Abstract:
This research note reports a study of Ronald McDonald’s leadership. The argument is that rather
than just being a spokesperson or marketing device for the McDonald’s corporation, Ronald
performs an important transformational leadership function. Ronald’s recent restylization as a
fitness-nutrition leader is part of McDonald’s most daring organizational transformation. Using
the Bakhtinian theory of double narration, we argue that while Ronald is crafted by the actual
leaders of McDonald’s, his leadership exceeds official corporate narratives because of the
cultural meanings associated with his character as a clown. This clown persona has enabled
Ronald to emerge as a leader along two interrelated lines of organizational stylistic
transformation: from epic to novelistic corporation and from purveyor of unhealthy foods to a
nutrition-fitness enterprise.
