Running Head: THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 1

The Coca-Cola Company

Lebanon Valley College
Hector Diaz

Abstract:
The research paper will demonstrate how The Coca-Cola Company became a
transnational corporation and information of their profile. The Coca-Cola Company is rich in
history and emphasizes in marketing, innovation, and uniqueness. The paper will indicate the
companys various information including their history, mergers and acquisitions, labor issues,
financial stock prices, and mobility. By expanding market shares throughout various
countries, Coca-Cola has the ability to attract more consumers, increase profits, decrease
costs, and improve their product according to their consumers taste. The company owns
different bottling operations in order to have simpler distributions, productions, and low costs
for different countries. Expanding global provides many benefits for Coca-Cola, which
demonstrates their successful business of today.
Keywords: Coca-Cola, globalization, marketing, labor issues, soft drinks, social media

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 2

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most well known brands from around the
world. The company is operated in about 200 countries around the world. Coca-Colas
markets their beverages globally by advertisements, innovation, and uniqueness. The
company continues to be a leader in the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Coca-Cola
provides a wide variety of different non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks, energy
drinks, juices, water, sport drinks, and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Being a transnational
corporation has benefited the company, however there were many challenges that they had to
face. They continue to be a significant symbol for the American culture by delivering the
same taste and style worldwide.
History and Success
Dr. John S. Pemberton invented the favored syrup in the famous soft drink of CocaCola. After the death of Pemberton, Asa Griggs Candlertook took portions of Pembertons
business and developed brilliant marketing tactics that has led the company to where it is
now. With the impressive demand of the drinks, Joseph Biedenharn helped create the bottling
machinery in 1894 (The Coca-Cola History). With the large amount of competitors with
similar look of bottles, Coca-Cola had to make a distinctive one. The company finally
created their own bottle, which was unique and attracting. Today, the company is known for
their color, logo, and taste conquering their competitors such as Pepsi Co., Dr. Pepper
Snapple Group, Inc., etc.
Becoming Global

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 3

The success of the company has made them to become global. With great marketing
techniques, the company was able to go global and increase sales. The company wanted to
expand their market access and improve sourcing efficiency. During the war, the company
provided their drinks to the troops. After the war, they wanted to continue to give other
people in different countries their products because many people started to enjoy Coca-Colas
drink.
Coca-Cola became a sponsor of many Olympic Games and World Cup games to
become a well-recognized brand. In 1928, the company shipped one thousand cases of soda
to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam (Steger, 2015, p. 202). People from around the world
knew what Coca-Cola was. They continued to advertise their product by using memorable
slogans. More and more people started to enjoy Coca-Cola and now had a desire to purchase
due to the marketing strategies of the company.
By the 1920s and 30s, Coca-Cola decided to expand their business. The company
began to establish multiple bottling facilities outside the United States. Coca-Cola wanted to
reach multiple markets because they knew that many people from different countries enjoyed
their drinks and they also knew that having these different bottling facilities would help have
low cost expenses. They were able to accommodate the markets by expanding their bottling
operations to sell their products more efficiently, as a result to improve sale growth and
profitability.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Coca-Cola has acquisitions with Barqs Root Beer, Mad River Traders, Odwalla juice,
Seagrams mixers, and Monster (Euromonitor International 2014). In 2005, the company
decided to bring out Groupe Danones stake where they distributed brands such as Dannon
and Sparkletts water. In 2006, they purchased Fuze Beverage and renegotiated their
distribution with Nestle so that there were further development of tea and coffee brands.
During 2007, the company purchased Glaceau Vitamin Water (Euromonitor International
2014). Buying these different companies provided many opportunities for the company to

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 4

target new markets and increase sales. Consumers have a wide variety of options to choose
from when purchasing a beverage from Coca-Cola, so the company was able to meet many
different expectations. Thus, the reason why Coca-Cola is known to be innovative is because
they are still able to keep a recognized brand full of different choices of flavors and types of
beverages.
Labor Issues
Coca-Cola is known to provide many job opportunities in different regions of the
world, however they faced major labor issues. They dealt with abuse of workers rights,
assassinations, water privatization, and discrimination within the workplace (The 14 Worst
Corporate Evildoers 2005). This has affected their company because it gave the company a
negative image for violating their employees and communities rights. These events raised
many concerns on whether the company cares about their stakeholders.
In Colombia, there was a union protesting for the companys labor practices. Eight of
the union leaders were assassinated. Many others who joined or considered joining were
tortured, kidnapped, and seized by paramilitaries to prevent them from unionizing (Leech
2001). The company was blamed for violating human rights and was fully responsible for the
lives of their workers. These situations raised many questions as to why the company was
not committed to keeping their employees safe. Coca-Cola controls all aspects of the
company and should have taken action of preventing these horrific events. The company is
seen a major player for dominating the worldwide labor market by lower cost and keeping
their profits high, but of course, the company disagrees with these accusations.
The company also privatized Indias water, which destroyed the agriculture of the
local communities. They were extracting water from the wells and bottled to sell them (The
14 Corporate Evildoers 2005). This affected many people from the communities from water
shortages and damages to the agriculture. Consequently, many people from the communities
develop illnesses because the wastes that were disposed by the company contaminated the

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 5

remaining waters. Due to privatizing and disposing waste into the water, Coca-Cola was
being unethical to the communities in India and in turn affected the businesss reputation.
During the early 2000s the company faced many cases of discriminations to African
Americans in the United States. The employees sued the company for disparities in pay and
promotions (The 14 Corporate Evildoers 2005). Again, this shows that the company does not
take ethical actions to their employees. This becomes a major concern for the company as it
decreases productivity, loyalty, and sales.
Financial Facts

Figure 1. The Coca-Cola Companys Interactive Chart (KO Interactive Stock Chart | Yahoo!
Inc. Stock, 2015).
According to Yahoo Finance (2015), the graph demonstrates the companys stock
price. The graph is based on the United States markets. In figure 1, the chart shows a
decrease in the year of 2002, which was during time when the company was facing lawsuit
charges of racial discrimination. The price of the stocks decreased dramatically impacting the
companys stock. The price continues to fluctuate until 2008 and 2012 where prices reached a
high peak. If the company makes better ethical decisions, develop good marketing
techniques, and manages costs, as a result the price of the stocks will remain high.
Applying from Textbook

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 6

In chapter fourteen (Steger, 2015, p. 201-206), the book explains about the American
global cultural brand. The company relates to this chapter as it is considered to be one of the
best-known American brands worldwide. Coca-Cola represents Americans identity of values,
culture, norms, and ideals. Throughout the world Coca-Cola still holds the same taste and
bottle no matter where you go. Coca-Cola uses franchise to easily manufacture and distribute
their drinks from around the world. Everyone can be able to go to the nearest retail store, and
be able to purchase and drink an American iconic product.
In addition, The Coca-Cola Company uses great marketing tactics from using the
social media by having their consumer involved. Coca-Cola uses Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram as a way to market their brand and connect more with their customers. They are
able to create a collection of advocates. In chapter five (Steger, 2015, p. 74-79), the book
mentions the significance of social media and how it influenced the people and government
in Tunisia. Social media has the ability to affect individuals perspectives and behaviors
towards an organization or government. According to Shively (2014), Coca-Cola uses
Twitter and tweets about sixty times a day and this generates about 82,000 engagements with
their followers, which creates about one billion potential impressions. The way that CocaCola uses direct replies to those that tweet to them makes them feel appreciated and valued.
This shows how much social media can influence involvement of firms with their customers
from around the world with instant access of information and communication.

Mobility

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 7

Figure 2. Bottling Investments Group Global Footprint Map (The Coca-Cola System, 2015).
The Coca-Cola Company provides multiple bottling facilities around the world. In
figure 2, the map shows where the company have their bottling operations all across the
world. The Bottling Investment Group (BIG) was developed to ensure that the operations
remain a part of the companys system and receive appropriate investments and expertise for
their long-term success (The Coca-Cola System, 2015). With this investment of the BIG,
Coca-Cola is able to use the prospect of mobility by utilizing stability and structure. BIG is
operated in five continents and has been operating for about ten years (The Coca-Cola
System, 2015). This gives better access to selling and distributing their products easier and
faster.
In contrast, according to an article from Morton (2014), Coca-Cola proposed an
expansion in Chattanooga, Tennessee with an estimated of 5.9 million in tax incentives for 12
years. With this expansion in the area, the article mentions that it will create more job
opportunities and help future infrastructures improvements. By having this tax incentive,
Coca-Cola is also giving a bigger outcome in the future of the community.
Conclusion
Overall, Coca-Cola has been known for their great success through history, but they
faced many obstacles to get where they are now. John Pemberton invented the great taste of
the based syrup of Coca-Cola. After his death, Candler founded the company and became
very successful. Coca-Cola was supplied to many troops during the war. After World War II,

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 8

the company was able to expand throughout the world. By becoming a transnational
corporation they are able to increase their sales, attract more consumers, lower costs, and
create new products. On the other hand, being global has also caused issues of violating
human rights and destroying agricultural. In the United States, during the year of 2002 their
stock was potentially affected by the increase of discrimination lawsuits against African
Americans.
The company is still symbolizing the American brand throughout the world by
maintaining from their taste and style. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram has created a strong bond with consumers from around the world. With instant
access of communication and information, it allows immediate responses and provides great
marketing tactics. With multiple bottling facilities, these helped the company to ensure
operation within the system and receive the appropriate investments by using the Bottling
Investment Group (BIG). Going global has helped the company to become successful and
continue to create connections throughout the world.

Reference
Coca-Cola & The Olympic Games | Our History | Coca-Cola GB. (n.d.). Retrieved September
24, 2015, from http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/history/heritage/making-historywith-the-olympic-games/#
Coca-Cola History World of Coca-Cola. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2015, from
https://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/about-us/coca-cola-history/
Collingsworth, T. (2012, March 1). International Labor Rights Forum. Retrieved September
24, 2015, from http://www.laborrights.org/in-the-news/key-human-rights-challengedeveloping-enforcement-mechanisms
Euromonitor International. (2014). Coca-Cola Company (World). Retrieved September 24,
2015, from http://www.portal.euromonitor.com.ezproxy.lvc.
edu:2048/portal/analysis/tab

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 9

Feloni, R. (2015, June 12). 7 brilliant strategies Coca-Cola used to become one of the world's
most recognizable brands. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from
http://www.businessinsider.com/strategies-coca-cola-used-to-become-a-famousbrand-2015-6
History of Bottling. (2015). Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.cocacolacompany.com/our-company/history-of-bottling#T
KO Interactive Stock Chart | Yahoo! Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance. (n.d.). Retrieved September
24, 2015, from https://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=KO
Interactive#{"useLogScale":true,"range":"max","allowChartStacking":true}
Labor Practices Questioned As Coca-Cola Workers Protest Unfair Policies Worldwide. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.mintpressnews.com/labor-practicesquestioned-as-coca-cola-workers-protest-unfair-policies-worldwide/31715/
Leech, G. (2001, July 23). Coca-Cola Accused of Using Death Squads to Target Union
Leaders Colombia Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from
http://colombiajournal.org/colombia73.htm
Morton, D. (2014). Coca-Cola offered tax incentives for expansion. (2014, March 5).
Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://nooga.com/165724/coca-cola-offered-taxincentives-for-expansion/
Remy, M. (2015). LexisNexis Current Issues Universe2002112 LexisNexis Current Issues
Universe . Dayton, OH: Reed Elsevier 2001. http://www.lexisnexis.com/ciuniv Price
based on FTE and library type. Reference Reviews, 5-5. Retrieved September 24,
2015.
Shively, K. (2014, May 22). How Coca-Cola Crushes Social Media | Simply Measured.
Retrieved September 25, 2015, from http://simplymeasured.com/blog/lessons-fromcoca-colas-social-media-strategy-cohesive-campaigns-and-creativecontent/#i.17l98qa19w6fis
Steger, M. (2015). The global studies reader (Second ed.). New York, New York: Oxford
University Press.
The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers. (2005, December 12). Retrieved September 24, 2015,
from http://www.laborrights.org/in-the-news/14-worst-corporate-evildoers-

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Diaz 10

The Coca-Cola System. (2015). Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.cocacolacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system#TCCC
The Consequence of Unethical Business Behavior. (2011, April 27). Retrieved September 24,
2015, from http://www.sixsigmaonline.org/six-sigma-training-certificationinformation/the-consequence-of-unethical-business-behavior/
http://simplymeasured.com/blog/lessons-from-coca-colas-social-media-strategycohesive-campaigns-and-creative-content/#i.17l98qa19w6f