Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010

David B. Yoffie; Renee  Kim

Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2010 (Revised May 2011)

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010

Abstract

Examines the industry structure and competitive strategy of Coca-Cola and Pepsi over 100 years of rivalry. The most intense battles of the cola wars were fought over the $74 billion CSD industry in the United States, where the average American consumes 46 gallons of CSD per year. In a "carefully waged competitive struggle," from 1975 to the mid-1990s, both Coke and Pepsi had achieved average annual growth of around 10%, as both U.S. and worldwide CSD consumption consistently rose. However, starting in the late 1990s, U.S. CSD consumption started to decline and new non-sparkling beverages become popular, threatening to alter the companies' brand, bottling, and pricing strategies. The case considers what has to be done for Coke and Pepsi to ensure sustainable growth and profitability. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Keywords: Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States;

Format: Print

22 pages

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Citation:

Yoffie, David B., and Renee Kim. "Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010." Harvard Business School Case 711-462, December 2010. (Revised May 2011.)

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2016 (Revised September 2018)

Elon Musk's Big Bets

David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Brandon Kaufmann

Between late 2014 and late 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk undertook several major, and risky, initiatives that would dramatically expand the scale and scope of Tesla’s business. In late 2014, Tesla began construction on a $5 billion “gigafactory” that would manufacture lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla’s electric vehicles on an unprecedented scale. In early 2015, Tesla announced a new product line of battery packs designed for large-scale energy storage for residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations. In 2016, the company acquired SolarCity, a leading solar energy firm, creating what Musk called “a vertically integrated energy company.” These moves, representing billions of investment and extension into new industries, came at a time when Tesla was still losing money and struggling to scale up production of its electric vehicle lines to meet ambitious delivery targets. Meanwhile, Musk was also CEO of SpaceX, which was, while growing its business of launching satellites and cargo into space for commercial and governmental clients, preparing to take astronauts into space, pioneering the use of reusable rockets and announcing plans to colonize Mars. Would Musk be able to realize his ambitious goals or was he taking too many risks with his investors’ money?

Keywords: electric vehicles; batteries; solar power; renewable energy; strategy; Execution; technology; space flight; Tesla; SolarCity; SpaceX; Elon Musk; Technology; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Renewable Energy; Investment; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry; Aerospace Industry; Battery Industry;

Citation:

Yoffie, David B., Eric Baldwin, and Brandon Kaufmann. "Elon Musk's Big Bets." Harvard Business School Case 717-431, November 2016. (Revised September 2018.) View Details

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In fall 2017, HTC CEO and Chairperson Cher Wang was driving the company to focus on virtual reality (VR). HTC's first VR product, VIVE, released in spring 2016, was applauded for its superior immersive room-scale capabilities. However, early adoption of VR beyond gamers and technology enthusiasts was off to a slower start in general due to high cost, lack of quality content, and some user discomfort while using the technology. Wang endeavors to be the leading VR company, though competition from Sony, Facebook, and other technology leaders is mounting, and several, like HTC, are already pursuing second generation tetherless VR technology. As Wang seeks to develop the ecosystem by partnering with developers, creating a content platform, investing in VR startups, and launching VR arcades, she must decide the appropriate balance of fostering innovation in hardware, software and services, or both.

CyberArk was the recognized leader in the Privileged Account Management (PAM) space, a cybersecurity subsegment it had essentially created to secure organizations’ IT systems and sensitive data. Over 17 years, the Israeli company had grown to a market capitalization of over $1.6 billion, with sales exceeding $217 million and 900 global employees with a strong corporate culture. In May 2017, Udi Mokady, founder, chairman, and CEO, debated how best to drive growth. He mulled over whether he should stay the course and remain focused on providing best-of-breed PAM for enterprises, both on-premise and in the cloud, or expand into new markets. Cyber threats were on the rise, which afforded numerous growth opportunities such as entering the broader identity management space, creating new products to protect critical infrastructure, and securing the burgeoning world of the Internet of Things (IoT). This case explores the company's competitive position, the challenges of sustaining its advantages in a highly competitive and consolidating industry, and whether it should pursue organic or inorganic growth, while maintaining company culture.

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Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010

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