Coca-Cola - Publications - Faculty & Research

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

team to deliver strong near-term performance while continuing to invest in her transformation strategy. Nooyi’s arch-rival, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, decided instead to concentrate on sugar-based soft drinks while ignoring these obvious... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

notion that a large segment of consumers might prefer automobiles that were safe and fuel-efficient. Coca-Cola ignored evidence that "New Coke" would fizzle and launched it anyway. Companies in the mechanical-watch and... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

protection, such as patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. A trademark offers a way to capture the brand equity of a company or a product. BusinessWeek recently calculated that the value of the Coca-Cola brand was worth more than $65... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

authentic—because they are—and have proven very good at garnering more fans. For instance, the Facebook pages for both Nutella and Coca-Cola were created, unsolicited, by actual fans. In both cases, the companies have encouraged these... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

13 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Should Men’s Products Fear a Woman’s Touch?

world of diet beverages. For years, Coca-Cola tried and failed to entice men to consume Diet Coke, its popular (among women) zero-calorie cola, packaged in a striking white can. But then the company introduced the zero-calorie cola Coke... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Auto

05 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors

Think of famous brands you know: Hallmark cards and Coca-Cola soft drinks, for example. What do these products have in common for consumers? An emotional meaning that taps into thoughts and feelings related to the positive aspects of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products

18 Feb 2019
Book

What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology

they're doing and emulate or respond. When Coca-Cola launches a new product or reduces prices, it's easy for Pepsi to identify that. It's easy to go to the board or to your boss and say, “Our competitor is doing this. We should respond.”... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Beauty & Cosmetics; Insurance; Service; Retail

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: The Strategy of Differences

labels 'international' and 'domestic' no longer apply." His globalization program, often summarized under the tagline "think global, act global," had included an unprecedented amount of standardization. By the time he passed away in 1997, View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

05 Jul 2021
What Do You Think?

Do Companies Really Need Chief Experience Officers to Know Their Customers?

products and services. The event is burned into my mind. I became conscious of the fact that other senior executives with whom I worked were ignorant of their competitors’ products and services. Once, one of my sons ordered a Coca-Cola as... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

06 Aug 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?

campaign. This year, interestingly, Coca-Cola didn't advertise, and the Super Bowl was held in Atlanta on their home turf. That created a lot of attention, as well. It was interesting because it allowed Pepsi, who did do an ad on the... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

02 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ‘A Social Strategy’

had more than 44 million, and Coca-Cola had gathered more than 69 million fans, 800 thousand of whom reportedly liked the Coca-Cola page or posted a status update on that page; liked, shared, or commented on... View Details

04 Jan 2021
What Do You Think?

How Do We Sustain Organization Diversity?

wavebreakmedia Last month, the venerable organization Coca-Cola publicly announced that a project to hire more Black employees that stemmed from the settlement of a 2000 discrimination lawsuit had failed to achieve its objectives. Along... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

regulatory requirements—thus preserving the legal right to keep operating the company. It also can mean preventing damage to the brand. Corporate investment in environmental sustainability can help the brand as well as the bottom line. ©iStock.com/tumpikuja Take the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

13 Aug 2001
Lessons from the Classroom

Parents’ Guide to Harvard Business School

experience to students' parents, Narayandas leads a mini-case study of Coca-Cola as it decides whether to deploy a new generation of interactive vending machines. Narayandas also discusses the evolution of the modern enterprise, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

17 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Why Global Brands Work

appeal. Think Coca-Cola and Disney. 2. A focus on a single product category. Think Nokia and Intel. 3. The company name is the brand name. All marketing dollars are concentrated on that one brand. Think GE and IBM. 4. Access to the global... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Auto

19 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 19

League, to serving as that country's foreign minister, and to his many years at the United Nations, with special emphasis on his actions as a mediator in Lebanese and Afghan conflicts. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/912028-PDF-ENG View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

How Businesses Can Respond to AIDS

in the chain. Business cannot sit this one out.— Buff Mackenzie, USAID Take Coca-Cola, for example. According to Carol Martel, director of public affairs for the Coca-Cola Company, the secret-formula concentrate that is the essence of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Developing the Global Leader

diversity of geographies and experiences is easier said than done, George concedes, although he does highlight a few standouts, including Coca-Cola (which has had five non-American CEOs), Nestlé, Unilever, Siemens, IBM, and Novartis,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

might be for the company; and so forth. Purchase this note: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708462 The Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged) Harvard Business School Case... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria

it evokes emotional memories that touch on all of our drives. Memories of a hot day when all you wanted to acquire was an ice-cold Coke; memories of your first date when you shared a Coke; memories of World War II when Coca-Cola became a... View Details