Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia (Paperback)

~ James L. Watson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What does it mean that McDonald's has become an integral part of daily life throughout East Asia--so much so, in fact, that many Asians have ceased to consider the American hamburger chain "foreign" at all? The five scholars who contribute essays to Golden Arches East have taken a novel approach to cultural anthropology. Call it hamburger historiography, perhaps, but their analysis of McDonald's ascendancy in the East has much to say about both the corporation itself and the changing values of Asian societies. Despite widespread criticism of McDonald's as a symbol of global homogeneity and environmental degradation, not all of these changes have been negative. In Hong Kong and China, for instance, McDonald's has actually contributed to improving standards of bathroom cleanliness and table manners, according to the authors. And the transformation has cut both ways; McDonalds itself has been forced to adapt to local culture and tastes. In studying how McDonald's has been assimilated into Asian societies, Watson et al. provide a fascinating portrait of cultural accommodation, compromise, and change. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

From a historical perspective, McDonald's Ray Kroc may be viewed as the latest in a line of foreign rulers who conquered Asia. From Japan to South Korea to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and, most recently, China, the ubiquitous Golden Arches proclaim the victory of American hamburger culture. But is McDonald's the vanguard of a process of globalization? The five anthropological case studies gathered here by editor Watson in this absorbing, accessible study suggest a more complicated answer than yes or no. They show that, partly because of its own localization strategy and partly because of the consumers it targets, McDonald's quickly assimilates to the culture of the countries where it operates even as it contributes to modernizing changes in those diverse Asian settings. In particular, McDonald's is no longer an exotic import but part of the local milieu. Here is that rare academic study that belongs in every library.?Steven I. Levine, Boulder Run Research, Hillsborough, N.C.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804732078
• ISBN-13: 978-0804732079
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #717,713 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Typical Book About McDonald's Expansionism..., October 12, 2002

By	Carl Malmstrom (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews

Most books dealing with the spread of American pop culture (and pop business) influences these days like Disney, Coca-Cola and McDonald's have very little good to say about the growth of any of them in previously unexposed markets. That's why, perhaps, it comes as surprising that "Golden Arches East" comes out with a mostly positive look at the effect McDonald's had had throughout East Asia.

In this book, five authors look at the impact McDonald's has had in five different East Asian entities: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Much of the early chapters is given over to looking at the material aspects of McDonald's in East Asia: the marketing aspects, the reconceptualization towards a standard Asian consumer, the effect on the Asian food industry, etc.. All of this makes for very fascinating reading and shows just how marketing has to be changed from country to country (or even region to region). Likewise, it deals with very nuts-and-bolts issues of how McDonald's has impacted the lives of the average Asian consumer - and the impact is bigger than you'd think.

However, later chapters (especially those dealing with Taiwan and Korea and the Afterword) move to more conceptual issues of McDonald's - issues of modernity. Americanization and cultural identity. In an anthropological context (which is what this book tries to maintain), these are all very important, but somehow the later efforts seem to either fall flat or fall back on the line used so often in studying Asia these days, "But things are changing now".

While the overall message of this book is positive, there are the standard overtones of just how much the world has changed in the past half-century. I really recommend this book for the nuts-and-bolts stuff in the first two or three chapters, but the later didacticism tends to fall a little flat. Nonetheless, this book offers useful information to both the business student and the cultural anthropologist. If either East Asia or McDonald's interest you, I recommend giving this book a shot.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent study of the Macdonalds' impact on East Asia, December 30, 1998

By A Customer

I find this book very entertaining, despite it is a collection of ethnographic essays. Some of the variations among Macdonalds among East Asian localities, in terms of food served (Shogun/Teriyaki Burger in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan), as well as services (birthday parties) are really interesting. The studies show that globalization is a two-way street: Macdonalds export the US fast food culture, but, meanwhile, it has to adopt to local taste and cultural differences to grow. Out of the many fast food chains, Macdonald is undeniably the most successful in penetrating the global market. Macdonalds have always draw discussions and controversies in Hong Kong, my home town. Several months ago, there was a craze to buy a collection of 28 Snoopy miniatures (in different national clothings) in 28 days. Many HK residents flocked to Macdonalds in town to buy the Meals (a requirement to get the Snoopys) and pay an additional amount of about US$0.75 to get the Snoopys each of the 28 days to get teh whole collection. But many people can't bear to eat french fires for 28 consecutive days and therefore throw away the meals just for the dolls. The whole set, at a time, worths more than US$250 in Hong Kong. Many people criticize Macdonalds for creating waste (food got discarded), chaos (long lines outside the restaurants) and even social problems. In short, it's a good book for understanding global business and East Asian social changes.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, insightful, full of anecdote, sparky, quirky., June 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia (Hardcover)

A little treat of a book. My friend Janice is always quoting a book she loves called 'The Unforeseen Consequences of Change". This will be her Christmas present. It's an example of how changing one variable - i.e. introducing McDonald's - highlights so many things about the rest of the system, and about McDonld's itself. Full of moments like "Gosh, I never thought about that" or 'Of course yes, why not ..." Take it on an airplane flight and enjoy.