Alaina R. Mariano
GGPD 8565A Intro to Network Analysis

Introduction

This project examines the tension between global standardization and local adaptation in McDonald’s menus around the world. Using two-mode network analysis of McDonald’s menus across the United States and the next ten countries with the largest number of McDonald’s branches, this study investigates the extent to which McDonald’s menus reflect a global ‘core’ versus localized culinary preferences.

The questions guiding this project’s analysis are:

  1. Which menu items are consistently present across countries, forming a ‘core menu’?

  2. Which countries exhibit the greatest menu overlap, and do these overlaps correspond to geographic, economic, or cultural similarities?

By applying two-mode network analysis, this study seeks to uncover patterns of clustering and community formation within the global McDonald’s menu network. The findings have broader implications for understanding how multinational corporations balance brand consistency with responsiveness to local consumer tastes.

The data set comprises 491 menu items across 11 countries, collected from official McDonald’s websites. Attributes such as item category and standardized naming conventions were applied to ensure comparability. This analysis contributes to ongoing discussions in globalization studies, consumer behavior, and organizational strategy by offering empirical evidence of how global brands adapt to diverse cultural contexts.

Background

Network analysis tools can provide a powerful lens for examining the interplay between global and local dynamics in consumer markets. This data lends itself well to two-mode analysis because of its natural bipartite structure: the sets of nodes (menu items and countries) only have ties across sets and not between. It is the presence of an item on a menu in a particular country that determines a tie; therefore, edges represent the relationship “item X is offered in country Y.”

Since edges represent the presence of a given item on a country’s menu, they reveal structural relationships between product offerings and geographic markets. The theoretical foundation for this project draws on scholarship in globalization and localization, often framed as the tension between “McDonaldization” — the spread of standardized practices across cultures — and “glocalization,” the adaptation of global products to local tastes. By mapping menu

Methodology

Data for this project was systematically collected from official McDonald’s websites for the United States and next the ten countries with the largest peak number of McDonald’s branches. Those countries, in order of most branches to least, are: the United States, China, Japan, France, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, the Philippines, and Italy.

The data set was compiled into a CSV file with three primary attributes: “Name” (menu item), “Country,” and “Category.” To ensure comparability across menus, item names were standardized to English naming conventions unless substantive differences in product composition warranted retention of local terminology (e.g., Germany’s “McChicken Classic” differs in both size and bun type from other ‘plain’ McChickens and was thus treated as a distinct item). Duplicates arising from translation or naming variations were consolidated under a single standardized label. Seasonal items, promotional offerings, McCafe, and bundled meals (e.g., Happy Meals, share boxes) were excluded to maintain analytic consistency. Categories included Breakfast, Burger (beef/chicken/fish/shrimp/veggie), Chicken, Dessert, Salad (chicken/veggie), Sandwich (chicken/fish/ham/pork/vegetarian), Side, Veggie, and Wrap (chicken/veggie). Hamburgers were dinstinguished from sandwiches primarily by bun type, with burgers having a round sesame-seeded or plain round bun, and sandwiches having other types of buns and bun shapes.

The analysis was conducted in several stages:

  1. Degree Analysis: Identified menu items with high connectedness across countries, highlighting those that are maximally connected to all 11 countries sampled. Degree thresholds were applied to distinguish between truly global items and those with more limited distribution.

  2. K-Core Decomposition: Applied to filter out pendant nodes (country-specific items) and reveal nested cores within the network. Two k-cores were selected for further analysis: the highest available k-core and a secondary core with k >=3.

  3. Community Detection: The Louvain algorithm was employed to detect subgroups within the selected k-cores, enabling the identification of clusters of countries with overlapping menu structures. This step provided insight into whether regional or cultural affinities manifest in menu composition.

Special attention was given to nomenclature inconsistencies (e.g., fries labeled differently across countries) to ensure accurate representation of item equivalence. Although the data set includes a “type” category, which identifies items as burgers, sandwiches, salads, breakfast, dessert, etc., this category was not used in the final analysis.  

This methodological framework allows for both the identification of universally shared items and the detection of localized clusters. By leveraging network analysis techniques and measures studied throughout the course, this project provides a reproducible and rigorous approach to understanding the data set.

Findings

summary(mcd)
## IGRAPH 68db7e9 UN-- 502 676 -- 
## + attr: name (v/c), Category (e/c)

This network us an un-directed network with 502 vertices (nodes) and 676 edges (connections). Each vertex has a name attribute and each edge has a category attribute. The nodes include both menu items as well as the the countries whose menus are being analyzed. Since menus from 11 countries are included in the data set, there are 491 menu items and 11 countries that together make up the node count.

To differentiate between countries and nodes, we can use bipartite mapping to separate the network into two modes:

## 
## FALSE  TRUE 
##   491    11

* Main Network Plot

An initial plot of the entire data set as a bipartite network revealed the following network:

This gives us a good overall picture of what the network looks like. We see that several countries on the periphery, pulled there by large quantities of unique menu items, including Brazil, Germany, and China.
The United States, the Philippines, and France sit more towards the center of the network, indicating their menus may be more similar, or at least that they have more in common with some countries on the periphery.

* Step 1: Degree Analysis

As my entry point into this analysis, I started by investigating how many menus each item appears on to get a sense for the most popular menu items.

The bar chart below examines the 20 menu items with the highest degree, which is to say the connection to the most countries. The maximum number of countries is 11, and the minimum is 1. Only 3 menu items proved to be truly universal: Big Mac, Cheeseburger, and Fries, revealing these three to be what this project refers to as the “True Global Core”.

Here we can see that the only menu items available in all countries sampled are the Big Mac, the Cheeseburger, and Fries. For the purposes of this project, I set arbitrary thresholds based on the percentage of countries in which an item appears to assess the global coverage of the menu items in the data set.

Menu Grouping Thresholds and Summary

100% - “true global core” (all 11 countries) – 3 items
70% - “global” (at least 8 countries) – 7 items
50% - “mostly global” (at least 6 countries) – 14 items

Below this threshold items are likely more localized ie:
10-30% - “likely localized” (2-3 countries) - 34 items
<10% - “highly localized” (only 1 country) – 447 items

The “True Global Core” menu (3 items):

True Global Core Menu Items (100% coverage)
item countries coverage
Big Mac Big Mac 11 1
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 11 1
Fries Fries 11 1

The Global Menu? (8 items) - Mostly Burgers

Global Core Menu Items (≥70% coverage)
item countries coverage
Big Mac Big Mac 11 1.00
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 11 1.00
Fries Fries 11 1.00
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 10 0.91
McChicken McChicken 10 0.91
Hamburger Hamburger 9 0.82
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 8 0.73
Apple Pie Apple Pie 8 0.73

The Mostly Global menu (14 items): Desserts arrive on the scene

Mostly Global Menu Items (≥50% coverage)
item countries coverage
Big Mac Big Mac 11 1.00
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 11 1.00
Fries Fries 11 1.00
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 10 0.91
McChicken McChicken 10 0.91
Hamburger Hamburger 9 0.82
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 8 0.73
Apple Pie Apple Pie 8 0.73
Hash Brown Hash Brown 7 0.64
McFlurry Oreo McFlurry Oreo 7 0.64
Shake Strawberry Shake Strawberry 7 0.64
Apple Slices Apple Slices 7 0.64
Shake Chocolate Shake Chocolate 6 0.55
Shake Vanilla Shake Vanilla 6 0.55
McCrispy McCrispy 6 0.55

Likely Localized Items - 32 Items

## Warning: package 'kableExtra' was built under R version 4.5.2
Likely Localized Menu Items (10-30% coverage)
item countries coverage
Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3 0.2727273
Chicken McMuffin Chicken McMuffin 3 0.2727273
Egg McMuffin Egg McMuffin 3 0.2727273
Sausage McGriddles Sausage McGriddles 3 0.2727273
Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3 0.2727273
Big Arch Big Arch 3 0.2727273
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 3 0.2727273
McFloat McFloat 3 0.2727273
Sundae Chocolate Sundae Chocolate 3 0.2727273
Sundae Strawberry Sundae Strawberry 3 0.2727273
Vanilla Ice Cream Vanilla Ice Cream 3 0.2727273
Hotcakes with Sausage Hotcakes with Sausage 2 0.1818182
Hotcakes with Syrup and Butter Hotcakes with Syrup and Butter 2 0.1818182
Mini Pancakes Mini Pancakes 2 0.1818182
Pineapple Stick Pineapple Stick 2 0.1818182
Sausage McMuffin Sausage McMuffin 2 0.1818182
Sausage McMuffin with Egg Sausage McMuffin with Egg 2 0.1818182
Big Tasty Big Tasty 2 0.1818182
Big Tasty Bacon Big Tasty Bacon 2 0.1818182
Double Hamburger Double Hamburger 2 0.1818182
Double Quarter Pounder Double Quarter Pounder 2 0.1818182
McDouble McDouble 2 0.1818182
Triple Cheeseburger Triple Cheeseburger 2 0.1818182
Chickenburger Chickenburger 2 0.1818182
McSpicy McSpicy 2 0.1818182
McVeggie McVeggie 2 0.1818182
Banana Milkshake Banana Milkshake 2 0.1818182
Ice Cream Ice Cream 2 0.1818182
McFlurry Pistachio McFlurry Pistachio 2 0.1818182
Sugar Donut Sugar Donut 2 0.1818182
Sundae Sundae 2 0.1818182
McCrispy Deluxe McCrispy Deluxe 2 0.1818182

Highly localized items:

Highly Localized Menu Items (>10% coverage)
item countries coverage
Bacon & Beef McMuffin Bacon & Beef McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Bacon & Egg Bagel Bacon & Egg Bagel 1 0.0909091
Bacon & Egg McGriddles Bacon & Egg McGriddles 1 0.0909091
Bacon & Egg McMuffin Bacon & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Bacon Egg McSandwich Bacon Egg McSandwich 1 0.0909091
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel 1 0.0909091
Bacon, Egg & Cheese Buscuit Bacon, Egg & Cheese Buscuit 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Everything Bagel Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Everything Bagel 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Multigrain Bagel Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Multigrain Bagel 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Plain Bagel Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Plain Bagel 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Sesame Bagel Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Bagel – Sesame Bagel 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg McMuffin Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Wrap Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Wrap 1 0.0909091
Big Breakfast Big Breakfast 1 0.0909091
Big Breakfast with Hotcakes Big Breakfast with Hotcakes 1 0.0909091
Big Brekkie Burger Big Brekkie Burger 1 0.0909091
Big Morning Chicken Big Morning Chicken 1 0.0909091
Big Morning Egg Big Morning Egg 1 0.0909091
Big Morning Farmer Big Morning Farmer 1 0.0909091
Breakfast Burrito Breakfast Burrito 1 0.0909091
Breakfast Wrap with Brown Sauce Breakfast Wrap with Brown Sauce 1 0.0909091
Breakfast Wrap with Ketchup Breakfast Wrap with Ketchup 1 0.0909091
Brekkie McWrap Brekkie McWrap 1 0.0909091
Brioche-style Bread on the Grill Brioche-style Bread on the Grill 1 0.0909091
Butter Croissant Butter Croissant 1 0.0909091
Century Egg & Chicken Congee Century Egg & Chicken Congee 1 0.0909091
Cheese & Egg Burger Cheese & Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Cheese & Egg McMuffin Cheese & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Cheese & Scrambled Egg Burger Cheese & Scrambled Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) 1 0.0909091
Cheese Bread filled with cheddar-style cheese sauce Cheese Bread filled with cheddar-style cheese sauce 1 0.0909091
Cheesy Bacon Flatbread Cheesy Bacon Flatbread 1 0.0909091
Cheesy Eggdesal Cheesy Eggdesal 1 0.0909091
Chicken & Bacon McMuffin Chicken & Bacon McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Chicken & Egg Salad Layered Wrap Chicken & Egg Salad Layered Wrap 1 0.0909091
Chicken Breakfast Wrap Chicken Breakfast Wrap 1 0.0909091
Chicken McGriddles Chicken McGriddles 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken McMuffin Crispy Chicken McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Croissant Croissant 1 0.0909091
Double Bacon & Egg McMuffin Double Bacon & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Double Cheese Sausage McMuffin Double Cheese Sausage McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Double Egg Cheese Bacon Double Egg Cheese Bacon 1 0.0909091
Double Grilled Chicken Leg McMuffin Double Grilled Chicken Leg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Double Ham McMuffin Double Ham McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Double Pork & Egg McMuffin Double Pork & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg & Bacon McMuffin Egg & Bacon McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg & Cheese McMuffin Egg & Cheese McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg & Cheese McMuffin Egg & Cheese McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg ’N Cheese McMuffin Egg ’N Cheese McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg and Cheese Bagel Egg and Cheese Bagel 1 0.0909091
Egg BLT Bagel Egg BLT Bagel 1 0.0909091
Egg BLT McMuffin Egg BLT McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg BLT McMuffin with Shredded Lettuce Egg BLT McMuffin with Shredded Lettuce 1 0.0909091
Egg Burger Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Egg Cheese Bacon Egg Cheese Bacon 1 0.0909091
Egg McMuffin Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Egg McWrap Scrambled Bacon Egg McWrap Scrambled Bacon 1 0.0909091
Egg McWrap Scrambled Cheese Egg McWrap Scrambled Cheese 1 0.0909091
English Muffin with Butter English Muffin with Butter 1 0.0909091
Everything Bagel with Butter Everything Bagel with Butter 1 0.0909091
Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese 1 0.0909091
Flahavan’s Quick Oats Flahavan’s Quick Oats 1 0.0909091
Franzbrötchen Franzbrötchen 1 0.0909091
Fresh Chicken McMuffin Fresh Chicken McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Fresh Vegetable & Egg Salad Layered Wrap Fresh Vegetable & Egg Salad Layered Wrap 1 0.0909091
Fruit & Maple Oatmeal Fruit & Maple Oatmeal 1 0.0909091
German Thuringian Sausage German Thuringian Sausage 1 0.0909091
German Thuringian Sausage & Double Egg Burger German Thuringian Sausage & Double Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Queijo Quente) Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Queijo Quente) 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Leg & Double Egg Burger Grilled Chicken Leg & Double Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Leg McMuffin Grilled Chicken Leg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Ham & Cheese Pocket Ham & Cheese Pocket 1 0.0909091
Ham and Bacon Morning Nutrition Wrap Ham and Bacon Morning Nutrition Wrap 1 0.0909091
Ham McMuffin Ham McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Hello Kitty Donuts Hello Kitty Donuts 1 0.0909091
Hotcakes & Sausage with Syrup Hotcakes & Sausage with Syrup 1 0.0909091
Hotcakes & Syrup Hotcakes & Syrup 1 0.0909091
McGriddles Plain McGriddles Plain 1 0.0909091
McMuffin Bacon Egg McMuffin Bacon Egg 1 0.0909091
McToast McToast 1 0.0909091
McToast Bacon & Cheese McToast Bacon & Cheese 1 0.0909091
McToast Cheese McToast Cheese 1 0.0909091
Mega Muffin Mega Muffin 1 0.0909091
Mighty McGriddles Mighty McGriddles 1 0.0909091
Mighty McMuffin Mighty McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Mighty McMuffin Mighty McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Mini Cheese Bread Mini Cheese Bread 1 0.0909091
Muffin with Jam Muffin with Jam 1 0.0909091
Pain Au Chocolat Pain Au Chocolat 1 0.0909091
Pickled Mustard & Crispy Bamboo Chicken Congee Pickled Mustard & Crispy Bamboo Chicken Congee 1 0.0909091
Plain Bagel Plain Bagel 1 0.0909091
Plain Bagel with Butter Plain Bagel with Butter 1 0.0909091
Plain Bagel with Cream Cheese Plain Bagel with Cream Cheese 1 0.0909091
Plain Donut Plain Donut 1 0.0909091
Pork & Egg Burger Pork & Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Pork & Egg McMuffin Pork & Egg McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Pork Patty McMuffin Pork Patty McMuffin 1 0.0909091
Pork Tenderloin & Double Egg Burger Pork Tenderloin & Double Egg Burger 1 0.0909091
Porridge Porridge 1 0.0909091
Porridge with Lyle’s Golden Syrup Porridge with Lyle’s Golden Syrup 1 0.0909091
Porridge with Strawberry Jam Porridge with Strawberry Jam 1 0.0909091
Porridge with Sugar Porridge with Sugar 1 0.0909091
Sausage & Egg Bagel Sausage & Egg Bagel 1 0.0909091
Sausage & Egg McGriddles Sausage & Egg McGriddles 1 0.0909091
Sausage and Cheese McGriddles Sausage and Cheese McGriddles 1 0.0909091
Sausage Burrito Sausage Burrito 1 0.0909091
Sausage Buscuit Sausage Buscuit 1 0.0909091
Sausage Buscuit with Egg Sausage Buscuit with Egg 1 0.0909091
Sausage Egg Muffin Sausage Egg Muffin 1 0.0909091
Sausage Muffin Sausage Muffin 1 0.0909091
Sausage Platter with Rice Sausage Platter with Rice 1 0.0909091
Sausage Sandwich with Brown Sauce Sausage Sandwich with Brown Sauce 1 0.0909091
Sausage Sandwich with Ketchup Sausage Sandwich with Ketchup 1 0.0909091
Sausage, Bacon & Egg Breakfast Wrap Sausage, Bacon & Egg Breakfast Wrap 1 0.0909091
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bagel Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bagel 1 0.0909091
Scrambled Eggs and Bacon with Bread Scrambled Eggs and Bacon with Bread 1 0.0909091
Sesame Bagel with Butter Sesame Bagel with Butter 1 0.0909091
Sesame Bagel with Cream Cheese Sesame Bagel with Cream Cheese 1 0.0909091
Spicy Egg & Hash Brown Breakfast Wrap Spicy Egg & Hash Brown Breakfast Wrap 1 0.0909091
Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel 1 0.0909091
The Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Wrap The Benny-Style Bacon ’N Egg Wrap 1 0.0909091
The Big Breakfast Deal The Big Breakfast Deal 1 0.0909091
Thuringian Sausage Good morning Nutrition Wrap Thuringian Sausage Good morning Nutrition Wrap 1 0.0909091
Youtiao Youtiao 1 0.0909091
Bacon and Vegetable Double Burger Bacon and Vegetable Double Burger 1 0.0909091
Bacon Angus Thick Beef Burger Bacon Angus Thick Beef Burger 1 0.0909091
Bacon Double Angus Thick Burger Bacon Double Angus Thick Burger 1 0.0909091
Bacon Lettuce Burger Bacon Lettuce Burger 1 0.0909091
Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese 1 0.0909091
BBQ Bacon Angus BBQ Bacon Angus 1 0.0909091
Big Rösti Big Rösti 1 0.0909091
Big Rösti Hüttengaudi Big Rösti Hüttengaudi 1 0.0909091
Big Rösti Käsespätzle Style Big Rösti Käsespätzle Style 1 0.0909091
Big Rösti Raclette Big Rösti Raclette 1 0.0909091
Brabo Brabíssimo Carne Brabo Brabíssimo Carne 1 0.0909091
Brabo ClubHouse Brabo ClubHouse 1 0.0909091
Burger McDo Burger McDo 1 0.0909091
Cheddar McMelt Cheddar McMelt 1 0.0909091
Cheese Angus Thick Beef Burger Cheese Angus Thick Beef Burger 1 0.0909091
Cheeseburger Deluxe Cheeseburger Deluxe 1 0.0909091
Classic Angus Classic Angus 1 0.0909091
Crispy McBacon Crispy McBacon 1 0.0909091
Daily Double Daily Double 1 0.0909091
Der M Der M 1 0.0909091
Double Angus Thick Beef Burger with Cheese Double Angus Thick Beef Burger with Cheese 1 0.0909091
Double Beef Classic Double Beef Classic 1 0.0909091
Double Big Mac Double Big Mac 1 0.0909091
Double Big Mac Double Big Mac 1 0.0909091
Double Burger Bacon Double Burger Bacon 1 0.0909091
Double Burger with Cheese Double Burger with Cheese 1 0.0909091
Double Cheese Bacon Double Cheese Bacon 1 0.0909091
Double Chickenburger Double Chickenburger 1 0.0909091
Double Double Cheeseburger Double Double Cheeseburger 1 0.0909091
Double Egg Cheeseburger Double Egg Cheeseburger 1 0.0909091
Double Quarter Pounder Double Quarter Pounder 1 0.0909091
Double Quarter Pounder BLT Double Quarter Pounder BLT 1 0.0909091
Double Teriyaki McBurger Double Teriyaki McBurger 1 0.0909091
Egg Cheeseburger Egg Cheeseburger 1 0.0909091
Gluten-Free Burger Gluten-Free Burger 1 0.0909091
Gran Crispy McBacon Gran Crispy McBacon 1 0.0909091
Hamburger Royal Cheese Hamburger Royal Cheese 1 0.0909091
Hamburger Royal TS Hamburger Royal TS 1 0.0909091
McDouble Chili Cheese McDouble Chili Cheese 1 0.0909091
McNífico Bacon McNífico Bacon 1 0.0909091
Quarter Pounder Quarter Pounder 1 0.0909091
Quarter Pounder Quarter Pounder 1 0.0909091
Quarter Pounder BLT Quarter Pounder BLT 1 0.0909091
Quarter Pounder with Cheese Quarter Pounder with Cheese 1 0.0909091
Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe 1 0.0909091
Roasted Garlic Mayo Egg Teriyaki Roasted Garlic Mayo Egg Teriyaki 1 0.0909091
Roasted Soy Sauce Double Thick Beef Roasted Soy Sauce Double Thick Beef 1 0.0909091
Roasted Soy Sauce Egg Bacon Thick Beef Roasted Soy Sauce Egg Bacon Thick Beef 1 0.0909091
Royal Bacon Royal Bacon 1 0.0909091
Royal Cheese Royal Cheese 1 0.0909091
Royal Deluxe Royal Deluxe 1 0.0909091
Super Mc Super Mc 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo 1 Meat Tasty Turbo 1 Meat 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo 2 Meats Tasty Turbo 2 Meats 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo 3 Meats Tasty Turbo 3 Meats 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo Bacon 1 Meat Tasty Turbo Bacon 1 Meat 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo Bacon 2 Meats Tasty Turbo Bacon 2 Meats 1 0.0909091
Tasty Turbo Bacon 3 Meats Tasty Turbo Bacon 3 Meats 1 0.0909091
Teriyaki McBurger Teriyaki McBurger 1 0.0909091
The Unparalleled Double Beef Burger The Unparalleled Double Beef Burger 1 0.0909091
Triple Burger Triple Burger 1 0.0909091
Brabo Brabíssimo Frango Brabo Brabíssimo Frango 1 0.0909091
Chicken Big Mac Chicken Big Mac 1 0.0909091
Chicken Filet-O Chicken Filet-O 1 0.0909091
Chicken Jr.  Chicken Jr.  1 0.0909091
Chicken ‘n’ Cheese Chicken ‘n’ Cheese 1 0.0909091
Double Bacon Lettuce Burger Double Bacon Lettuce Burger 1 0.0909091
Double Chicken Filet-O Double Chicken Filet-O 1 0.0909091
Double McChicken Double McChicken 1 0.0909091
Double McChicken Cheese Double McChicken Cheese 1 0.0909091
Double Spicy McChicken Double Spicy McChicken 1 0.0909091
Double Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O Double Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Leg Burger Grilled Chicken Leg Burger 1 0.0909091
Junior Chicken Junior Chicken 1 0.0909091
Mayo Chicken Mayo Chicken 1 0.0909091
McChicken Bacon McChicken Bacon 1 0.0909091
McChicken Cheese McChicken Cheese 1 0.0909091
McChicken Classic McChicken Classic 1 0.0909091
McChicken Duplo McChicken Duplo 1 0.0909091
Spicy Chicken Leg Burger Spicy Chicken Leg Burger 1 0.0909091
Spicy Habanero McChicken Spicy Habanero McChicken 1 0.0909091
Spicy McChicken Spicy McChicken 1 0.0909091
Sweet Chili Junior Chicken Sweet Chili Junior Chicken 1 0.0909091
Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O Teriyaki Chicken Filet-O 1 0.0909091
Yurinchi Mayo Chicken Yurinchi Mayo Chicken 1 0.0909091
Deluxe Filet-O-Fish Deluxe Filet-O-Fish 1 0.0909091
Double Deep-Sea Cod Burger Double Deep-Sea Cod Burger 1 0.0909091
McFish McFish 1 0.0909091
McFish Mayo McFish Mayo 1 0.0909091
Double Shrimp Filet-O Double Shrimp Filet-O 1 0.0909091
Shrimp Filet-O Shrimp Filet-O 1 0.0909091
McPlant McPlant 1 0.0909091
Spicy McVeggie Spicy McVeggie 1 0.0909091
Vegetable Deluxe Vegetable Deluxe 1 0.0909091
Chicken McDo with McSpaghetti Chicken McDo with McSpaghetti 1 0.0909091
Chicken McDo with Rice Chicken McDo with Rice 1 0.0909091
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 1 0.0909091
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 1 0.0909091
Chicken McNuggets with Fries Chicken McNuggets with Fries 1 0.0909091
Chicken McWings Chicken McWings 1 0.0909091
Chicken Selects Chicken Selects 1 0.0909091
Chicken Wings Chicken Wings 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken Fillet with Rice Crispy Chicken Fillet with Rice 1 0.0909091
Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) 1 0.0909091
Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) 1 0.0909091
Crispy V Wings Crispy V Wings 1 0.0909091
Garlic-Flavored Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) Garlic-Flavored Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) 1 0.0909091
Garlic-Flavored Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) Garlic-Flavored Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) 1 0.0909091
Honey BBQ Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) Honey BBQ Crispy Juicy Chicken (Bone-in Tenderloin) 1 0.0909091
Honey BBQ Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) Honey BBQ Crispy Juicy Chicken (Drumstick) 1 0.0909091
Lemon-Flavored Crispy V Wings Lemon-Flavored Crispy V Wings 1 0.0909091
Mai Mai Fun Chicken Balls Mai Mai Fun Chicken Balls 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Strips McCrispy Strips 1 0.0909091
Nuggets with Asiago DOP and Spack Alto Adige PGI Nuggets with Asiago DOP and Spack Alto Adige PGI 1 0.0909091
P’tit Chicken P’tit Chicken 1 0.0909091
So Big Chicken Cutlet So Big Chicken Cutlet 1 0.0909091
Spicy Chicken McNuggets Spicy Chicken McNuggets 1 0.0909091
Spicy Chicken Wings Spicy Chicken Wings 1 0.0909091
Tasty Basket Tasty Basket 1 0.0909091
Apple Crumble Muffin Apple Crumble Muffin 1 0.0909091
Baked Salted Caramel Pie Baked Salted Caramel Pie 1 0.0909091
Banana Pie Banana Pie 1 0.0909091
Berry McPops Berry McPops 1 0.0909091
Biscoff McPops Biscoff McPops 1 0.0909091
Brownie RMCH Cookie Brownie RMCH Cookie 1 0.0909091
Caldo & Freddo Caramel Caldo & Freddo Caramel 1 0.0909091
Caldo & Freddo Chocolate Caldo & Freddo Chocolate 1 0.0909091
Caldo & Freddo Strawberry Caldo & Freddo Strawberry 1 0.0909091
Caramel McShake with Crunchy Peanut Crumble Caramel McShake with Crunchy Peanut Crumble 1 0.0909091
Caramel-Filled Cone Caramel-Filled Cone 1 0.0909091
Carrot Cake Carrot Cake 1 0.0909091
Choc McPops Choc McPops 1 0.0909091
Choc-Nut Brownie Choc-Nut Brownie 1 0.0909091
Choco Caramel Pie (Limited Time Only) Choco Caramel Pie (Limited Time Only) 1 0.0909091
Chocolate Brownie Chocolate Brownie 1 0.0909091
Chocolate Brownie Muffin Chocolate Brownie Muffin 1 0.0909091
Chocolate Chip Cookie Chocolate Chip Cookie 1 0.0909091
Chocolate Chunk RMCH Cookie Chocolate Chunk RMCH Cookie 1 0.0909091
Chocolate Cone Chocolate Cone 1 0.0909091
Chocolate-Filled Cone Chocolate-Filled Cone 1 0.0909091
Double Choc Muffin Double Choc Muffin 1 0.0909091
Fruit Pouch Fruit Pouch 1 0.0909091
Hot Cocoa-Cherry Pie Hot Cocoa-Cherry Pie 1 0.0909091
Hotcakes with Syrup Hotcakes with Syrup 1 0.0909091
Ice Cream Ice Cream 1 0.0909091
KITKAT Chocolate McFlurry KITKAT Chocolate McFlurry 1 0.0909091
KITKAT Frappé KITKAT Frappé 1 0.0909091
KITKAT McFlurry KITKAT McFlurry 1 0.0909091
M&M’s Minis Chocolate McFlurry M&M’s Minis Chocolate McFlurry 1 0.0909091
M&M’s Minis McFlurry M&M’s Minis McFlurry 1 0.0909091
Marble Muffin Marble Muffin 1 0.0909091
McColosso Caramel McColosso Caramel 1 0.0909091
McColosso Chocolate McColosso Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McColosso Filled with Caramel McColosso Filled with Caramel 1 0.0909091
McColosso Filled with Chocolate McColosso Filled with Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McColosso Ovaltine Rocks Caramel McColosso Ovaltine Rocks Caramel 1 0.0909091
McColosso Ovaltine Rocks Chocolate McColosso Ovaltine Rocks Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McColosso Super Chocolate McColosso Super Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McDonaldland Cookies McDonaldland Cookies 1 0.0909091
McFlurry McFlurry 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Baci Perugina McFlurry Baci Perugina 1 0.0909091
McFlurry M&Ms Caramel McFlurry M&Ms Caramel 1 0.0909091
McFlurry M&Ms Chocolate McFlurry M&Ms Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McFlurry M&Ms Strawberry McFlurry M&Ms Strawberry 1 0.0909091
McFlurry M&Ms McFlurry M&Ms 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Oreo Chocolate McFlurry Oreo Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Original Mix & Match McFlurry Original Mix & Match 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Caramel McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Caramel 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Chocolate McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Chocolate 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Strawberry McFlurry Ovomaltine Rocks Strawberry 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Smarties McFlurry Smarties 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Snickers McFlurry Snickers 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Stawberry McFlurry Stawberry 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Caramel Topping McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Caramel Topping 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Chocolate Topping McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Chocolate Topping 1 0.0909091
McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Strawberry Topping McFlurry Trento Bites with Crunchy Peanut Crumble & Strawberry Topping 1 0.0909091
McPops Berry Bomb McPops Berry Bomb 1 0.0909091
McPops Chocwave McPops Chocwave 1 0.0909091
McPops Hazel Hero McPops Hazel Hero 1 0.0909091
McPops Pistachio Dream McPops Pistachio Dream 1 0.0909091
McShake Kopenhagen McShake Kopenhagen 1 0.0909091
McShake Ovaltine McShake Ovaltine 1 0.0909091
Mixed Berry Muffin Mixed Berry Muffin 1 0.0909091
Mixed Cone Mixed Cone 1 0.0909091
Muffins Muffins 1 0.0909091
N.Y. Style Cheesecake N.Y. Style Cheesecake 1 0.0909091
N.Y. Style Cheesecake with OREO Topping and Chocolate Sauce N.Y. Style Cheesecake with OREO Topping and Chocolate Sauce 1 0.0909091
Petit Suisse do Méqui Petit Suisse do Méqui 1 0.0909091
Pineapple Pie Pineapple Pie 1 0.0909091
Pistachio Cream Donut Pistachio Cream Donut 1 0.0909091
Raspberry Cheesecake Muffin Raspberry Cheesecake Muffin 1 0.0909091
Raspberry-White Chocolate Cookie Raspberry-White Chocolate Cookie 1 0.0909091
Sankaku Choco Pie Black Sankaku Choco Pie Black 1 0.0909091
Shake Pistachio Shake Pistachio 1 0.0909091
Smarties McFlurry Smarties McFlurry 1 0.0909091
Strawberry Cake Strawberry Cake 1 0.0909091
Sundae Affogato Sundae Affogato 1 0.0909091
Sundae Baci Perugina Sundae Baci Perugina 1 0.0909091
Sundae Coffee Sundae Coffee 1 0.0909091
Sundae Fiordilatte Sundae Fiordilatte 1 0.0909091
Sundae Hot Caramel Sundae Hot Caramel 1 0.0909091
Sundae Hot Caramel Sundae Hot Caramel 1 0.0909091
Sundae Hot Fudge Chocolate Sundae Hot Fudge Chocolate 1 0.0909091
Sundae Mini Chocolate Sundae Mini Chocolate 1 0.0909091
Sundae Mini Strawberry Sundae Mini Strawberry 1 0.0909091
Sundae Pistachio Sundae Pistachio 1 0.0909091
Sundae Strawberry Chocolate Sundae Strawberry Chocolate 1 0.0909091
Sundae Wild Berries Sundae Wild Berries 1 0.0909091
Sundae Wild Berries with Fiordilatte Sundae Wild Berries with Fiordilatte 1 0.0909091
Super Chocolate Cone Super Chocolate Cone 1 0.0909091
Taro Pie Taro Pie 1 0.0909091
Triple Chocolate Cookie Triple Chocolate Cookie 1 0.0909091
Vanilla Sundae Cone Vanilla Sundae Cone 1 0.0909091
Big Chicken Salad Big Chicken Salad 1 0.0909091
Caesar Chicken Salad Caesar Chicken Salad 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken and Bacon Salad Crispy Chicken and Bacon Salad 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken Salad Crispy Chicken Salad 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken and Bacon Salad Grilled Chicken and Bacon Salad 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Salad Grilled Chicken Salad 1 0.0909091
Salad with crispy chicken breast, Pachino PGI tomatoes and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO Salad with crispy chicken breast, Pachino PGI tomatoes and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO 1 0.0909091
Green Salad with Pachino PGI Tomatoes Green Salad with Pachino PGI Tomatoes 1 0.0909091
Mixed Salad Mixed Salad 1 0.0909091
Veggie Caesar Salad Veggie Caesar Salad 1 0.0909091
280 Original 280 Original 1 0.0909091
Bacon Deluxe Grilled Chicken Sandwich Bacon Deluxe Grilled Chicken Sandwich 1 0.0909091
Bacon Triple Pickle McCrispy Bacon Triple Pickle McCrispy 1 0.0909091
CBO CBO 1 0.0909091
Deluxe McCrispy Deluxe McCrispy 1 0.0909091
Double Chicken BBQ Double Chicken BBQ 1 0.0909091
Firecracker McCrispy Firecracker McCrispy 1 0.0909091
Firecracker McCrispy with Bacon Firecracker McCrispy with Bacon 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Sandwich Grilled Chicken Sandwich 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Bacon Deluxe McCrispy Bacon Deluxe 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Bacon TS McCrispy Bacon TS 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Bacon McCrispy Bacon 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Chicken Bacon Ranch McCrispy Chicken Bacon Ranch 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Legend McCrispy Legend 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Spicy McCrispy Spicy 1 0.0909091
McCrispy Spicy Bacon McCrispy Spicy Bacon 1 0.0909091
McCrunchy Chicken McCrunchy Chicken 1 0.0909091
McCrunchy Chicken Spicy BBQ McCrunchy Chicken Spicy BBQ 1 0.0909091
Spicy Bacon Deluxe Grilled Chicken Sandwich Spicy Bacon Deluxe Grilled Chicken Sandwich 1 0.0909091
Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwich Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwich 1 0.0909091
Spicy McCrispy Spicy McCrispy 1 0.0909091
Spicy McCrispy Spicy McCrispy 1 0.0909091
Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe Spicy McCrispy Bacon Deluxe 1 0.0909091
Triple Pickle McCrispy Triple Pickle McCrispy 1 0.0909091
Double Fish New York Double Fish New York 1 0.0909091
Fish New York Fish New York 1 0.0909091
Croque McDo Croque McDo 1 0.0909091
Ham & Cheese Toastie Ham & Cheese Toastie 1 0.0909091
McRib McRib 1 0.0909091
McRib Barbecue Pork McRib Barbecue Pork 1 0.0909091
Cheese & Tomato Toastie Cheese & Tomato Toastie 1 0.0909091
Cheesy Toastie Cheesy Toastie 1 0.0909091
Ham, Cheese & Tomato Toastie Ham, Cheese & Tomato Toastie 1 0.0909091
Baby Carrots Baby Carrots 1 0.0909091
Banana Bread with Butter Banana Bread with Butter 1 0.0909091
Cherry Tomatoes Cherry Tomatoes 1 0.0909091
Chicken Ranch & Bacon Poutine - Crispy Chicken Ranch & Bacon Poutine - Crispy 1 0.0909091
Chicken Ranch & Bacon Poutine - Grilled Chicken Ranch & Bacon Poutine - Grilled 1 0.0909091
Chicken THE Garlic Pepper Chicken THE Garlic Pepper 1 0.0909091
Corn Cup Corn Cup 1 0.0909091
Crispy Beef Mix Salad Crispy Beef Mix Salad 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken Mix Salad Crispy Chicken Mix Salad 1 0.0909091
Crispy French Fries Crispy French Fries 1 0.0909091
Curly Fries Curly Fries 1 0.0909091
Edamame & Corn Edamame & Corn 1 0.0909091
Käsespätzle Snackers Käsespätzle Snackers 1 0.0909091
Parmigiano Reggiano Snacks Parmigiano Reggiano Snacks 1 0.0909091
Raisin Toast with Butter Raisin Toast with Butter 1 0.0909091
Shaka-Chicki Shaka-Chicki 1 0.0909091
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Poutine Spicy Buffalo Chicken Poutine 1 0.0909091
The Rich Cheddar Fried The Rich Cheddar Fried 1 0.0909091
The Rich Cheese & Bacon Fries The Rich Cheese & Bacon Fries 1 0.0909091
McPlant Nuggets McPlant Nuggets 1 0.0909091
McWrap Plant Nuggets Honey-Mustard McWrap Plant Nuggets Honey-Mustard 1 0.0909091
McWrap Plant Nuggets Mango-Curry McWrap Plant Nuggets Mango-Curry 1 0.0909091
Veggie Dippers Veggie Dippers 1 0.0909091
Veggie McPlant Nuggets Veggie McPlant Nuggets 1 0.0909091
Chicken & Bacon McWrap – Crispy Chicken & Bacon McWrap – Crispy 1 0.0909091
Chicken & Bacon McWrap – Grilled Chicken & Bacon McWrap – Grilled 1 0.0909091
Chicken Snack Wrap Chicken Snack Wrap 1 0.0909091
Classic Chicken McWrap Classic Chicken McWrap 1 0.0909091
Creamy Chipotle Chicken McWrap – Crispy Creamy Chipotle Chicken McWrap – Crispy 1 0.0909091
Creamy Chipotle Chicken McWrap – Grilled Creamy Chipotle Chicken McWrap – Grilled 1 0.0909091
Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap 1 0.0909091
Crispy McWrap Crispy McWrap 1 0.0909091
Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap 1 0.0909091
McWrap Chicken Honey-Mustard McWrap Chicken Honey-Mustard 1 0.0909091
McWrap Chicken Mango-Curry McWrap Chicken Mango-Curry 1 0.0909091
McWrap with Crispy Chicken Breast and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP McWrap with Crispy Chicken Breast and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP 1 0.0909091
McWrap Mediterranean Chicken Pepper McWrap Mediterranean Chicken Pepper 1 0.0909091
McWrap New York & Chicken Bacon McWrap New York & Chicken Bacon 1 0.0909091
P’tit Ranch Wrap P’tit Ranch Wrap 1 0.0909091
Ranch Chicken Snack Wrap – Crispy Ranch Chicken Snack Wrap – Crispy 1 0.0909091
Ranch Chicken Snack Wrap – Grilled Ranch Chicken Snack Wrap – Grilled 1 0.0909091
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Snack Wrap – Crisp Spicy Buffalo Chicken Snack Wrap – Crisp 1 0.0909091
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Snack Wrap – Grilled Spicy Buffalo Chicken Snack Wrap – Grilled 1 0.0909091
Spicy Chicken McWrap Spicy Chicken McWrap 1 0.0909091
Sweet Chili McWrap – Crispy Sweet Chili McWrap – Crispy 1 0.0909091
Sweet Chili McWrap – Grilled Sweet Chili McWrap – Grilled 1 0.0909091
The BBQ & Bacon Chicken One – Crispy The BBQ & Bacon Chicken One – Crispy 1 0.0909091
The BBQ & Bacon Chicken One – Grilled The BBQ & Bacon Chicken One – Grilled 1 0.0909091
The Sweet Chilli Chicken One – Crispy The Sweet Chilli Chicken One – Crispy 1 0.0909091
The Sweet Chilli Chicken One – Grilled The Sweet Chilli Chicken One – Grilled 1 0.0909091
Crispy Bamboo Shoot Rolls Crispy Bamboo Shoot Rolls 1 0.0909091
McWrap Veggie McWrap Veggie 1 0.0909091
The Spicy Veggie One The Spicy Veggie One 1 0.0909091

434 of 491 Items only appear on a single menu, indicating that 88.4% of McDonald’s menu items in this sample are highly localized.

Degree analysis alone does not tell the full story, however, as it does not provide any insights into the robustness of a menu grouping or if indeed these thresholds are accurate reflections. To this end, I opted to examine the k-cores to isolate the most reliably globalized set of menu items.   

* Step 2: K-core decomposition

I used k-cores to filter out pendants of country-specific items and highlight the nested core(s) within the network, which are visualized below:

Eliminate Pendants and List Vertices by Core

Filtering out the uniquely localized items that are only present in one country gives a clearer view of the remaining cores.

Analysis - Taking the Philippines as an example:

In contrast to the initial bipartite plot and plot including all k-cores, the Philippines is further on the periphery now that unique items have been removed: it’s smaller menu size and lower variety pulled it towards the center in the overall plot, but with its unique items removed it is pulled further away from the center, indicating a relatively high proportion of its menu is localized.

Vertices by k-core

The table below lists menu items by their k-core. All countries were part of the 7-core, so I did not include them in the table.

Vertices by k-core
name coreness
Hash Brown 7
Big Mac 7
Cheeseburger 7
Double Cheeseburger 7
Hamburger 7
McChicken 7
Chicken McNuggets 7
Apple Pie 7
McFlurry Oreo 7
Shake Strawberry 7
Apple Slices 7
Fries 7
Shake Chocolate 6
Shake Vanilla 6
McCrispy 6
Filet-O-Fish 5
Sundae Hot Fudge 5
Side Salad 5
Bacon & Egg McMuffin 4
Hotcakes 4
Sausage & Egg McMuffin 4
Quarter Pounder with Cheese 4
Double Filet-O-Fish 4
Filet-O-Fish 4
Sundae Caramel 4
Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3
Chicken McMuffin 3
Egg McMuffin 3
Sausage McGriddles 3
Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3
Big Arch 3
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 3
McFloat 3
Sundae Chocolate 3
Sundae Strawberry 3
Vanilla Ice Cream 3
Hotcakes with Sausage 2
Hotcakes with Syrup and Butter 2
Mini Pancakes 2
Pineapple Stick 2
Sausage McMuffin 2
Sausage McMuffin with Egg 2
Big Tasty 2
Big Tasty Bacon 2
Double Hamburger 2
Double Quarter Pounder 2
McDouble 2
Triple Cheeseburger 2
Chickenburger 2
McSpicy 2
McVeggie 2
Banana Milkshake 2
Ice Cream 2
McFlurry Pistachio 2
Sugar Donut 2
Sundae 2
McCrispy Deluxe 2

Counts of each coreness value (2 Core and above) :

## 
##  2  3  4  5  6  7 
## 21 11  7  3  3 23

We already know that all eleven countries belong to the 7-core, so removing them brings the 7-core count to 12 items. Since I’ve already created a visualization for the 2-core and up network, I selected the 3-core and the 6+7-cores for further analysis. The 3-core is the first level at which items must connect to at lest 3 countries (or around 27% of counties), so I would expect to see greater potential for regional or localized groupings in the 3-core since it will contain more “likely localized” items. Since the difference between the 6 core and 7 core is only 3 items, they will be examined together.

The 3+ Core

Represented visually, the 3+ core is as shown in the figure below:

Inspecting the 3+core (Coreness and Missing Countries)

The following table shows items in the 3 core and above, sorted by coreness, and displays the countries from which each item is absent. We will inspect the 6+ core later, so this table is sorted in ascending rather than descending order to highlight the 3-core items.

Menu Items in the 3-Core+, Sorted by Coreness (with Missing Countries)
item coreness not_in_countries
Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3 France, Japan, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Chicken McMuffin Chicken McMuffin 3 France, China, Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Egg McMuffin Egg McMuffin 3 France, Japan, Australia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy
Sausage McGriddles Sausage McGriddles 3 France, Australia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 3 France, Japan, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Big Arch Big Arch 3 Canada, Japan, China, Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Brazil, Philippines
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 3 France, Japan, Australia, China, Germany, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
McFloat McFloat 3 France, Canada, Australia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Italy
Sundae Chocolate Sundae Chocolate 3 France, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Philippines
Sundae Strawberry Sundae Strawberry 3 France, Canada, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Philippines, Italy
Vanilla Ice Cream Vanilla Ice Cream 3 Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Philippines, Italy
Bacon & Egg McMuffin Bacon & Egg McMuffin 4 France, Canada, Japan, USA, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Hotcakes Hotcakes 4 France, Australia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy
Sausage & Egg McMuffin Sausage & Egg McMuffin 4 France, Japan, China, USA, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Quarter Pounder with Cheese Quarter Pounder with Cheese 4 France, Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Germany, Italy
Double Filet-O-Fish Double Filet-O-Fish 4 France, China, Germany, USA, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Filet-O-Fish Filet-O-Fish 4 Japan, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines, Italy
Sundae Caramel Sundae Caramel 4 France, Canada, Japan, China, United Kingdom, USA, Philippines
Filet-O-Fish Filet-O-Fish 5 France, Canada, China, USA, Brazil, Philippines
Sundae Hot Fudge Sundae Hot Fudge 5 France, Canada, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Italy
Side Salad Side Salad 5 Canada, Australia, China, USA, Philippines, Italy
Shake Chocolate Shake Chocolate 6 Canada, Australia, China, Brazil, Philippines
Shake Vanilla Shake Vanilla 6 Canada, Australia, China, Brazil, Philippines
McCrispy McCrispy 6 Canada, Japan, China, Brazil, Italy
Hash Brown Hash Brown 7 France, Germany, Brazil, Italy
Big Mac Big Mac 7
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 7
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 7 Brazil
Hamburger Hamburger 7 Australia, Philippines
McChicken McChicken 7 Germany
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 7 China, Germany, Philippines
Apple Pie Apple Pie 7 France, China, Italy
McFlurry Oreo McFlurry Oreo 7 France, Canada, Germany, Brazil
Shake Strawberry Shake Strawberry 7 Canada, Australia, China, Philippines
Apple Slices Apple Slices 7 Japan, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines
Fries Fries 7

The 6+ core

Inspecting the 6+ Core

## 
## FALSE  TRUE 
##    15    11

The 6+ core is still fairly robust, with 26 nodes (15 items + 11 countries) and total 124 ties.

Menu Items in the 6-Core, with Missing Countries
item coreness degree not_in_countries
Big Mac Big Mac 7 11
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 7 11
Fries Fries 7 11
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 7 10 Brazil
McChicken McChicken 7 10 Germany
Hamburger Hamburger 7 9 Australia, Philippines
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 7 8 China, Germany, Philippines
Apple Pie Apple Pie 7 8 France, China, Italy
Hash Brown Hash Brown 7 7 France, Germany, Brazil, Italy
McFlurry Oreo McFlurry Oreo 7 7 France, Canada, Germany, Brazil
Shake Strawberry Shake Strawberry 7 7 Canada, Australia, China, Philippines
Apple Slices Apple Slices 7 7 Japan, United Kingdom, Brazil, Philippines
Shake Chocolate Shake Chocolate 6 6 Canada, Australia, China, Brazil, Philippines
Shake Vanilla Shake Vanilla 6 6 Canada, Australia, China, Brazil, Philippines
McCrispy McCrispy 6 6 Canada, Japan, China, Brazil, Italy

Analysis - U.S. at the Center

The U.S. is relatively central within the 7-core, and is notable for being the only country not to have any 7-core items missing from its menu. Items in the 7-core form the backbone of the menu, with these items being less common targets for localization, at least in a way that replaces the original. This explains the relative centrality of the U.S., which originated these items in the domestic market. Desserts offer a window into localization trends - milkshakes are present on every menu, but specific flavor offerings often vary depending on factors like local brand collaborations. For example, Brazil’s menu lacks a traditional chocolate shake (a 6-core item) because it’s equivalent is a “Kopenhagen McShake”, in partner with Brazilian chocolate company Kopenhagen.

* Step 3: Community Detection

Community detection algorithms can help us identify the subgroups, potentially showing us groupings of items that are truly global, almost global, or more regional. For this project I will be using the Louvain algorithm because it scales well and will work on a bipartite network.

Louvain rendering of full data set

The full data set has a strong modularity score of 0.638, meaning it breaks down easily.

Initlal louvain result is consistant with the initial bipartite projection, but worth examining in greater detail. The 3+ core and 6+ core were selected for consistency.

Louvain: 3+ Core

The 3+ Cores have a modularity Score: 0.172 - Community structure exists, but is on the lower side. It is better than random, but breaks down less easily than the whole data set.

Community Membership of 3-Core+ Items
item community
Bacon & Egg McMuffin Bacon & Egg McMuffin 1
Sausage & Egg McMuffin Sausage & Egg McMuffin 1
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 1
Hamburger Hamburger 1
Shake Chocolate Shake Chocolate 1
Shake Strawberry Shake Strawberry 1
Shake Vanilla Shake Vanilla 1
Side Salad Side Salad 1
McCrispy McCrispy 1
France France 1
Germany Germany 1
United Kingdom United Kingdom 1
Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 2
Egg McMuffin Egg McMuffin 2
Hash Brown Hash Brown 2
Hotcakes Hotcakes 2
Sausage McGriddles Sausage McGriddles 2
Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles 2
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 2
Filet-O-Fish Filet-O-Fish 2
Canada Canada 2
USA USA 2
Chicken McMuffin Chicken McMuffin 3
Double Filet-O-Fish Double Filet-O-Fish 3
Fries Fries 3
Japan Japan 3
Big Arch Big Arch 4
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 4
Filet-O-Fish Filet-O-Fish 4
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 4
McFlurry Oreo McFlurry Oreo 4
Sundae Caramel Sundae Caramel 4
Sundae Chocolate Sundae Chocolate 4
Sundae Strawberry Sundae Strawberry 4
Apple Slices Apple Slices 4
Australia Australia 4
China China 4
Italy Italy 4
Big Mac Big Mac 5
Quarter Pounder with Cheese Quarter Pounder with Cheese 5
McChicken McChicken 5
Apple Pie Apple Pie 5
McFloat McFloat 5
Sundae Hot Fudge Sundae Hot Fudge 5
Vanilla Ice Cream Vanilla Ice Cream 5
Brazil Brazil 5
Philippines Philippines 5

Community Membership Breakdown

## comm
##  1  2  3  4  5 
## 12 10  4 12  9

Although groups varied with each iteration of the Louvain algorithm due to the weak modularity scores, most iterations yielded 4 groups. The breakdown below summarizes a typical distribution of countries and items accross groups:

Group 1: 14 Members [16 items] - AUS, JPN, UK, PHL
- The Fish lovers: Prominent among this group was the Filet-O-Fish and variation.

Group 2: 11 Members [9 items] - USA, CAN,
- The Breakfast Lovers: This subgroup was defined by its breakfast items (i.e. McGriddles and McMuffin variations)

Group 3: 4 Members [3 items] - CHN
- The Special One: This group revealed China’s selective overlap with other groups/regions (1 fish, 1 side, 1 breakfast item)

Group 4: 16 Members [12 items] FRA, DEU, BRA, ITL
- The Dessert Lovers: This community was characterized by the sharing of many dessert items.

Louvain: 6+ Core

The 6+ Cores have a modularity Score: 0.089 - Some community structure exists, but is very weak. This is because these items, which are generally the most popular items in that they are present on the most menus, naturally connect across subgroups.

Community Membership of 6+ Core Items
item community
Hash Brown Hash Brown 1
Big Mac Big Mac 1
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger 1
McFlurry Oreo McFlurry Oreo 1
Apple Slices Apple Slices 1
Fries Fries 1
Australia Australia 1
China China 1
Philippines Philippines 1
Italy Italy 1
Double Cheeseburger Double Cheeseburger 2
Shake Chocolate Shake Chocolate 2
Shake Strawberry Shake Strawberry 2
Shake Vanilla Shake Vanilla 2
McCrispy McCrispy 2
France France 2
Germany Germany 2
United Kingdom United Kingdom 2
USA USA 2
Hamburger Hamburger 3
McChicken McChicken 3
Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets 3
Apple Pie Apple Pie 3
Canada Canada 3
Japan Japan 3
Brazil Brazil 3

Community Membership

## comm2
##  1  2  3 
## 10  9  7

Due to the weak modularity of the 6-core, groups tend to break down slightly differently each time the algorithm is run.

Most iterations formed either 2 or 3 groups, resembling the following breakdown:

Group 1: 7 members [4 items]- CAN, CHN, USA
Of this group, the US is the most central, while China is rather distant, especially from the dessert menu items in other groups.


Group 2: 11 members [6 items] - AUS, DEU, PHL
PHL is the country furthest away from the center, driven by it’s overall rather small menu once unique items are removed.


Group 3: 8 members [3 items] - FRA, JPN, UK, BRA, IT
The desserts mainly reside in this group, but are on the periphery due to the high numbers of variations present in lower cores that weaken the original item’s global popularity.

The 3 items from the true global core remain within the overlap of all sub-groups, or at least close to the border.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Although just 3 items were truly universal across countries in the data set (Big Mac, Cheeseburger, and Fries), the 7-core items form the true backbone of McDonald’s global menu. Each of the 12 menu items in the 7-core, which includes classics like Chicken McNuggets, Hash Browns, and the Strawberry Milkshake, was present in at least 7 countries, or around 64%.

As the originator of these menu items, the U.S. remains central to the formation of the global core items as the only country to encompass all 12 items on its official (non-seasonal) menu. However, the Louvain community detection algorithm did identify a slight tendency towards regional clustering. Community structures were strongest at the 3-core level, where localization trends began to emerge among items with popularity spanning multiple countries.

Desserts illustrate some of the main localization trends. While milkshakes are universal, with at least one variation found in the 7-core, flavors often vary by country due to factors such as local flavor specialties or collaboration with popular brands.

A high number of menu items (88.3% of the total) were unique to a particular country, revealing strong localization by countries. However, due to the fact that this project only examined McDonald’s biggest markets, and that these were not clustered in a single geographic region, it is possible that such extreme localization is not present in every country with a McDonalds. Further analysis on a more robust and regionall-comprehensive data set would be required to better undetstand localization trends.

Although limited in scope, this project makes an empirical contribution to debates on localization and demonstrates how network analysis can be applied to the study of localization and consumer preferences. These insights have the potential to help businesses identify which items are likely to be globally scalable and those that require local adaptation, which in turn could inform multinational franchising strategies for brand development.