1. What aspects of U.S. and Indian Culture may have been a cause of Coke’s difficulties in India?
The area that the cultural differences may cause the Coke’s difficulties in India includes the value of Work recognized in India which was undervalued in India. Second, Indians are highly suspicious of foreign investors which can also cause difficulties for Coca Cola in India. Last but not least, the laws in the U.S. and India may be different in certain circumstances.
2. How might Coca-Cola have responded differently when this situation first occurred, especially in terms of reacting to negative perceptions among Indians of Coke and other MNCs?
Coca-Cola can respond by announcing they will immediately check their water that they use for their products. If they were to find any pesticides in them, then they would do anything that they could to make the water safe and pesticide free. In the same way, they can also respond how other companies should have been tested as well if the pesticides were in the ground water. Similarly, Coca-Cola needs to find ways to grow plants in that soil.
3. If Coca-Cola wants to obtain more of India’s soft drink market, what changes does it need to make?
The changing of its style of advertisement to fit the flavor of Indian people and Indian Culture is necessary for example, using a celebrity-studded ad campaign like PepsiCo did. Coca-Cola should also practice more corporate social responsibilities activities as PepsiCo did. Pepsi’s CSR efforts include digging village wells, initiated efforts to reduce water waste at its Indian facilities.