Coca-Cola India: Losing Its Fizz

Abstract

AbstractThe Coca-Cola Company, acknowledged as one of the world's most valuable and recognized brands, was the largest nonalcoholic beverage company in the world. It offered a portfolio of sparkling and still beverages in almost 200 countries, starting with Coca-Cola and extending to over 400 soft drinks, juices, teas, coffees, waters, sports and energy drinks in the year 2007. The company had, till date, invested over USA' 1 billion in India and employed over 5000 people, owning 60% of share of the beverage market. The company claimed to adhere to the 'highest ethical standards' and aspired to be an outstanding corporate citizen in every community it served (as stated in the 2006 Corporate Responsibility Review: The Coca-Cola Company). Yet Coca-Cola India was being charged with several indictments for degrading the environment. This case compares and contracts the firm's stated corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the reality of the company's actual practices. The company was being accused of dying up farmers' wells and destroying agricultural land in its pursuit of water resources to feed its own plants. With the campaign against Coca-Cola in India intensifying and catching international attention, the company undertook image building through its multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. The case questions the authenticity of firm's CSR initiatives in the light of its inability to manage the delicate community-business relationship. The case also discusses Corporate Social Responsibility as the extent against which and the way in which an organization needs to be consciously responsible for and accountable for its actions and non-actions and the impact of these on its stakeholders and ultimately the firms' sustainability.Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Community-Business Relationship, Firms' Sustainability