McDonald’s and KFC: Recipes for Success in China

McDonald’s is the undisputed global leader of quick service restaurants. In China, however, it has less than half the number of outlets and significantly lower profit margins than KFC. Why is KFC seemingly wining in China? How can McDonald’s leverage its global acumen to catch up with KFC?

This case studies cross border transfer of business models between two very different institutional contexts. It discusses how multinational firms replicate their proven successful business model and underlying practices from USA to China, a country that is deemed very different in operating environment and consumer behaviour. If local adaptation seems inevitable, then what has to be changed and when?