Crisis Management in Geopolitical Conflicts: Strategic Adaptation and Digital Resilience in Multinational Corporations

The research explores McDonald's approach to managing geopolitical and consumer activism challenges through strategic crisis management by combining stakeholder theory elements with institutional adaptation and digital resilience strategies. The research functions as a qualitative case study that applies thematic analysis alongside critical discourse analysis (CDA) and quantitative validation through sales trends, sentiment analysis, and foot traffic data. The research demonstrates that stakeholder demands necessitate organizations to maintain a balance between corporate governance structures and franchise independence. Institutional adaptation, including acquisitions, mitigates reputational risks. The emergence of negative sentiment signals potential financial consequences, which requires organizations to monitor developments in real-time. Digital transformation enhances crisis resilience and recovery. The study demonstrates how AI sentiment tracking combined with adaptive crisis responses and local CSR approaches enables MNCs to maintain operations and build trust in unstable markets. The study delivers a repeatable model for crisis management that highlights sentiment-focused approaches alongside digital resilience for restoring brand reputation. JEL Codes: M16, F23, L14 Keywords: Geopolitical conflicts, crisis management, stakeholder theory, digital resilience, consumer activism, sentiment analysis, institutional adaptation, brand reputation.