Does Coca-Cola's Competitive Advantage?

A company or an organization can create competitive advantage only when it is able to distinguish itself from the rivals by implementing value creating strategy over a longer period of time. It is said to have sustainable competitive advantage when other rival firms are unable to duplicate the value creating strategy of firm which has led to achievement of

Due to globalization and this fast-growing business environment, firms struggle to earn above-average returns. They strive to establish a competitive advantage in order to earn higher returns. It is not enough for firms to establish a competitive advantage, they should also figure out ways to sustain it. There are several factors that can affect the competitiveness of a firm including customers, suppliers, existing rivals, new entrants, and substitutes. Firms should take into account these factors in order to sustain their competitive advantage. This paper analyzes Yoffie 's (2009) Cola War case, assesses concentrate producers, bottlers, and retailers in terms of Porter’s (2008) five forces of competition and provides recommendations to Coca-Cola.

Coca Cola and Pepsi are the brands with the highest brand equities. Both, Coca Cola and Pepsi have gone through the highs and lows of their business to reach that position. Coca Cola’s marketing has been changing over time with more and more products being added every day, while Pepsi has implemented several smart marketing strategies to improve its turnover and profits. So, let’s see what were the marketing strategies implemented by Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Coca Cola was born in the laboratory of Dr. John Pemberton in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola's own name was made by Frank Robinson. And marketed for the first time with an ad of banners with the inscription of oil paints labeled "drink Coca Cola". Although it was the title of "brand of the century", Frank Robison had experienced a loss in sales. Coca Cola formula then bought by Asa Chandler in 1892 that heavily promoting senhingga experiencing huge profits. Coca cola increasingly global sales thanks to independent bottling firms with licenses to other countries and this is maintained until now.

Secondly, the author highlights the way how business entities can achieve sustainable competitive edge through improving strategic planning practices in a fundamental manner. It has to be acknowledged that one and half decade has passed since the publication of the article and the principles outlined in the article are not revolutionary by today’s standards, however, there are solid reasons to believe that the article has contributed to the emergence of companies with revolutionary approach to business.

Competitive strategy, after Porter, came to be defined as the strategy of a business unit which seeks to achieve sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). The literature on strategy deems the market-based view (MBV) and the resource –based view (RBV) as two approaches to giving businesses the competitive edge they need to compete in their industries. Aside from having competitive advantage as their ultimate goal, the two approaches are also similar in the sense that they both make use of particular tools and models in their undertakings. They also differ in numerous ways,

Coca Cola has differentiated its product and services that are valued by its customer. Its product are based on customer’s preferences, with affordable price and made easily accessible.

The objective of this report is to evaluate the Organizational Resources and Competitive Strategies of The Coca Cola Company in the USA. This study is conducted in order to carry out the company’s overall strategic Marketing reasoning. The report will highlight the Marketing capabilities, Competitive strategies adopted and the competitive Advantage Coca Cola USA has over its competitors in the country.

The history of Coca Cola began in 1886 when Dr. John S Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist created a tasty soft drink which could sell at soda fountains. Since then, Coca Cola grew to be a global brand and touched great heights. Today, it sells across 200 countries and is just as popular across all the markets and nations. The company today, owns or licenses and markets more than 500 non alcoholic beverage brands. The brand has only few major competitors in the global market. The daily servings of coca cola are estimated to be at 1.9 billion globally. (Coca-Colahellenic, n.d.) This is just another proof of the popularity of the brand which has a very large and diversified

Coca-Cola Company has realized significant growth since its establishment to become a global leader in the marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of syrup and soft drinks. Out of the four generic strategies, the company has followed the differentiation strategy to make its products unique in the market. Its interest is to maximize the market share through the development of the most innovative products and the establishment of effective strategies to influence the customer’s decisions. In such a way, the company has integrated various strategies to ensure that desirable results are attained in the market. Its strategic choices align with the differentiation strategy in an attempt to make its products unique and meet diverse market requirements. To reduce its weaknesses, the company should consider exploiting key opportunities in the market including venturing in the packaging of water, promotion of new brands, and launching of healthy products. In particular, the vision and mission statement of Coca-Cola seems to have reconfirmed and changed in this process of company’s strategic analysis.

Coca- Cola Company is US multinational beverage corporation, with 129 years of history. Coca Cola was recognized as 4th world’s most valuable brands and most valuable brand in beverage industry in 2014 according to Forbes magazine. Coca-Cola’s international market strategies are the classic example of successful Global Marketing Mix, which uses both standardization-adaptation strategic combinations to achieve bigger market shares all over the world. However in a big game there are always big players, and Coca Cola’s most fierce rivalry is Pepsi. Both of them control around 60% of global nonalcoholic beverages industry as well as they are present in more that 200 countries around the world. Coca Cola as long-term leader in the beverage market owns huge portfolio of 500 brands. So

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).

A company achieves sustainable competitive advantage when an attractive number of buyers prefer its products or services over the offerings of competitors and when the basis for this preference is durable.

Ghemawat declares that in the post-crisis global economy, "national differences" among and between emerging economies and developed countries remain pronounced, and that successful companies will learn strategies to "manage those differences...by adapting to local conditions." The author proposes that companies should focus on the unique character of regional and local economies, recognizing the diversity of cultures, customer needs and local competition while building strategic partnerships with regional forces to handle resource constraints.

With the breakneck advancements in today’s market, having sustainable competitive advantage has become imperative so as to survive. The metamorphosis of technology has made the job further challenging to have a competitive advantage and sustain it. Competitive advantage is defined as an idiosyncratic lead a firm has over its fellow challengers and emulators. This lead enables the firm to vanquish its challenger. In other words it is something that distinguishes an organization from the competitors. For a competitive advantage to be sustainable, the firm has create value creating products or services that cannot be mirrored or matched by its fellow competitors and thereby it will able to outlast for a longer period of time (Bharadwaj, S, Varadarajan, P, & Fahy, J 1993)