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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research report was to assess McDonald's globalization strategy. We examined McDonald's strategy across six dimensions: menu, promotion, trademarks, restaurants, employees, and service. We also compared the company's performance across these six dimensions in 10 different countries: Saudi Arabia, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil, Indonesia, India, China, Japan, and New Zealand to measure McDonald's success in capitalizing on globalization and localization. As discussed in this report, McDonald's is a global brand through its worldwide standards and training operations, but the company is also local, with its franchising to local entrepreneurs, locally sourcing food, and targeting specific local consumer market demands. McDonald's is an excellent example of blending global with local - an organization that has glocalized very successfully.
Introduction and Purpose
McDonald's has been serving fast food to America since 1955 and has grown into one of the world's leading fast food giants. Today, McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with 1.7 million employees and more than 34,000 restaurants in 119 countries serving nearly 69 million people each day (McDonald's, Annual Report, 2012).
Not too long ago people believed McDonald's would become "a lumbering cash cow in a mature market" (Serwer & Wyatt, 1994). However, its success abroad has offset the maturing market in America. In fact, 65% of McDonald's sales came from international revenues (McDonald's, Annual Report, 2012.) Its worldwide operation concentrates its global strategy, "Plan to Win," and on customer experience, which includes people, products, place, price, and promotion.
This paper will compare McDonald's marketing strategy to determine how well it capitalizes on both globalization and localization. It will look at this strategy by examining ten different countries: Saudi Arabia, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil, Indonesia, India, China, Japan, and New Zealand, across six different dimensions: menu, promotion, trademarks, restaurants, employees, and service.
McDonald's: The American Standard
The McDonald's American model focuses on fast and convenient service with high purchasing turnover. Its recognizable bright red and yellow colors with the iconic golden arches reaching into the sky offer Americans a piece of the familiar in a foreign country. "Our goal is to become customers' favorite place and way to eat and drink by serving core favorites such as our World Famous Fries, Big Mac,...