Succeeding Globally Depends on Localization: A Case Study on McDonald’s Corporation

Abstract

When Theodore Levitt wrote The Globalization of Markets in 1983, he envisioned the world’s cultures melting together to form one global culture. However, Hofstede’s research and the “cultural nationalism ” identified by Naisbett show that cultures are becoming more diverse rather than less homogenized. Therefore, we can infer that products need to be adapted to different markets instead of offered in a standardized form. Yip offers a model for “Total Global Strategy ” which McDonald’s Corporation improved upon and implemented to become the world’s leading fast food chain. In this paper I examine the international expansion of McDonald’s overall and focus on some of the localization strategies employed in Australia