LEGITIMACY OF MCDONALD'S CSR DISCLOSURE

Abstract

This research aims to examine McDonald's reactive actions through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as associated with the Middle East conflict phenomenon through the perspective of Legitimacy Theory. As such, McDonald's often receives criticism from the public for its reputation as a western food brand. This research applies a qualitative descriptive approach with a netnography method, and involves data collected through lurking. The results of this research exhibit that the actions taken by McDonald's strive to maintain the legitimacy of its image among the global community by (1) issuing a statement that its operations are not affected by the Middle East conflict and run locally, (2) providing humanitarian assistance to affected conflict victims, and (3) issuing statements condemning all forms of genocide. Globally, McDonald's does not appear to support Israel in the Middle East conflict, but there are inconsistencies as it (1) provides food to Israel, (2) buys back shares of Israeli McDonald's franchises, and (3) has global shareholders owned by companies that are also shareholders of Israeli defense equipment suppliers.