Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia, Second Edition [Paperback]

James Watson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0804749892 | ISBN-13: 978-0804749893 | Edition: 2

McDonald's restaurants are found in over 100 countries, serving tens of millions of people each day. What are the cultural implications of this phenomenal success? The widely read—and widely acclaimed—Golden Arches East argues that McDonald's has largely become divorced from its American roots and become a "local" institution for an entire generation of affluent consumers in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo. In the second edition, James L. Watson also covers recent attacks on the fast-food chain as a symbol of American imperialism, and the company's role in the obesity controversy currently raging in the U.S. food industry, bringing the story of East Asian franchises into the twenty-first century.

Praise for the First Edition:

"Golden Arches East is a fascinating study that explores issues of globalization by focusing on the role of McDonald's in five Asian economies and [concludes] that in many countries McDonald's has been absorbed by local communities and become assimilated, so that it is no longer thought of as a foreign restaurant and in some ways no longer functions as one." —Nicholas Kristof, New York Times Book Review

"This is an important book because it shows accurately and with subtlety how transnational culture emerges. It must be read by anyone interested in globalization. It is concise enough to be used for courses in anthropology and Asian studies." —Joseph Bosco, China Journal

"The strength of this book is that the contributors contextualize not just the food side of McDonald's, but the social and cultural activity on which this culture is embedded. These are culturally rich stories from the anthropology of everyday life." —Paul Noguchi, Journal of Asian Studies

"Here is the rare academic study that belongs in every library."—Library Journal

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 an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 2 edition (March 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804749892
• ISBN-13: 978-0804749893
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 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 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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.

14 of 17 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

Format:Paperback

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 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting But Dated January 11, 2009

By Anthony Crews

Format:Paperback

It would be hard to hate this book. In classic anthropological fashion, the authors provide plenty of interesting anecdotes about the relatively exotic practices associated with East Asian McDonald's that you will probably smile at despite yourself. However, the book seems to tell us little that even a general reader probably does not already know. Ask anyone who has traveled abroad, and you will probably find out that they saw a McDonald's. After reading this book, I asked around my office, trying to gauge the presence of McDonald's outside of East Asia. One friend, who lived for several years in relatively backwards Guatemala City, said that there were at least 3 of them within a 5 minute walk of his apartment. Many others relayed the same kinds of experiences. So, although the small differences between these cultures and how they accept such a quintessentially American restaurant is interesting, it is far from surprising. Of course the Japanese accept it, and of course they also have better places to eat--they like Americans, and they have a lot of money. Of course South Koreans tend to reject it--the relationship between our states has been strained for 50 years. Not only does it ring a bit hollow in this sense, but it is also notably dated. The various studies here were researched in the early- to mid-1990's. By the time they were written, they were already out of date. The editor immediately points that out in his useful conclusion. One further issue I had is how strongly the authors, and especially the editor, make the anthropological case. I understand that this is in their nature, but I would also contend that it obscures the true merit of these studies. The problem is a kind of lack of historical sensibility. These authors here take a long view of the cultures they study, and look at a flashpoint of interaction, in an effort to judge its effect. What might be even more useful is to look at the effect of interaction over time. The cultures that they are immersed in have been in a discursive relationship with American culture for quite some time, and thus the end result that they are examining is not necessarily opposed to American culture--it has already been partially assimilated. The authors here tend to reject that. The editor states clearly that the idea of a homogeneous global culture is a fallacy, and perhaps we can accept that. But of course he would say that. This book does not provide the proof. If anything, that is a truism. In their effort to be the vanguard of local culture now, these authors have failed to address the legacy of American cultural influence in Asia before. When we move beyond the interesting details, we find truisms and repetition. To the extent that this book has high academic value, they are mostly codifying what many already instinctively or empirically recognize. Having said all of that, however, it is as entertaining as one will find in this field, and it is a useful counter-argument to what seems to be the increasingly consensual argument for American cultural imperialism.