Competing in International and Domestic Markets

This article discusses the strategies implemented by Coca Cola in international and domestic markets. It explores the reasons behind the changes in strategy and the advantages and limitations of each approach. The current strategy pursued by Coke, which combines localization and global standardization, is also examined. The evolution of Coke's strategies over the years is discussed, along with the importance of considering local needs and demands. The article concludes by highlighting the success of Coke in maintaining its position in the industry through strategic adaptation.

Running head: COMPETING IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARKETS
COMPETING IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARKETS
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Author Note

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Introduction
Coca Cola is an iconic soda maker organization of American origin and has been able
to gain a major position in the international market. The first internationalization based
movement was made by the organization in the year 1902 when the organization entered
Cuba. A deal was then struck by Coca Cola based on the supply that the company had to
provide to the US military. Currently Coca Cola has its operations in around 200 countries in
the world (Coca-colacompany.com. 2019).
Reasons behind the change in strategy by Roberto Goizueta
Coca Cola had implemented a localization strategy in its international operations
before 1980s. A major change had been implemented in the strategy in the year 1980 under
the leadership of the CEO Roberto Goizueta. The major reasons behind the implementation
of this strategy is based on the lack of proper penetration of the products of Coke in the
international market areas outside the US. This had led to the implementation of centralised
management policy. The importance has been provided to different products like, Cherry
Coke and Diet Coke that were the flagships products of the organization at that time (Allen,
Lee & Reiche, 2015).
The major advantages that were provided to Coke by the global standardization
strategy was based on the increase in levels of control over the international operations of the
organization. The advertisement based costs have also been reduced due to the development
of a single message for the operations in different parts of the world (Alon et al., 2016).
Limitations of the strategy implemented by Goizueta
The strategy that was implemented by Goizueta had started becoming ineffective by
the 1990s. The growth of Coke was halted after the local organizations had started

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developing products that are able to fulfil the needs of customers on a local basis. Coke had
failed to reach the financial targets that were set by the company in the year 2000. This had
led to the shift of strategy from global standardisation to localisation (Chung, 2015). The
major reason behind the shift of strategy was that the development of products and marketing
activities have to be based on the local demands and needs. The objective behind the
implementation of this strategy is based on the ways by which local needs can be fulfilled
with the help of products that are developed by Coke. The lack of a proper global
advertisement had led to the failure of the strategy that had been implemented by the CEO of
the organization. The lay-off of employees from the headquarters was also a major reason
behind the lack of proper levels of profits (Edwards et al., 2016).
Characterisation of strategy currently pursued by Coke
The current strategy that has been implemented by Coke and is being pursued
presently is considered to be a mix of localization and global standardization. Neville Isdell,
who was appointed as the CEO of Coke in the year 2004 had provided importance to the
ways by which the local marketing activities and the product development that are performed
in different countries. The CEO has development a mid-point between the strategies that had
been implemented by the previous CEOs of Coke. Isdell believed that the pricing, marketing
and development of products need to be different for the various countries and they need to
match the local conditions as well (Haron, 2016). On the other hand, the CEO had also
provided importance to the implementation of effective ideas across all the nations. This
strategy had led to the development of different types of products that can be offered to the
customers of the countries like Japan and China and are based in their personal needs and
demands. The major benefits that are provided by the implementation of this strategy are
based on the ways by which local demands can be fulfilled. The requirement of different

3COMPETING IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARKETS
types of advertisements for different countries leads to high costs for the company based on
advertisement and promotions (Jeong, Lee & Kim, 2019).
Evolution of the strategy implemented by Coke
The evolution that has taken place in the strategies implemented by Coke over the
years is based on the internationalization based operations that have been undertaken by the
organization. The process of internationalization had led to the implementation global
standardisation strategy in different countries. This had increased the levels of centralization
of the organization. On the other hand, another major change in the strategy was based on the
implementation of local standardisation strategy that was based on the development of
products based on the local needs and demands of the consumers (Molleda, Kochhar &
Wilson, 2015). Both the strategies had failed to increase the levels of profits gained by the
organization in the industry. The development of a combine strategy had further led to the
success that had been gained by the organization in the beverage industry. The needs and
demands of consumers in different parts of the world had been taken into consideration along
with the development of strategies based on the central management and flagship products
(Steenkamp, 2017). The current economy is based on the development of products that are
preferred by the customers and are able to fulfil their needs as well. The implementation of
strategies and development of promotional activities have been able to play a major role in
the ways by which Coca Cola has been successful in maintaining its leadership position in the
beverage industry from the start of its operations in the beverage industry (Jeong, Lee & Kim,
2019).
Conclusion
The analysis can be concluded by stating the Coke has been able to maintain its
position in the industry with the help of proper implementation of strategies that are able to

4COMPETING IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MARKETS
fulfil the needs of consumers. The continuous change in strategies have been based on the
changes that have been seen in the market conditions and preference of the customers as well.

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References
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