Publications

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March 1991 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola and the Soft Drink Industry

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Provides a summary of the history of the soft drink industry prior to World War II, and over the period 1950-1990 in greater detail. Major strategic competitive moves and countermoves are described. Also... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

January 1979 (Revised November 1982)
Case

General Foods: Powdered Soft Drinks (B)

By: Walter J. Salmon and Steven R. Palesy

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

December 1978 (Revised November 1982)
Case

General Foods: Powdered Soft Drinks (A)

By: Walter J. Salmon and Steven R. Palesy

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

May 1977 (Revised August 1982)
Background Note

Note on the Soft Drink Industry in the U.S.

January 1987 (Revised March 1989)
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986

Demonstrates how knowing the "money mechanics" of the business is essential in developing a successful strategy among industry participants. Deals with the structural attractiveness of the industry from the concentrate producer and bottler perspectives and examines the... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 1992
Teaching Note

Coca-Cola versus Pepsi Cola and the Soft Drink Industry TN

By: Francis Aguilar

Teaching Note for (9-391-179). View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

22 Jul 2007
Conference Presentation

Soft, Stiff, and in between: Social Movements, Entrepreneurial Opportunity, and the Emergence of the American Soft Drink Industry

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Keywords: Society; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

4 Nov 2007 - 7 Nov 2007
Conference Presentation

From Demon Rum to Dr. Pepper: Social Movements, Entrepreneurial Opportunity, and the Emergence of the American Soft Drink Industry

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

Keywords: Business Ventures; Society; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 2020
Case

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?

By: Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own... View Details

Keywords: Alcoholic Beverages; Energy Drinks; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making

September 1989 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Pepsi-Cola U.S. Beverages (B)

Outlines the steps PepsiCo actually took in reorganizing its domestic soft drink business. Students are asked to analyze the pluses and minuses of the change. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Food and Beverage Industry

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Building ’Brandtopias’—How Top Brands Tap into Society

brandtopias. Brandtopias champion resolutions to contradictions through the stories they tell, primarily through advertising. Consumers use these stories as allegories—through ads, for instance, consumers learn different ways of understanding their place in society.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Oct 2015
News

Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success

May 1995 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Internationalizing the Cola Wars (A): The Battle for China and Asian Markets

By: David B. Yoffie

Analyzes the strategies pursued by Coke and Pepsi in the emerging Asian soft drink market. Analyzes the tactical battle of the cola giants in China specifically. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Emerging Markets; Corporate Strategy; Competition; Globalized Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; China; Asia

December 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Cola Wars: Going Global

By: Frank V. Cespedes

This case is meant to be used in conjunction with the extant "Cola Wars" case studies. It outlines the global positions of Pepsi and Coca-Cola as of 2008 in the soft drink market, and then provides an overview of their competitive situations in three markets: Mexico,... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry; China; India; Mexico

May 1993 (Revised June 2004)
Case

PepsiCo Bottling in Mexico

By: Kenneth A. Froot

This case describes Pepsico's program to restructure its Mexican bottling network. It wants to work with existing bottlers and find an organizational arrangement that will allow the bottlers to grow and change with the Mexican soft drink industry. View Details

Keywords: Bottling; Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Multinational Firms and Management; International Finance; Valuation; Programs; Organizational Design; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

March 2004 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Restricting Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value in Texas Public Schools

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

The Commission of Agriculture in Texas wants to improve the nutritional quality of the school lunch program to help fight obesity in students. It needs the cooperation of the soft drink industry to change their products and the manner in which they provide financial... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Nutrition; Food; Quality; Education; Education Industry

March 1994 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Cola Wars Continue: Coke vs. Pepsi in the 1990s

By: David B. Yoffie and Sharon Foley

The competition between Coke and Pepsi is a classic corporate battle that began in America at the turn of the century and has expanded into worldwide competitive warfare in the 1990s. This case examines the economics of the soft drink and bottling industries, and... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Organizational Culture; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; North and Central America

March 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Hundred-Year War, A: Coke vs. Pepsi, 1890s-1990s

By: Chiaki Moriguchi and David Lane

Through their competitive battle, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have created a stable and highly profitable duopoly in the U.S. soft drink industry. As the domestic industry matured and the cola wars moved to international markets, Coke and Pepsi tried to redesign their... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Food and Beverage Industry

September 1989 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Pepsi-Cola U.S. Beverages (A)

Responding to changes in Pepsi-Cola's competitive environment, Roger Enrico, president and CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide Beverages, formed a task force to investigate a possible reorganization of Pepsi's domestic soft drink business. The task force recommends reorganizing... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Organizational Design; Food and Beverage Industry