "Det skulle være nogle lamper

som giver lidt bedre lys. Sådan lidt mindre LAGER ”. ­ Female age 30.

The “organising principles ” governing the perceptions of these informants follow a simple

structure of low expectations: No convenience­based informants have high expectations about their visit, even before entering the store, and upon entering, they are met with signs that only

serve to confirm their low expectations of the experience to come (Goffman 1974:11).

Male: ”Det er jo en rodebutik ikke, alting står hulter til bulter og man går rundt og leder, og måske er der noget, måske er der ikke". Woman interrupts: "Altså, jeg kan godt finde rundt" .

Me: I havde måske problemer med at finde jeres indkøb i dag? Female: "Nej, det havde vi nemlig ikke". Male: "Altså, det jeg mener, er, at det er jo meget sådan et lager. Det giver sig ikke ud for at være en meget seriøs butik med super betjening og rådgivning ". Female: ”Jamen det

er det da heller ikke . Men ellers var det okay ". ­ Couple age 50.

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One female informant is willing to accept a “lesser quality ” in­store­music­experience, while

another informant sees a symbolic association between the lightning and a “lager ” (Danish word

for 'warehouse'), which is consistent with studies, suggesting that lightning factors influence a

store's image—positively or negatively (Baker, Levy & Grewal 1992; Summers & Herbert 2001;

Goffman 1974). Both informants, however, appear willing to sacrifice both hygge and

convenience in order to access the cheap products at what they describe as a “rodebutik ”

(transl . “messy store ”). All three informants saw a symbolic connection between the environment

and the store’s 'LAGER­image', suggesting that they are fully aware of the sacrifice which they

are committing to.

One informant goes on to suggest that lamps would contribute to creating a more pleasant

atmosphere, which is consistent with the historical perspective on Danish cultural values

surrounding the practical facilitation of a hyggelig ambience (Bille 2012; Linnet 2011).

One middle­aged couple explained that the 'warehouse­like' way of stocking its merchandise, to

them, symbolised a “not very serious store with superb layout and service ”, indicating not just

that the way in which they perceived parts of the atmosphere was responsible for contributing to

lowering their overall structural expectations of JYSK (Bateson 1972), but also suggesting a

“spillover ” effect between how one part of the atmosphere is perceived to how another is

perceived (Wilson 2003; Baker; Levy & Grewal 1992; Grewal et al . 2003; Vida 2008 in Bohl

2012:9). However, both agreed that overall “it was okay ”, and that they were willing to sacrifice

the 'hygge ­butik' for the “rodebutik ” ­ as long as the prices remained as cheap as they were.

The effects of olfactory cues, too, are meta­communicational signals in themselves of a

particular kind of experience (Bateson 1972). In the case of JYSK it is the

'warehouse­experience'. The atmosphere should smell like what it is: A warehouse, stocking

tens of thousands of goods, easily distinguishable from an expensive up­market furniture­store.

Clothing stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and an increasing number of passenger­airlines use

'signature'­scents to try to create a particular customer­experience (Lindstrom 2008:144), either

by masking unpleasant smells or by creating their very own signature­scent to add to (or even

define) the experience.

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JYSK intentionally does not invest in an expensive 'scent­solution'—or even ventilation—to

entertain its customers; instead the smell at JYSK is a smell of leather, plastic, stocks of

products and a myriad of other related warehouse­smells, much to the frustration of some

convenience­based informants as these, often irritable, statements below suggest.

"Og sådan en bygning som den her kunne godt bruge lidt mere ventilation, det kan man jo også

gøre om natten, for at få alle de der nyoppakkede varer, og når man kommer ind så kan man

meget hurtigt lugte at der lugter af skumgummimadrasser og lager." – Female informant age 35.

As a sign, the scent, of the environment, is interpreted in accordance with a “governing

principle ” of low expectations (Goffman 1974:11). Negative symbolic associations of an

“artificial ”, “uncomfortable ” and “closed off ” are a reminder to her that she needs to leave this

place, as soon as she got what she came for.

”Der lugter altid så forfærdeligt derinde. Ikke af mennesker, men af produkter, der lugter virkeligt

indelukket af, kunstigt. Det er virkelig ubehageligt” ­ Female age 20.

Hygge , in this sort of warm and enclosed environment appeared unthinkable for these

convenience­based informants and many were at a point at which they appeared to feel physically uncomfortable and sweaty.

“Her stinker virkeligt af noget kemikalie­et­eller andet (...)” ­ Male informant age 40.

But it was not just the unpleasant scents or the hot, stagnant air of a scorchingly hot day in

mid­July which caused my convenience­based informants concerns:

"Altså de kunne godt gøre deres design lidt mindre 'her­er­en­billig­butik­agtig', fordi det er ikke

noget der tiltrækker mig. Altså for eksempel de der gule der, og farverne og belysningen, det

hele er sådan lidt, signalerer sådan meget lav­pris discount varehus ikke " – Female age 40.

Consistent with the opinions of several other informants, this female convenience­based informant I spoke to experienced the large vertically hanging SALE­banners and lightning as

signalling “low­cost ” and “discount warehouse ”, which Underhill (2009:23) found evidence to

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suggest may cause her to repute the store's image or brand as a discount­store with low­quality

merchandise. But, despite this concern, that is exactly the intention of JYSK to signal, is it not?

The consequences of signalling 'warehouse' appears to be of significance in relation to this

diverging shopping­experience: Whereas some informants can 'connect' to it and see it as

valuable, others do not find it appealing, and this – in combination – with (what some informants

see as) “aggressive/untrustworthy ” signage suggests that some informants even begin to doubt

the cheap offers, suggesting that it cannot be true that it is JYSK’s birthday, “every day ” or that

they have sales “all the time ”.

Hvilke associationer får De, når De ser sådanne bannere herinde? "Billigt. Hmmm. Hvad skal man tænke, øhm, jeg tror at de også er i pressen lige lige for tiden, for kan man kalde det

for udsalg, hvis at der hele tiden er udsalg" (laughter)". ­ Male, age 45­55.

Moderation­based informants who rarely complained or even mentioned the lightning of the store, I found, were more accepting (or tolerant) toward the atmosphere, and, as discussed,

some even saw it as valuable, ipso facto , because cheap and cost­effective lightning, to them,

signalled strengths in terms of their prices according to the logic of their framework of discount

and quality (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

The feeling of hygge does not necessarily have to be scarified because moderation­based informants often find it possible to create hygge even in the most modest of circumstances

(Linnet 2011:26). Many of the informants I met even appeared to enjoy the 'thrill of the hunt',

because finding a great bargain, to them, symbolised some of the same values which are

consistent with the idealised Danish patterns of moderate (and thoughtful) consumption,

signalling to everyone that: 'here is a person, who does not want to splurge and instead spend

money only when necessary' (Linnet 2011:27; Goffman 1959; Goffman 1974).

In a dramaturgical perspective, being known as someone who buys discount, is a strategic way

to enhance their identity­projects (Goffman 1959), and they are showing no sign of shame, guilt

or embarrassment for shopping at JYSK – quite on the contrary – they displayed pride and

culturally valued price­consciousness (Linnet 2011; Goffman 1959).

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Historically, working­class “in­between ”, “ordinary ” Danes forged this mentality, and in this study

I continuously found evidence to suggest that this attitude is still being used as a guiding

strategy for consumption for many moderation­based Danes at JYSK (Linnet 2011). Thus, the 'thrill of the hunt', itself, I found, could likely be a source for hygge ­mood for these

informants, suggesting that they must perceive their sacrifice of convenience, product­quality

and experience as rather insignificant in comparison to the value (personal and social) which

they find in hunting for the cheapest bargains.

Many moderation­based informants, for instance, see the lightning or the “rode­butik ” as one

out of many compelling symbols, indicating that JYSK is the right place to do their shopping.

Why? Because with this kind of lightning or disorderly presentation, the products must be

inexpensive, according to the implicit logic of their guiding structural expectations of discount

(the cognitive category under which JYSK falls) (ibid . 1972; Engler & Gardiner 2012:7; Bateson

1972).

Convenience­based informants, too, find the prices attractive, but need to sacrifice a pleasurable or hyggelig shopping­experience, which is exemplified by an informant who states

that, when she does her shopping at JYSK, she does not expect the feeling of hygge as part of

the experience.

"Jeg tænker lidt, at hvis at jeg går ind sådan et sted som her, så tænker jeg ikke så meget på at

det skal være lækkert, fordi at jeg tænker på det er ikke ret dyrt, så tænker jeg på hvad jeg vil

have og så tænker jeg ikke på om jeg skal ind i en oplyst lyshal som den her, fordi jeg skal ikke

gå herinde og hygge mig" – Female informant age 35.

"Jeg tror ikke, at man går og sådan hygge­shopper som sådan i JYSK, det er for at få noget

konkret " – Female age 30.

"Jamen generelt er det sådan noget der betyder mest, at der er lyst, at jeg ikke føler, at der er

dunkelt. Hvis du går ind ved siden af, så er der meget mørkt belyst, det lagde jeg mærke til " –

Female age 30.

The acceptance of “lesser lightning ” quality is only part of the the strategic sacrifice.

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Some existing studies on store lightning have found that lightning factors can influence ”store

image, examination and handling of merchandise ” (Baker, Levy & Grewal 1992, Summers &

Herbert 2001), while one study found no effect (Areni & D. Kim 1994). Another informant, a

typical moderation­based customer, chose to highlight a positive aspect; that the intense fluorescent lights at JYSK “provide enough light ” to see the products well, a tolerant and

pragmatic attitude, following the “making do ”­logic of the traditional hygge ­framework (Linnet

2011; Bateson 1972).

The framework of hygge , being itself what Goffman (1974) would have called an example of a

guiding social frame (Engler & Gardiner 2012:15), is also dependent on and constantly

interacting with the natural—or unguided—atmospheric surroundings, such as the physical,

ambient and design­related aspects. Because of this, I find Goffman's insistence on keeping the

two forms of frames separate problematic (Goffman 1974;21­). I find that in the case of

constructing the socially guided framework of hygge , they are mutually interdependent, as

evidenced by the fact that the social frame of hygge is constantly being co­informed and

co­influenced by the natural frames of the surrounding environment at JYSK.

An attempt to isolate the individual frames from one another, to understand what is going on

within perspectives, I find problematic because it is not possible to understand the internal

socially informed framework of hygge , because it is also constantly informed by atmospheric or

environmental influences in its pragmatic negotiation. I thus argue that, in order to understand

what is included, one must understand what is excluded, and why this may be. I find that one

can identify a frame, but not completely isolate it, due to its inherently interactive and dynamic

nature.

Variations in the Symbolic Interpretations of the Store­lightning

Danish anthropologist Bille (2007/2012) found that, for Danes, the lightning of a place signals a

range of cultural meanings of Danish society such as, for example, “emotional closeness ”,

“egalitarianism ” and an “informal and relaxed ” ambient and social atmosphere. The light is used

as an ambient ingredient to create an atmosphere futile for hygge to arise in (Bille 2012). His

findings echo those of other anthropologists such as Linnet (2011:43) and Jørgensen (1996:43)

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who also noted a connection between the use and the effects of lightning in order to facilitate a

hyggelig atmosphere. He found that bright lightning worked against the Danish cultural ideals of

creating the mood of hygge, and that bright light was instead often seen as “artificial ” and

“blinding ” (Bille 2012; Linnet 2011). These findings also echo the experiences of several of my

informants.

Several perceived the lightning to be a factor that had an impact on their shopping­experience

as well as on the overall atmosphere of the store.

“Lysstofsrør ” at JYSK ­ hyggelig or not?

"Det er jo noget med konceptet, det der lys. Og hvad der er behageligt ik, det er ikke godt for

øjnene". ” Så lidt mere dæmpet eller anderledes lys mener De ville skabe en bedre

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atmosfære?” "Ja altså, man kan jo sætte et par afskærmninger ind på lysstofrøret, sådan at de

giver et lidt mere blødt lys" – Female informant age 35.

This convenience­based informant saw the fluorescent lights as “too bright ” and wished they

had a form of hood to diminish their brightness. Other informants similarly found it to be “cold ”,

“synthetic ” and even “uncomfortable ” to the eyes.

The revelation, however, that the same moderation­based informants at JYSK strategically chose to abstract from the light (by not bringing it up during our conversations as a negative

influence), whilst others stated to me that they were experiencing hygge despite the effects of

(or indeed precisely because of the lights), suggests to me that, what to some informants were

seen as bright, uncomfortable and intense fluorescent lights at JYSK, to others instead were a

positive meta­communicational symbol of an entirely different framework of hygge, especially to

some moderation­based Informants (Goffman 1974; Bateson 1972).

I argue that this contradiction in interpretation is due to the fact that (within their moderate and

tolerant framework of hygge ) the “uncomfortable ”, “blinding ” and “synthetic ” lightning

contrariwise symbolises an “authentic ”, “down­to­earth ” and “cost­effective ”

shopping­environment with emphasis on competitive bargains instead of “expensive ”,

“superfluous ” and “unnecessary excess ” (Linnet 2011).

To these moderation­based informants, it is another version of hygge that looks and feels quite

different from the traditional understanding of hygge , as portrayed by Bille (2012) and Linnet

(2011).

The role and the experience of the light is thus perceived very differently between

convenience­based and moderation­based informants, because both factors are interpreted as conflicting symbols via a different logical framework of interpretation (Goffman 1974; Bateson

1972) – one with emphasis on convenience and another with emphasis on the 'thrill of the hunt'

for cheap bargains, and in this world­view, a cheap and underdone atmosphere is instrumental

in facilitating hygge for this purpose.

"Jeg synes JYSK er altid så hyggeligt altså (laughs) jeg kan godt lide det. De har sådan lidt at

vælge imellem og de har gode priser, også synes jeg at her er nydeligt, ikke sådan rodet og

sådan" – Female age 25.

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Another example as to why pragmatic criteria of hygge lie in the eyes of the beholder is the

hypothetical argumentation that the moderation­based framework of hygge would in all

certainty be challenged, if the store was lit up by gold and diamond­plated designer lamps, for

example. The reason is that associated symbols of the context, such as “exclusivity ”, “formality ”,

“cold instrumentality ” etc., would remind her—according to the implicit logic of the

framework—of the social hierarchies and material distinctions that violate her romanticized

imagination of hygge of JYSK and of Danish society as a whole.

It could evoke powerful and detrimental feelings such as guilt, sadness and envy—all of which

would instantly destroy any rudimentary frame of hygge for the informant. Additionally, such an

“extravagant ” and “superfluous ” store­environment would be a counter­productive symbolic cue

to the imagination of JYSK as a cheap and cost­effective store with some of the most

competitive bargains available on the market (Goffman 1974).

A such 'over the top' presentation would fundamentally alter the structural expectations of the

moderation­based informants by breaking their frameworks of compelling prices and thus hygge.

An extravagant lamp which would likely break the framework of moderation­based hygge

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Bille (2012) suggests that bright lights are detrimental to hygge ­mood partly because they

create a form of bright global light which lights up the whole room and not just a specific locality

of the room, thereby eliminating all the dim areas and instead creating an intense white

light­zone which can contribute to making the room feel bigger than it is. Danes culturally prefer

dim local light, such as light from a candle or dim yellow (as opposed to bright white) light with a

covered bulb (ibid . 2012). This, he suggests, has to do with how Danes see white light as too

bright, cold, impersonal, formal and so forth. All things which, as mentioned above, are

counter­productive to creating a “hyggelig ” mental framework for many Danes (Bille 2012; Bille

2007) – but not all, as I have shown in this section.

Me: Er De herinde I dag efter noget specielt? "Næh, det er bare et hygge­indkøb jeg er på i

dag " – Female age 25.

Cost­efficient fluorescent lighting

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These informants find that the ambient atmosphere at JYSK is hyggelig , despite being far from

consistent with the idealised Danish values associated with the emic Danish understanding of

hygge, such as a “dim, cosy, warm, comfortable, welcoming, tranquil and homey ” environment

as summarized by Linnet (2011:23) and others.

As demonstrated in this section, the light is found to be instrumental in creating the mood of

hygge .

But not for the same reasons, and not—always—in the same historical ways as described by

Linnet (2011).

Whereas some informants interpret the signals of JYSK­lightning as “uncomfortable ”,

“synthetic ”, “her­er en­billig­agtig­butik ” (transl . “here­is­a­cheap­kind­of­store ”), others find that

the lightning reinforces their expectations of JYSK as the best place to go to find a cheap deal,

which is instrumental for their framework of hygge, as opposed to the other informants, for

whom this effect is pragmatically detrimental to their idea/version of hygge . Two very different

understandings and imaginations of hygge , which both were revealed by the way my informants

see the light at JYSK.

To practically cater for the contracts of both groups of informants—and both their diverging sets

of structural expectations—appears to be an impossible task, because the effects actively

cancel each other out and therefore cannot co­exist in the same kind of environment. The

section has therefore also shed light on the continuously weakening contracts of the

convenience­based group of informants, who have to make the biggest sacrifices when they visit JYSK, as opposed to the moderation­based group.

A Historical Comparison of the Contracts

So far, the analysis has revealed a polarization in terms of how a hyggelig shopping­experience

was perceived by my Danish informants at JYSK. I have described how two different 'versions'

of hygge appeared to co­exist on the sales­floor, one of which, however, seems to be far more

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common than the elusive other version. This led me to 'map out' how two different 'contracts'

appeared to exist between JYSK and informants belonging to each of the two dominant

frameworks of expectation: The moderation­based contract and the convenience­based contract.

The following section will present a comparative analysis of the 'contracts' of the Danish JYSK

customers of the 1980s and 1990s with the contemporary moderation­based­ and convenience­based contracts that were revealed by the analysis of this study. This will allow for an exploration of the causes as well as trajectories of the contracts and allow me to compare

and contrast the two in search of clues as to what may happen in the future to either of the

contracts between my informants and JYSK.

The Original Contract

In order to discover the composites of the original JYSK contract that existed between JYSK

and its first customers it is necessary to start looking at founder Larsen himself, because the

personal values and the perspective he had were instrumental in his success with his company.

Larsen's own view of himself as an “ordinary ” working­class Dane, belonging in between the

highs and lows of Danish society at the time, paved the way for a detailed understanding of the

values and needs of people like himself: “Ordinary ” working­class Danes (Larsen 2004:13;

Linnet 2011:28).

Money was scarce and even those Danes that had money did not like to spend it superfluously

(Linnet 2011). People like himself were culturally very price­conscious and were willing to go to

great lengths to either save money or to obtain a good bargain.

During the opening of his first JYSK stores in Jutland and later Sealand, he therefore knew the

mentality of “ordinary ” working­class people like himself and knew that, what really mattered

most to them, were the thrill and satisfaction of finding a good bargain. This was culturally highly

valued, and this became the starting point for the concept of JYSK itself. He knew that what

“ordinary ” Danes wanted, was the product itself, without everything else around it (such as

service, convenience, virtually no shopping­atmosphere, nor experience) – because the rest

was unnecessary and only served to make the products more expensive than they needed to

be. Those were the ideal expectations that people had of a place that championed the cheapest

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bargains available (Larsen 2004). He distinctly referred to the “fine ” stores in Copenhagen

where the doors were held for entering customers, and husbands were offered cigars in a

comfortable chair, whilst the wife did the shopping (Larsen 2004:40). Larsen wanted the exact

opposite with his discount­system.

Inspired by the discount­concepts of stores like ALDI, he decided that his products would simply

be shipped into the stores and stocked up on top of each other to save as many expenses as

possible (Larsen 2004:42). Even the company name was chosen carefully, by himself, because

he wanted the name to represent exactly the values and expectations that he felt his stores

stood for. It was an unconventional (compared to the 4­letter discount­norm such as “ALDI,

IKEA, BILKA, FØTEX etc. ”), homespun name which, nonetheless, was highly loaded with

symbolic meanings: In this store, you can expect no service, little to no convenience, no fancy

and “superfluous ” installations, but here people had the unique opportunity to shop directly from

a warehouse without all the expensive middlemen and so forth (Larsen 2004; Linnet 2011:28).

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.

The JYSK­logo, before and after 2004.

The logo—a goose on top of a bed—symbolised their speciality (which since has changed and

expanded – hence, presumably, the change in logo around the year 2004), which were beds

and linen (Larsen 2004:44­45). Additionally, Larsen tried to “experiment ” with the locations of his

stores: He wanted to see if it was possible to move a home­textile store outside of the

conventional placement near the city­centre and out to the outskirts of the city, where the rent

was much cheaper (Larsen 2004:44). He did this because he had a lingering suspicion that

“ordinary ” working­class Danes would—just like himself—be willing to travel far for the best

bargains. And it worked. Not only was the rent cheaper but the stores could be bigger than in

the city­centres. He knew that people from Copenhagen generally trusted things from Jutland to

be of a decent quality, and this, he felt, was an important signal which he hoped to send to his

customers: that the quality of his merchandise could be trusted, despite the low prices.

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He describes how his only concern about the store­environment was that everything actually

worked:

The light, heating, basic signage and that it was “clean and presentable ” (Larsen 2004). Staff

also had to be well dressed and deliver good service. The concept was a big success: The

customers were queuing up for miles outside the stores even a long time after the openings

(Larsen 2004:62).

In an interview with local newspaper “Hjørring Dagblad ” in 1981, Larsen stated, “It won't be a

fancy, stylish kind of store—it is simply a warehouse. We don't spend much money on interior

decorations. We believe the customers prefer the cheap prices ”.

According to Larsen, he himself slowly became synonymous with his own brand (Larsen

2004:38), and even his name, Lars Larsen, was seen by many as an arch­typical sign of

Danishness. The symbol of a popular ideal (ibid . 2004:38) – just like his growing chain of stores

slowly became.

The original JYSK contract was very simple but effective: Customers sacrificed convenience and unnecessary installation for the cheapest bargains available. The discount­concept itself

was also new and interesting at the time, and many other discount­stores opened their doors in

Denmark and across Europe during that period.

The 'Emotional Connection' as a Binding Incentive

The original contract and the moderation­based contract evidently have a lot in common. They share many cultural values, such as an appreciation for “moderation ”, “cheap bargains ”

and “practicality ”.

The fact that Larsen himself to many Danes was “synonymous with his own brand ” (Larsen

2004:38) and was seen by many as an arch­typical sign of Danishness, leads me to argue that

he, through the symbolic medium of himself, 'won over the hearts and minds' of many Danes

who identified themselves as “ordinary ” working­class Danes, in accordance with the

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“I­am­in­between ” world­view, as described by Linnet (2011:25; Goffman 1974) and Faber

(2008:100).

I argue that he managed to forge a deep emotional connection to a certain group of Danes who

considered themselves to share many idealised cultural values that JYSK represented. To many

Danes JYSK—like hygge— became cherished Danish values, which in many ways were

identical – or represented similar sets of values. JYSK could also be seen – and likely was seen

– as an implicit critique of the established “fine ” and far more expensive furniture­stores located

in the city­centres.

JYSK, in turn, catered exactly for those styles, or “patterns of consumption ”, which were formed

as a result of the many historical, economic, social, cultural and moral considerations – which

also gave birth to the cherished concept of hygge .

The Weakening Contract with the Convenience­Based Group

Over the years since the 80s and 90s, many things have changed around the discount­market

and JYSK. Discount is no longer as new and interesting a concept as it once was, and today

many discount­stores increasingly face image­related problems with their public perceptions,

because consumers (and the press) tend to question the quality of the products and the service

(BT 2013; Politiken 2015; MX 2016; Ekstra Bladet 2006).

Several of my own informants I spoke to one day provided examples of how some customers

questioned the quality of the merchandise. One person was meticulously inspecting a colourful

piece of travel­luggage, when I approached him. During our conversation, he told me that the

presentation (of the products at JYSK) “was very discount ”, and that it made him question the

quality of the suitcase he wanted to buy. “Maybe they can develop the product design, more like

IKEA­style. Yeah, in that way, because I don't trust the durability ”. He ended up leaving without

it, despite needing a suitcase and despite spending many minutes inspecting it from every

angle. But something stopped him from making the purchase.

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That something, I believe, was its presentation. Environmentally, it was made to look even

cheaper and less attractive and less durable because it was 'presented' very poorly (the luggage

was stacked up on the floor near the middle of the store, some of the suitcases were even

wrapped in very cheap­looking plastic, whist others had no plastic cover).

Additionally, a recent series of high profile CSR related “scandals ” have provided a serious

challenge for JYSK in terms of how the company is perceived by the general Danish public

(Ulandssekretariatet 2016; Information 2006). Issues relating from child labour to dangerous

working conditions have caught the interest of the Danish public and the Danish media, who

increasingly began to question: Just how far is JYSK willing to go in order to be able to deliver

the promise of the cheapest offers to its customers (Berlingske Business 2012)?

One late afternoon I met a couple who was about to leave the store with their products. I asked

them one of my standard­questions about why they had decided to come to JYSK today, but

was met with a surprisingly non­standard answer:

Female: "Det er mest af nødvendighed at jeg køber i JYSK, også fordi at jeg ikke har en bil så jeg ikke kan køre i IKEA". "Generelt har jeg det ikke så fedt med JYSK". "Det har noget at gøre

med at jeg har set nogle dokumentarfilm hvor at der er nogle søde indere som står i syre til

knæene". "Det er jo klart at hvis at man kan købe 3 håndklæder til 100 kr. Så må der være et

eller andet". "Jeg kunne godt forestille mig at meget var blevet produceret under nogle dårlige

forhold, så det er simpelthen af ren nødvendighed at jeg ikke tager i IKEA". "Det slår mig som

en virksomhed som ikke går særligt meget op i CSR ” ­ Couple age 20­30.

In her mind, JYSK had crossed an ethical line in its ambitious project of wanting to be the

cheapest, and, whether there is any truth to the story or not, it critically affected her perception

of JYSK as a symbol of greedy, irresponsible, 'heartless' and careless company. In the semantic

logic of her psychological framework of JYSK, this story could make sense, because it is no

secret that the discount­market is incredibly intense, and, at times, ruthless methods must be

used in order to 'go that extra mile' in order to be able to deliver on its promise of having the

cheapest bargains (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974).

To this couple (­particularly the female­) (and several others that I spoke to with similar

opinions), hygge , of course, was completely out of the question at JYSK. Even before they had

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entered the store, they knew that this was not going to be hyggeligt —it was simply out of pure

necessity that they came.

As I shall discuss later in the chapter on methodology, when I hear negative comments such as

the above, I always have to take into account the possibility that the informant could be telling

me a particular story in order to protect her ego from possible harm or inflation (Goffman 1959).

Or because the informant feels the urge to act in accordance with her identity­project (ibid .

1959). This informant, for example, told me that she “usually never ” shops at JYSK and only

does it “out of necessity ”. However, an observable fact is that the informant is here now and has

her trolley full of products which she has bought. In situations like this one, I must always keep

in mind that the things she tells me could be a story, instigated to serve her own identity­project

or save it from possible humiliation, because, according to the dramaturgical perspective, there

is always that possibility – especially in a situation where symbols are commonly interpreted as

symbolising sensitive issues relating to “social class ”, “discount ” and/or “money ” (Linnet 2011;

Bourdieu 1977; Goffman 1959).

Image­problems with JYSK and with Larsen Himself

Image­related problems are preoccupying in relation to both groups, but the long­term

consequences are most severe for the, otherwise so loyal, moderation­based informants, because this group, historically, is the 'bread and butter' customers at JYSK, because of their

many shared symbolic values which I have discussed earlier.

My informants generally had a wide range of perceptions of JYSK and of the founder and

owner, Larsen. Some came in, demanding to offer praise to Larsen himself in person, whilst

others explained that they thought he was probably “too busy playing golf ” to care about what

“us ordinary ” people had to say anyway.

This is another reflection of the diverging tendencies in terms of the structural perceptions and

experiences of my informants at Vermlandsgade.

To many informants, Larsen was no longer synonymous with an “ordinary ” working­class Dane.

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In the egocentric three­class system he had—because of his successful enterprise—elevated

himself up and above the middle­class lifestyle and, to them, no longer represented the

idealised “ordinary ” Dane with all the sets of values that were symbolically associated with that

framework (Goffman 1959; Goffman 1974; Bateson 1972). In other words, his success has

challenged his symbolic status as “ordinary ” (Linnet 2011; Goffman 1959).

Larsen, himself, often stated that he was synonymous with his own business, and, as I have

argued, this was precisely one of the reasons for his enormous success on the Danish

home­textile market. The challenge, however, for JYSK and for Larsen, is now to carefully

negotiate a new role and position of his public image.

I find that, in order to keep up his desired and culturally idealised public image, he must

consciously and continuously make efforts to manage the impressions that he (as a person) and

his company give out, so that he does not gradually disassociate himself from the very values

which made him and his company prosper (Goffman 1959). In this way, he can fight off the

negative associations that increasingly threaten to challenge his public image (Berlingske

Business 2016). By for instance continuing to support paralympic athletes, championing workers

rights in third world countries, or donating to charity etc. (­and making this publicly known­), he

can actively play a strategic role in influencing and managing the impressions and perceptions

that the Danish public has of him and his company. It will in simpler terms provide a series of

positive 'stories' that can challenge and remove focus from the more negative 'stories'.

Larsen must thus provide a form of reassurance that, despite his personal success, and despite

his undeniable elevation in the social hierarchy of Danish society, he still stands for the same

idealised Danish cultural values which he had when he was younger, and which, to many,

represent his business.

Larsen is undoubtedly very familiar with the Danish term “højrøvet ” (transl . “self­important” ),

because he has periodically been referred to as such by Danes who think he has gotten a bit

'too big for his boots'.

As Linnet (2011:31) and Hastrup (1992) noted, the passionate feeling of envy is never too far

away in an egalitarian society where social cohesion is fundamentally dependent on the quality

of sameness (Linnet 2011:29).

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The feeling of envy that some Danes experience is exemplified by the many public accusations

and gossiping (creating rumours) to hamper his public image. This is another example of a form

of egalitarian­producing mechanism, such as Sandemose's (1899­1965) “Jante Law ” or such as

meat­sharing, mocking, witchcraft/sorcery accusations or gossiping which all are examples from

the anthropological record (Weston 2011; Douglas 1963; Berlingske Business 2016).

It is thus my argumentation that, for as long as Larsen himself is publicly viewed by Danes as

synonymous with his own business, he (­and JYSK for that matter­) must actively, and

continuously, fight off such harmful accusations by means of strategic and pro­active impression

management, because the consequence for some customers—as I have shown in this

study—is that they will find it harder to symbolically associate JYSK with the feeling of hygge ,

which, as mentioned, is publicly understood by many Danes to be reserved for the “ordinary ”

middle­class Danes, and not the “well­to­do ”, “fine ” upper­class people (Linnet 2011:28;

Goffman 1959).

Finding III – The Symbolic Battle­field of Hygge

In the article “Money Can't buy Me Hygge ”, Linnet (2011:21) interprets the social phenomenon

of hygge as being fundamentally dependent on a specific set of environmental conditions, such

as the 'right' people present and a specific form of physical and ambient environment, as

discussed in previous chapters.

Linnet's (2011) argument is that the emic middle­class understanding of hygge is that it is not

dependent on money in order to be facilitated, because money would divert everyone’s attention

to ideas such as “social status ”, “formality ” and existing “social distinctions ” – elements which

are inconsistent with the logic of the psychological framework of hygge as being dependent on

economically, morally and socially equal and like­minded individuals (Linnet 2011; Bourdieu

1977; Bateson 1972). This chapter will, based on the findings in the previous chapters, explore

the symbolic battle of values that appears to be ongoing in the field, in terms of how my

informants both imagine and make use of the word hygge . I argue that what this symbolic battle

indicates, is the existence of class­differences in Danish society that each exert different kinds

of pressures in order to win the symbolic power­struggle—or earn the right—to practically define

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this idealised Danish form of sociality (Sløk 1988). The meaning of hygge , I argue, is thus

undergoing a form of semantic change as its meaning is currently being actively re­negotiated.

One of the problems with having just a single—and very narrow—understanding of hygge , is

that it is viewed from the unique perspective of one social group of individuals, and this leaves

out the perspectives of any others. I do agree with Linnet (2011) that this group could be

thought of both historically and contemporarily as having a “working­class ” mentality, with a set

of values unique to—and rooted in—the social, historical, economic and moral reality of their

circumstances. I also agree with the idea that the concept has been romanticized and

semantically 'taken over' in the form of an inter­class critique of both the higher and the lower

classes of Danish society, because both groups are assumed unable to create the feeling of

hygge due to their morally inferior nature (ibid . 2011).

However, the findings of this study suggest that a broader, more collective, understanding of

hygge is needed in order to capture the essence of its practical meaning by more than one

social grouping ­ as it is used and conceptualised in everyday life among my Danish informants

of JYSK. There hence appears to be an inconsistency between its popular definition and

understanding in social discourse, and how it is practically used and conceptualised by my

Danish informants in the field.

Moderation­based Hygge

The psychological framework of hy gge for the informants of the moderation­based group looks very different ­ and often was understood to be in complete contradiction to many of the

aforementioned historical values.

What this group appeared to value – and find consistent with hygge ­ is a moderate

environmental atmosphere: This group found great enjoyment in the 'thrill of the hunt', and this

feeling could only be created and sustained in a very moderate environment where the focus

was on making the offerings as cheap as they can be, whereas the ideal of “moderation ” is

consistent with the historical understanding of hygge . Hygge should, according to the historical

understanding, not be easily facilitated inside a commercial shopping environment (Linnet).

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The way hygge has been popularly understood for many years is as a feeling of sociality that

could only be created and sustained, if it took place in a physical setting removed from the

dangerous forces of capitalism and consumerism (Linnet 2011). This is due to the fact that

hygge was intended to offer its participants a form of protective ”safe­haven ”,

”home­centredness ” or ”shelter” against the socially stratifying forces of the market and capitalist

consumerism. The way, however, that many of my informants, more specifically the

moderation­based informants, used the word suggests that the feeling can , and indeed was

often expected to, exist inside a commercial shopping­space (such as JYSK).

Additional findings in Chapter II of the analysis found that, to many moderation­based informants, the intense bright light from the fluorescent light­bulbs was consistent with their

understanding of hygge during the 'thrill of the hunt'. This, again, was due to the symbolic

associations to the conditions needed for the best bargains. According to Bille (2012) and Linnet

(2011), however, hygge cannot easily be facilitated by this kind of “intense ”, “white ” and “global ”

light (as opposed to “local ” mood­lightning from a hooded PH­lamp, for example). They argue

that this is due to the fact that this form of light destroys the feeling of “emotional closeness ”,

“informality ” and “social equality ” (ibid . 2011:34). I find, however, that my informants did not

seem to feel the same way and often were perfectly able to create hygge . At this point, I also

want to draw attention to a value­related inconsistency in both Linnet’s (Linnet 2011) and Bille’s

(2012) idea of hygge as being partly facilitated by the light coming from a PH­lamp. This is

because the iconic Danish PH­lamps, themselves, are expensive status­symbols that have

been designed by famous Danish designer Poul Henningsen. According to the historical

middle­class understanding of hygge , however, any “status­seeking ” objects are detrimental to

hygge , because of their association with social inequality and distinctions (Linnet 2011;

Bourdieu 1977).

Also, I found that Linnet’s (2011) idea that hygge is dependent on a degree of personal and

emotional closeness, suggests that hygge cannot easily be created among strangers (let alone

in an exterior, commercial environment), again a suggestion, which goes against the ways in

which many of my moderation­based informants practically used the word. Many even found that particularly kind or considerate acts of service by store­employees were adding to the

internal construction of their psychological framework of hygge (Bateson 1972).

Although the symbolic theme of “moderation ” appeared to play a consistent role in how my

moderation­based informants understood hygge , as I have shown in this section, many other

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examples suggest that the way these informants use hygge is far removed from the traditional

working­class understanding of hygge, as portrayed in much of the existing Danish literature on

the subject.

Convenience­based Hygge

The ways in which the typical convenience­based informant conceptualised hygge and

practically used the word, reveal an even bigger contradiction to the historical understanding of

hygge .

The definition of hygge , is being challenged by this group, because findings have suggested

that it is sometimes understood that hygge is not necessarily as “antithetical to exc ess” and not

necessarily as only facilitated through “small me ans”, “informality ” and “moderat ion”. In fact, as

the analysis has found, to the convenience­based group of informants, hygge was indeed a

very 'fickle guest' that would not stay if the atmosphere was too “cheap ”,

“discount ”,“moderate ”,“inconvenient” etc. These findings reveal a diverging understanding of

hygge that is given its semantic meaning through a renegotiation of Danish values in relation to

hygge . Informants in this category increasingly appear to place more value on “money ” in order

to facilitate the 'right' conditions for hygge . For this group, it can therefore be argued that the

tendency of idealised values move more toward the ideal that: “Money is needed to buy me

hygge ”.

If not money, per se , then added atmospheric elements, which, as we have seen, sometimes do

not come cheap: This includes an added level of convenience in the store, more service, and

added level of exclusivity. Testament to this claim are the countless convenience­based informants who systematically complained to me about the inadequate service which they felt

they got, as well as aspects of the ambient and physical environment (the music, the lightning,

the smell of the store), which many also had complaints about, and which many said were

inconsistent with their particular framework of hygge (Bateson 1972). Formality—a notion that

Linnet (2011), Bille (2012) and others strongly regard as inconsistent with the historical

understanding of hygge — was,to some convenience­based informants,an important part of their shopping­experience. These informants on several occasions complained about what they

perceived as the “informal ” appearance of JYSK employees (wearing beach­attire and sandals

behind the counter, for example).

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“Formality ” and “exclusivity ” (­in the form of price and money­) are thus values which appear to

challenge the historical values of “moderation ”and “informality ” when it comes to the battle about

practically and symbolically defining hygge .

Hygge as a Vehicle for Social Control in an Egalitarian Culture

Hygge is commonly imagined as impossible to be created by the ”fine people ” ­ or higher social

classes, revealing a hidden power­struggle between the different social classes in Danish

society. Although the majority of Danes, regardless of social background, consider themselves

class deniers when asked in surveys and studies (Linnet 2011:25; Faber 2008), Denmark is,like

many other Western capitalist market economies, a society with a highly stratified social

structure and ingrained social hierarchy.

Self­identifying as ”ordinary ”, however, also implies that you are in the middle of two polar

extremes – which is why the 'scene­effect' could help explain why so many Danes self­report as

class­deniers, but simultaneously consider themselves ”ordinary ” or ”middle­class ”.

This is revealed by how many ”ordinary ” Danes imagine the concept of hygge as a desired form

of sociality which is reserved for the ”honest ”, ”hard­working ”, ”plain ordinary Danes ” (Linnet

2011:25­26).

According to this perspective, upper­class people do not have the ability to facilitate or produce

the frames required for hygge, as mentioned earlier.

Hygge , as a phenomenon and form of social interaction, has been monopolised by

working­class Danes, who, in an attempt to get a crude and simple form of power in terms of

their own self­constructed knowledge (Foucault 1981; Weston 2011), use hygge as a means to

this end.

Hygge was created by a working­class ego, and this becomes more apparent, when one

assesses the pragmatic qualities and required atmospheric constituents that are thought to

create it. These social, ethical and moral differences are systematically revealed in this section.

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Step by step we see in this section that, to the traditional moderation­based informants, hyggeligt­ interiority is thought to be fundamentally dependent on ”small means ” and

”moderation ”. ”Upscale formality ”, ”material abundance ” and other such 'empty values' like

'grandiose' presentations or designs are popularly regarded as an ”inauthentic ” and even

somewhat desperate attempt to ”make up ” for what the ”fine upper­class people ” lack in

”realness ” (Linnet 2011:27). Saving money on layout and decoration or ”getting cheap ” is

thought to be a way to ”keep things real ”; anything else is regarded as ”wasteful excess ” or

simply ”overdoing it ” (ibid . 2011:28).

However, as this study found evidence to suggest, this form of hygge is not the only form of

hygge that can exist, even though the common social imagination of it has been monopolised by

a working­class ethos and morality. Hygge , however, I argue on the basis of the findings in this

section, can take on many forms, and there are multiple ways of practically creating or

facilitating it. Only the respective criteria or pragmatics are very different in nature.

In this section we see that the structural expectations of the moderation­based informants, in many ways, correspond to the cultural values of what Linnet (2011) and other Scandinavian

authors describe as ”ordinary ”, ”working­class Danes ”, and that their values, by virtue of their

definition, stand in the sharpest of contrasts to the values of other social classes in Danish

society, a hidden, controversial and even embarrassing social fact to almost all Danes. As

Linnet (2011), Faber (2008) and Gullestad (1992:174) among others have found, Danes

typically—at all cost—avoid talking about the existence or reality of social classes, social

differences and distinctions in Danish society (Bourdieu 1977). Their existence, and the fact that

hygge is used as an ”interclass critique ” (Linnet 2011:29), is like discovering a black hole in

astronomy; one cannot observe it with the naked eye, and their existence therefore has to be

inferred by the circumstantial evidence which surrounds it, thereby revealing its existence.

Price therefore appears to play a key role in the negotiation of value, for both groups of

informants, because the more pricey and exclusive the presentation of the layout or

merchandise is, the more it is perceived, by the moderation­based informants, as emphasizing status­seeking ”pretensions ”, ”envy ”, ”money ” etc., all of which are symbols which stand in

contradiction to their framed expectations of a hyggelig physical environment (Bateson 1972;

Linnet 2011: 24). On the contrary, and as discussed in the above, if things seem more

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expensive, it usually means more service, more convenience and, potentially, more hygge , for

the convenience­based informants. This is the reason why price plays a key role as a semantic­communicational indicator of the wider context (Bateson 1972; Linnet 2011), either

framing it as potentially denoting hygge— or not.

The implicit logic of the moderation­based framework and the convenience­based framework is almost in exact opposition to each other. The rules determining each framework are almost as

contradictory as they can be, and they also, as shown in the above, actively cancel each other

out because they violate—or contradict—each other in a physical environment (Bateson 1972).

In this section I found that the historical understanding by now seems outdated and archaic in

relation to how my informants at JYSK made use of the word to describe their

shopping­experience as well as the shopping­atmosphere. The analysis suggests that the way

in which hygge is currently understood and used, contrasts the way hygge is often described in

popular social discourse. Idealised Danish values concerning ”moderation ” and ”informality ” are

being challenged by forces pulling the semantic meaning of hygge in a different direction.

Values surrounding ”formality ” and ”exclusivity ”, therefore, appear to constitute (as well as

facilitate) another form – or version – of hygge which means that two dominant versions of

hygge appear to co­exist on the sales­floor of JYSK. The findings also suggest that the

changing semantic meaning of the ongoing battle is due to social differences in Danish society

which both try to win the right to define the meaning of hygge . It reveals a resistance to the

'monopoly of hygge ' as an inter­class critique by the middle­classes (or historically the

working­classes) of Danish society (Linnet 2011:32).

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Part III: The Analysis Framework and Methodology The following part presents a reflexive and critical overview of the many practical as well as

theoretical considerations concerning the study’s choice of methodology in the field. These

include my status and role as a passive participant observer in the field and the ethnographic

interview, which was the primary source of data collection. The chapter also discusses the

important ethical issue of consent in the field, thoughts on managing interpersonal relations,

theory­building, reflexivity, and contains a discussion of the ethnographer's primary

data­collecting tool in the field: The Ethnographer's body. The last section finally sheds light on

the form of step­in­out local ethnography in a 'familiar' cultural setting, under which category this

study falls. Chapter 5: Gathering Data

Passive Participant Observation

Given the study's primary focus, viz. to investigate the perceived effects of the store

atmospherics during my informants' shopping experiences at JYSK, an empirically grounded

procedure to try to explore the views and experiences of my informants was through

systematically conducting qualitative, semi­structured interviews. This is a technique which

allows for the spoken words of my informants to assume a central role in the analysis. The

classic ethnographic ”face­to­face interview ” I considered to be suited as a means to gather

useful data, because it helps ”to uncover valid and truthful statements as a consequence of the

face­to­face and interrogative nature of the exchange ” (Madden 2010:67).

The Ethnographic Interview

The fieldwork started out as a learning curve where, as I got more experience in the field, I

became more used to interviewing people.

I began to focus less on the interview questions, and instead most interviews turned into

constructive and insightful ”conversations with a purpose ” (Kahn & Cannell 1957 cited in

Marshall & Rossman 1995:149). I still had my questions which started out as very structured

and very formal almost like a ”face­to­face questionnaire ” (Madden 2010:67), but which since

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developed into a much less formal conversation with particular THEMES I wished to explore

and address in the form of open­ended questions that would allow the informants to 'steer' the

interviews in the ways that they themselves found relevant (Jordan 2003).

At the start of the fieldwork, I would sometimes make the mistake of asking loaded questions

(Don't you think, isn’t that right ... etc.). This, however, quickly became less of a problem as my

interviewing skills improved in the field.

Inspired by James P. Spradley's (1979) classic text” The Ethnographic Interview ”, I decided to

use a modified version of his 12­step speech event as a way to conduct my semi­structured

qualitative interviews.

1) Explaining Purpose step (Including friendly introduction)

2) Information­gathering step

3) Informal and friendly leaving step

This technique allowed me to gather verbal data that would help me understand how ordinary

Danish shoppers perceived and experienced the every­day typical shopping­situation inside

JYSK (Weltanschauung ) in an ”analytical, typological, and relational way ” (Madden 2010:73;

ibid . 2010:16). This method also paved the way for” asymmetrical turn­taking ”, which refers to

the notion that I, as the ethnographer, did most of the questioning, and my informants did most

of the talking (ibid. 2010:74). The idea was to get my informants to feel as comfortable as

possible so as to encourage them to speak as freely as possible.

As the fieldwork progressed, the interactions became less and less instrumentalist and

inexorably ”slipped into 'chatting' without this overt aura of overt instrumentality ” (Madden

2010:67). This helped a lot with the general flow of the interviews, and my informants and

myself started feeling more relaxed and less formal which also helped to bring my informants

more at ease.

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Ethical Considerations

As with all forms of ethnographic engagements, there are important ethical considerations for

the ethnographer to pay attention to in the field, both before and after the fieldwork. For mostly, I

wanted to make sure that my informants and the people that I encountered during my fieldwork

would not be worse off with regards to their ”safety, welfare, economic position and health ”

(Madden 2010:89).

Apart from that, I needed to make sure—at every step of the way—that the objectives of my

work were clear and transparent to anyone who might wonder, but especially to my informants.

I would always take time to explain the purpose of my work and try to answer all related

questions in detail, whenever I was asked by an informant or a staff member.

I also informed everyone who asked exactly of how my data would be stored and used, and who

would receive a copy afterwards.

Similarly, I needed to ensure members of JYSK staff that none of their names would be

published, or that I would anonymise them in the study to the point of it being impossible to

trace the information back to an individual or an individual's actions for which he could

potentially come into trouble, or be held responsible for, in the future (Seale 2004; Madden

2010; Singleton & Straits 1991).

This ethical focus I considered particularly important because of the nature of this fieldwork

being among real customers, employees and the potentially involved commercial stakes.

The Issue of Consent

Due to the ethical considerations in relation to the question of having a form of consent from all

my informants, I would always (without exception) start out by asking for their permission to

interview them in the context of my research, after a brief introduction. It was also recommended

to me that I make sure that my informants could clearly see the recording device and thereby

have a constant opportunity to object, in case they did not wish to be voice­recorded.

This, I felt, was an effective way to handle the consent­issue, as opposed to actually asking

each individual informant for a written declaration of consent, which would both stall the flow of

the interview and make the whole situation feel much more formal and instrumentalist than it

needed to be.

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Similarly, a recording­device (a hand­held Dictaphone) was chosen in addition to note­taking

(”jotting ”) because this method would allow me to control the interview and think about the

questions and answers and even pro­actively consider relevant follow­up questions instead of

constantly having to, ineffectively, divide my attention between taking participatory field­notes

and listening to their replies (Madden 2010:134).

Although I mainly decided to use a Dictaphone as a recording device, I agree with LeCompte &

Schensul (1999a:1 in Madden 2010:19) that the ethnographer's body, in one sense, is one

holistic recording device, where I would effectively use all my senses to try to collect as much

relevant data as possible from the field.

During my fieldwork at JYSK, no one objected to being recorded, although some interviews

were so short that they had to count as invalid data that would not come to form part of the raw

data­pool.

By physically roaming around the store whilst interviewing, I was hoping to be exposed to

”typical, routine or even ritualised ” shopping situations, where I would be exposed to people

interacting with each other, members of staff and the ambient, social and physical environment

around us (Madden 2010:16).

In this way, I, as the ethnographer, was both an” observer and participant in an open

experimental field ” (LeCompte & Schensul 1992:2 in Madden 2010:17).

The single­sited fieldwork at Vermlandsgade was a form of so­called” step­in­out ethnography ”,

where I would spend a significant amount of time in the field during the days, but would go

home in the evenings to write up consolidated notes, debrief and transcribe the audio­recording

onto my computer data­base, before coming back to the field the next day (ibid . 2010:79).

Interpersonal Relations in the Field

During my time at JYSK, I became close with several of the part­time front­workers, some of

whom I spent a lot of informal down­time with in between interviewing or after closing hours.

Members of staff were only indirectly part of the study as they were part of the social

environment which I was studying.

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Initially, they did not ask many questions about what I was doing or how it could possibly affect

themselves, but as time progressed and informants sometimes talked about their interactions

with staff, they began to sense that my work might affect them somehow, at which point they

both became more reserved and also started to ask more questions about my work, and who

would end up seeing the results.

I could indeed envisage their concerns from their own perspectives, 'whose side was I really on?

'Who exactly was I, and what was I doing—and for whom?'. 'Could they themselves potentially

get into trouble?'

At that point, I felt that it was correct for me to be completely transparent about my work and

(Madden 2010:16), yet occasionally, I still found myself caught in awkward situations where an

informant had overtly said some 'not­so­nice ' things about JYSK or about their experiences with

specific members of staff very close to the person being discussed. I made sure to assure

everyone that I would conceal the identity of all members of staff, and that no one would be

named in the final report or in the thesis.

Hypothetically, if I was to redo this field­work in the future, I would consider including the

employees more as active informants themselves – rather than them being silent 'actors' in the

field – without a voice of their own. This is due to the fact that they are intimately involved in the

interaction with my informants and play an active role in the day­to­day negotiation and

co­creation of their experiences at JYSK.

Untranslated Danish Data

It is for the sake of accurately presenting the spoken words of my informants and to present

their experiences at JYSK that I have made the decision not to translate the raw­data into

English, because I feel it paints a clearer and more undisturbed picture of their views and their

shopping experience if the exact meaning of their spoken words are not interfered with by an

attempt at translating them from Danish into English.

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Reflexivity and Social Distance

Although, as Coffey notes, ”fieldwork is necessarily an embodied experience ” (Coffey 1999:59),

where we over time attempt to acquire the habitus of our informants by passively following them

and observing what they do, it was important for me to remind myself, throughout, of the

importance of preserving the ”outsider perspective ” and thereby maintaining a critical social

distance to the people and the environment that I was working in. Going home in the evening

and writing up my notes helped me maintain this delicate distance, despite becoming very

familiar with the store, the sales­people, and the customers (some of which I met on a regular

basis).

The Ethnographer's Body: Acquiring Bodily Competence in New Rôles

This section will shed light on the methodological reflexivity that involves the body of the

ethnographer in the field. Embodiment has increasingly become a more discussed topic for

ethnographers, and some (Monaghan 2006:238 cited in Madden 2010:18­19) even talk about a

”somatic turn ” in ethnography. It is true that the ethnographer has to use his whole body as a

form of ”organic recording device ” when collecting data in the field (ibid . 2010:82). This is due to

the fact that fieldwork is an ”embodied activity ” effectively using all five senses to collect useful

data (Madden 2010:19).

Whereas, unlike Coffey (1999:5) suggests, the ethnographer should attempt to ”acquire the

habitus of the informants ”, this is not true for this particular study involving only a passive form of

participant observation. However, I still needed to reflect critically upon the ”historically informed

habitus” which I, myself, brought with me into the field, and which will therefore be a mediating

variable of the outcome (Madden 2010:88; Bourdieu 1977). As Bourdieu (1977) notes, a habitus

is a form of ”generative embodied history ” which would influence how I experienced my

fieldwork, and indeed how my informants experienced me (Bourdieu in Madden 2010:19).

The point of turning the gaze inward and reflecting critically upon the ethnographic being of, 'me,

the ethnographer is important—even necessary—because it helps to more accurately

understand how my informants were influenced symbolically by me in the field (ibid . 2010:23;

Goffman 1959; Mead 1913).

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As Madden rightly notes, a ”reliable portrait ” of the ethnographer helps to ensure a more reliable

and accurate portrait of my informants (ibid . 2010:23).

As mentioned, the task of collecting verbal data through ethnographic interviews turned out to

be a demanding process that involved me trying to ask the right questions at the right time,

listen to their answers whilst thinking of relevant follow­up questions, and simultaneously trying

to stay polite, patient and give a relaxed impression, because I knew that if I started to become

jittery, my informants would start to feel uneasy as well.

This was difficult at the start as I only had little experience interviewing people.

The first week, or so, my interviews were, for the most part, very short, and upon listening to the

replays I could sense in the tone of both my own voice as well as the voice of my informants

that neither of us were at ease, and we would break off the interview shortly after, usually due to

the informant just wanting to move on.

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Chapter 6: Reflections on the Frame­analysis

The Issues of Framing and Representation

Although frame­analysis has widely been accepted as a remarkable analytical tool to making

sense of the way meaning and reality is practically and theoretically structured as well as

experienced by social actors, the concept does not come without any weaknesses.

In recent years, the concept of framing has been used widely in a range of different disciplines,

and its wide use and its rising popularity has drawn criticism from critics who argue that the

concept of framing itself can be problematic. Critics such as anthropologist Don Handleman

argue that the problem with the original Batesonian frame is that it presumes a ”lineal ”

conception of framing which becomes ”hierarchical, exclusive, unidirectional and static ” in its

use (Handleman cited in Engler & Gardiner 2012:7). What this means is that events, situations,

sermons, sessions, for example, will never – or rather CAN never be as close to their

representing frames so as to actually mirror them perfectly, and instead these situations will

always be somewhat secondary, even lesser, or 'artificial' replica­events, in comparison to the

'real' frames which they aim to copy. This unfortunate epistemological consequence of lineal

framing, I agree, is problematic because it leads to an over­emphasis on denotation, reference,

and the ”real ” (versus the 'fake ') (Engler & Gardiner 2012:12).

With the above taken into consideration, I agree with Engler & Gardiner (2012:15) that ”Bateson

was wrong to emphasize subordination of that which is framed and to see it as representing that

which it denotes (outside the frame) in an untrue/abnormal manner ”. I find that it makes better

sense to shift attention away from the issue of representation and denotation, by assuming the

frame ”sets up a relation of difference, not of subordination (ibid . 2012:15)” to interpretation

(ibid . 2021:16). This means using Korzybski's ”map­territory metaphor ” which suggests that

frames – like maps – offer a guiding function (instead of a representational function) (ibid .

2012:15), thereby reinforcing the ”dynamic interplay ” between the frame and what is being

frame, where users and observers are guided toward certain ends (ibid . 2012:15),

instead of regarding it as a one­way representation. This way the problematic and linear

concept of framing is avoided.

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The Fragile Frameworks of an Ethnographic Interview at JYSK

Frequently, informants would look as if trying to figure out (­or decode­) who I really was or what

I was really doing, although I was always upfront about the purpose of my work, what it was,

how long the interview would take, who would read it, and what purpose it would serve; I felt like

some of them just did not seem entirely convinced. This, once again, brings me back to a

central point of this thesis which illustrates just how important the symbolic body of the

ethnographer is to creating and maintaining meaning.

Were the primary frameworks of experience equal to their expectations of an in­store

ethnographic interview (Bateson 1965; Goffman 1974:21)? Was I really trying to trick them in

order to rob them?

Or was I trying to distract them so somebody else could rob them? Was I a JYSK employee—or

perhaps a JYSK floor­manager? Was I just another customer or a real interviewer? If so, was I

even allowed to shadow them and interview them afterwards inside the store? All of these, and

more questions, were seemingly making my informants feel insecure about the whole situation.

Furthermore, this exemplifies how fragile social situations are, and how little it can take to break

or sustain them.

After some weeks, the interviews quickly became longer, and I noticed that people started

joking more during the interviews, and often they wanted to 'hang out ' long after I had finished

asking my questions and discussing the analytical themes. I believe that experience made me

feel and act calmer, which had a visible effect on my informants who also seemed to feel more

at ease.

After the early days of ”trying to acquire the right bodily competence ” of an ethnographic

interviewer, it made my research­objectives a lot easier, as I could now increasingly concentrate

on what my informants were saying as well as on their own body­language in the form of bodily

postures, composure, physical attitude and distance (Madden 2010:83). I began to understand

how the perceived nature of my own opening act of introduction would greatly influence the

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course—or flow—of the interview: If I started out hesitant or nervously, my informants would

instantly act less enthusiastic and more reserved, and their body­language would often reveal

an eager to finish the interview. On the other hand, if I started out introducing myself confidently,

loudly introducing myself using all of my charm and charisma, my informants remarkably

seemed to mirror my own enthusiasm, and often such interviews were among the longest and

most insightful I would get.

Reflecting on Sensitive Questions and Self­reporting: The 'Scene­effect'

One of the problems with asking an informant questions is that it is difficult to second­guess

what an informant may or may not find to be sensitive. Topics such as money, sexuality and

religion are commonly considered to be sensitive questions that must be treated with particular

care in the field by the interviewer (Bleek 1987).

However, according to the dramaturgical perspective, the ethnographer must always be aware

that seemingly innocent questions about the customer­experience could – in the world­view of

my informants – be considered a sensitive issue because the stated question somehow affects

their identity­projects or ego in ways which are complex and difficult (­even for the informant­) to

consciously acknowledge (Goffman 1959). For example, asking someone if they buy organic

food, may prompt on them to say they do, even though they do not, or rarely do so, in order to

not lose face in the situation or harm their ego (Goffman 1959).

Given that the theme of my questions are the attitudes and experiences of their visit to JYSK, I,

as the ethnographer, need to take into account that symbols and interpretations may affect this

process of ethnographic data­extraction (Madden 2010). JYSK is almost ubiquitously known

within Danish society as a discount retailer, which may or may not affect what my informants will

want to “perform ” in the interview (Goffman 1974). Most informants will be aware of this

reputation, and some may want to interpret this in a positive light, whilst others may not – some

may feel a sense of shame or embarrassment and therefore put on a performance in order to

protect their ego (Goffman 1959).

Consciously, or subconsciously, some informants may want to control their impressions in a

particular direction because of their own perceived understanding of JYSK's (positive or

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negative) reputation, or because they are now finding themselves in a framed

interview­situation, where they are being asked to evaluate their experience in relation to the

symbol of JYSK (Bateson 1972; Goffman 1974; Goffman 1959).

Although there is not much the ethnographer can do to control this effect, it is important to be

aware of its existence and its potential effect on the data. As I have discussed in the analysis,

this 'scene­effect' may have contributed to some negative comments about their experiences at

JYSK.

Ethnography 'at Home'

This section picks up on the notion of social distance to the field, especially given that the field

was only a few blocks from where I reside in Copenhagen.

It was easy to experience a “taken­for­granted quality ” about the seemingly familiar setting I was

working in. ”Home is familiar ”, as Madden (2010:45­46) and Hastrup (1987) rightly note, and

home is thus a complex mixture of ”geographical, emotional, social and cultural components,

which are brought together under the rubric of familiarity ”. It was important to me to try to

”refigure ” and constantly challenge the familiarity of the situations in a way that caused the

familiar to become unfamiliar (Madden 2010:80).

In the field I tried to distance myself from my life­long experience of Danish forms of interaction,

for the purpose of the anthropological analysis (Linnet 2011:22).

I have not personally been brought up in Denmark; I have been brought up by Danish parents

abroad in Luxembourg and have been socialised in a Danish way, attending a Danish school

and having Danish friends and visiting Denmark very often, which means that I am able to

supplement my field­work experience with my own native understanding of hygge .

For this reason, I also addressed my informants formally as “De” , as opposed to the more

informal “du” . Upon reflection, this felt normal to me, having grown up in a German­speaking

country, but it was very abnormal to my Danish informants, and many did comment on it.

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I am certain that this effect, in retrospect, will have contributed to mystifying me, as Dane or,

even, as a legitimate ethnographer at work. And to myself this was a small reminder that, even

though I call it “ethnography at home ”, this setting was—in many ways—still very new to me.

The Emergence of Business Anthropology

For about a decade anthropologists have been working as “business anthropologists ” studying a

range of business­related issues such as group­behaviour, work processes, organisational

change, diversity, globalisation, and a range of other people­centred subjects (Jordan 2003:21).

Being “specialists at people­watching ” and with a diverse and practical ethnographic tool­kit,

anthropologists are ever more frequently being sought after by businesses and organisations to

help tackle important business­related issues (Jordan 2003:3).

Particularly useful are the anthropologists’ expertise in qualitative and quantitative techniques as

well as ethnographic field­work methods (Jordan 2003:64). These methods have been widely

used by anthropologists all over the world since the establishment of the discipline in the early

18th century, and today the very same methods help us understand, for example, how

individuals and groups interact with each other, material artefacts, as well as with forces in the

external environment (ibid . 2003).

Anthropologist Grant McCracken (1988) rightfully suggests that consumption, from the

anthropological perspective, are the processes at work when consumer goods are “created,

bought, and used ”, and an understanding of these processes are important in order to

understand the culture (Jordan 2003:65).

British anthropologist Daniel Miller (1998) correctly added that consumption is the key to

understanding many different processes which are at work in a society. As such,

anthropologists who work for businesses and other organisations are not just enlightening us on

issues relating to their clients but indeed to anthropological theory as a whole (Miller in Jordan

2003:65).

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On the Genesis of the Danish Class­Habitus

The very beginnings of the formation of the Danish class ­habitus are described in the previous

sections, but date back many hundreds of years (Linnet 2011). But as both Larsen (2004:13)

and Linnet (2011:27), for example, have described, class and social hierarchies are by no

means non­existent within contemporary Danish society and in many (albeit subtle and often

hidden ways) ways are found to be practically relevant in everyday situations. This can be in

relation to what people one seeks to associate with (Larsen 2004:13; Linnet 2011:24), what food

and other material objects one decides to consume (Linnet 2011:27), but also where one

decides to go and consume them. These are not random choices but structural, symbolically

loaded choices, and, in combination, they often form a very revealing pattern.

Pierre Bourdieu (1931­2002) was a French philosopher, sociologist, anthropologist and

renowned public intellectual. Throughout his career he achieved international fame for his

ground­breaking research on the corporeal nature of social life and the role of practice and

embodiment in social dynamics.

In one of his main works, ”Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste ”, he offers a

refreshingly novel description of the dynamic, yet interdependent, relationship between ”culture ”

and ”personality ” (Bourdieu 1984; Bourdieu 1977;78; McCracken 1987). One argument he

convincingly makes, is that aesthetic (consumption) choices that people make create class

factions or class­based social groupings, who actively distance themselves from one­another

(Bourdieu 1977). He argues that “taste ” is a product of socialisation or, being raised by, a

particular, social group.

The cultural tastes of the dominant social group therefore are different, and in many ways

opposed to the tastes of the lower social classes (Bourdieu 1977). Fine foods or arts, for

example, objects which are admired by “fine ” upper class people, are often looked down upon

by the lower social classes and thereby loaded with whole new—and often opposing—sets of

social meanings, such as described by Linnet (2011).

Hygge , although not a material object, is still a sign with a dynamic constellation of meanings

and values surrounding it that goes through the exact same process of social constructivism as

it is continuously created, maintained and destroyed throughout social interaction in everyday

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life (Goffman 1974). It is thus not surprising that imaginations of hygge differ between the

different social classes.

The idea is that a socialised person's personality takes on the form of a “miniculture ” replica or

–is a symbolic imprint of the informing “parent culture ” (Bourdieu 1977:84; McCracken 1987).

This idea that all socialised, non­deviant, members of a society possess a similar form of “basic

personality ” is—albeit not an unchallenged theory—but a widely accepted theory which helps to

explain 1) how culture (as well as the symbolic meaning of idea and objects) is always in “transit ” (McCracken 1987:26; Goffman 1974), being constantly passed on from individual to

individual but also from generation to generation, 2) how culture—despite having fixed

features—is also inherently unfixed and dynamic. Consumption is thus a vehicle for “tastes ” and

“symbolic meanings ” to be passed on from generation to generation (McCracken 1987;

Bourdieu 1977; Goffman 1974). This also means that the symbolic meanings of the word hygge

are always “contested ideological grounds ” which are always vulnerable to being challenged in

the course of everyday social interactions (Linnet 2011:40; Goffman 1974).

Danes as “Class Deniers ”

One of the inherent problems associated with talking about the Danish 'middle­class' or social

stratification in Danish society, is that, to almost all contemporary Danes, class “is a highly

embarrassing, unsettling subject ” to discuss, and as Linnet (2011:25) notes, objectively

speaking, many Danes are “class deniers ”, and instead members of all social classes often tend

to consider—as well as describe—themselves as middle­class, thereby following the highly

idealised “I­am­in­between social imaginary ” (ibid . 2011:25).

Danes do have a lot of traits in common, which can be thought of as a form of culturally and

historically informed 'national' personality (or identity) which, in many ways, is reflected in each

other. The notion of the habitus hence becomes useful here, because it is understood as a

“durably installed generative principle of regulated improvisations ... ”, which Bourdieu (1977:78)

found to be similar to all (non­deviant) members of a cultured society, while accounting for their

own emic rejections of any self­ascribed social status.

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11. Conclusion

The present dissertation sets out to investigate and explore the perceptions and structural

expectations of shoppers at Danish home and furniture retailer JYSK. Through a Batesonian

frame­analysis of their shopping­experiences, several conflicting understandings of hygge were

found to co­exist and operate simultaneously among different kinds of informants.

The analysis revealed the existence of the convenience­based framework and an opposing moderation­based framework, which characterized two contradictory and, in many ways, diverging experiences, as well as structural expectations of what a hyggelig

shopping­experience practically means for my informants. For convenience­based informants, hygge was a ‘fickle guest’ ­often leaving very quickly­ due to their systematically high

expectations and simultaneously low levels of tolerance.

It was found that each framework was informed and guided by very different sets of cultural

values, with price, however, being a common value for both. Danish cultural values such as

“moderation ”, “formality ” and “egalitarianism ”, on the other hand, were typically perceived

divergently in relation to the imagination of hygge .

After having characterized two psychological frameworks of experience, I was able to ‘map out’

two different forms of ‘contracts’ that currently exist between JYSK and its customers.

The analysis found evidence to suggest that the moderation­based ‘contract’s, in many ways, are similar to the original contract that existed between JYSK and its earliest customers in the 1980s, whereas the convenience­based contracts seemed to be informed and guided by an increasingly different set of cultural values.

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Price appeared to be an important value for both the contracts, but for the convenience­based informants it was found to be one of the only incentives to visit JYSK. Moderation­based informants appeared to share an emotional connection to JYSK and founder Larsen, with whom

they can relate and ­ in many ways ­ identify with.

Convenience­based informants who visited JYSK appeared to systematically sacrifice hygge ,

as part of their contract with JYSK, suggesting that JYSK may be at risk of alienating this group

of informants in the future. On the contrary, moderation­based informants systematically sacrificed convenience ­ a small sacrifice to many ­ because these informants culturally perceive

“moderation ” as a value in itself.

The conflicting ­ and often opposing ­ imaginations of hygge led me to conclude that this is an

indication of a symbolic class­based struggle to earn the right to control the meaning of the

social phenomenon of hygge . The semantic re­negotiation of hygge , I found, was consistent

with a wider class struggle for the right to define the meaning of hygge , despite the fact that the

meaning of the phenomenon has historically been created as well as monopolised by the

Danish middle­class.

The study thus provided an empirically grounded insight to add to the ongoing debate on the

Danish cultural phenomenon of hygge , and the study demonstrated that it is possible to

contribute to anthropological theory via a fieldwork conducted in a commercial

shopping­environment, whilst simultaneously providing a foundation of applicable knowledge for

JYSK, as a business, to benefit from in order to tackle more business­centred issues, such as

PR, marketing and communications.

The study also serves as an example of an emerging field with many practical possibilities for

frame­analysis as an analytical tool to explore meaning­building, perceptions and reality of

social agents in a retail environment.

As a recommendation for promising future research I would suggest exploring how other

cultures make use of similar cultural phenomena such as the Dutch “gezelligheid ” or German

“gemütlichkeit ” in relation to describing the perceived nature of their shopping­experiences in

entirely different social, cultural and commercial settings, and to explore whether they too are

ideologically contested by different social factions in the same way that hygge is in

contemporary Danish society.

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