Cultural Adaptation: A Case Study of McDonald's in China

This case study examines McDonald's adaptation to Chinese culture. The introduction defines culture and its importance in a globalized world, setting the stage for the analysis of McDonald's entry into the Chinese market. The main body explores how McDonald's adjusted its strategies, including product innovation (e.g., offering Chinese breakfast items), targeting different demographics (youth), and aligning with Chinese values. It details how the company navigated cultural differences and adapted its menu and marketing to resonate with Chinese consumers. The conclusion emphasizes the crucial role of cultural understanding in international business expansion, highlighting the importance of considering local preferences and lifestyles for success. References include books and journals discussing global marketing and cultural adaptation.

CASE STUDY ON
CULTURE
(MCDONALDS AND
ADAPTING IN
CHINA)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
How did McDonald adopted chinas culture................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCE...................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Culture is related to the specific knowledge and characteristic of a certain group of people
, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, etc. Countries like comes under the
eastern culture who are more concerned about the norms and beliefs of the society. Culture is
looked of greater importance in the inter connected world which is made up of so many ethical
diverse societies. This report is based on the case study of Mc Donald. It will explain the cultural
impact or adaptability of Mc Donald in China.
MAIN BODY
How did McDonald adopted chinas culture.
Mc Donald is a restaurant which serves fast food to its customers. It was established in 19
40 an deals in restaurant industry in US. It is one of the largest chain of fast food industry and
operates globally. That is, it is operating in 117 countries and operates around 32000 restaurants
all over the world by employing approximately 1.5 million employees. The company was
experiencing quick growth in US market but was also facing explosion in other international
markets due to cultural diversities.
McDonald started its operations in Chinese market in 1990. the interactions between the
McDonald restaurant and Chinese culture value system combined together to provide an
assurance of synergy which has resulted in some interesting developments (De Mooij, 2018). It
has made an effort from hierarchical set up of the dining experiences in traditional Chinese
restaurants. The unavailability of alcohol which was not served in McDonald has given the
women in Chinese culture to sit and eat on equal terms and conditions while eating which
embraces them.
In this current era of internationalisation, people are able to share any kind of food from
different parts of the world due to the globalisation of food and beverages. With the help of
globalisation, the food is easily reachable to the customers with the help of improvement in
menus, dining experiences and expansion of worldwide factors.
Cultural adaptation is concerned with the the procedure of adjusting the native ways of
thinking and behaviour is considered to be agreeable with local culture (Zhu, Anagondahalli and
Zhang, 2017). For adapting different culture, the organisation needs to be flexible in nature
which faces a big challenge and follows new system of rules in the particular group of people

which needs an open and free mind. Therefore, for initiating and executing the business in
Chinese market, the company has adopted itself in Chinese culture.
In present business world, Mainland China is the most populated country in the world. It
is the most developed country and poses greater opportunity for the restaurants in this century.
When Mc Donald entered in Chinese market with diverse culture than it was generally
considered that cross cultural communication will develop stress for the organisation. When Mc
Donald faced the same problem than it chooses to adopt the new business environment with their
own features rather than standardisation (Gao and. et. al., 2015). China is the place where big
global and multi national brands wants to expand their businesses which will attract average and
higher level income consumers who have an interest in the western lifestyle.
For better understanding of the Chinese cultural, McDonald has adopted several new
approaches for introducing themselves to the new market with different culture. The following
are the changes which are adopted by the McDonald in Chinese market :
 Product innovation : Mc Donald provides standardised products on their menu,
throughout the world but in Chinese market, it serves various other types of products and
services to enhance innovation and uniqueness. For this, it offered fried egg and Chinese
pan cake for breakfast in their menu (Talwar, 2018). It has launched a new and
innovative hot drink which contains ingredients like honey and ginger because of the
Chinese culture which believes that it helps in keeping cold away.
 Targetting and Chinese values : In earlier years, Mc Donald targetted only children and
family members but later on it also targetted youth and youngsters by rendering them
with light and happy dining experiences. In present business world majority of its
restaurants are designed with such an interior and decoration that it will attract young
people of China. In later years, the Mc Donald grab the market share of restaurants in
China by offering the combo of “extra size and extra value money” and an introduction
of rainbow cola cups in 6 different colours which attracts young people who will think
that the cups are fashionable and cool.
CONCLUSION
From this report it has been concluded that culture plays a very crucial role in the
organisation for the attainment of business objectives and goals. It is important when the
organisation is expanding its businesses to the international market then they must consider the

proper culture and lifestyle of the people otherwise the business can be failed in such countries.
It helps in knowing the preferences of the customers and developing policies and practices
accordingly.

REFERENCE
Books and Journals
De Mooij, M., 2018. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes.
SAGE Publications Limited.
Gao and. et. al., 2015. High-throughput screening using patient-derived tumor xenografts to
predict clinical trial drug response. Nature medicine.21(11). p.1318.
Talwar, J., 2018. Fast food, fast track: Immigrants, big business, and the American Dream.
Routledge.
Zhu, L., Anagondahalli, D. and Zhang, A., 2017. Social media and culture in crisis
communication: McDonald’s and KFC crises management in China. Public Relations
Review.43(3). pp.487-492.