Coca-Cola’s Operational And Ethical Challenges In India Concerning Corporate Social Responsibility In Emerging Markets

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Research Background

This research about CSR in emerging markets, focusing on Coca-Cola in India, investigates how large corporations work around the complex socio-economic and environmental landscapes of developing countries. Recently and rapidly developing markets like India are a test bed for a number of CSR programs due to fast economic growth, complicated socio-political scenarios, and awareness among the public for social and environmental concerns (Khan et al., 2023). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is regarded as the dedication of enterprises to execute their activities in a manner that is economically accountable, thereby enhancing the welfare of their workforce and their families, as well as the broader community and society at large. Sustainable business practices encompass the consideration of social, environmental, and economic consequences (Samantara and Dhawan, 2020). The Coca-Cola multinational soft drink has increasingly become under scrutiny for business activities in India, mostly over water use, environmental sustainability, and community impact. This research study discusses how Coca-Cola has responded to these challenges through its CSR strategies, aligning with local expectations while working toward global CSR standards. The background of the research underlines the increased relevance of CSR in emergent markets, which has consequently obliged companies to comply not only with the dictates of regulatory requirements but also to meet the demands of different stakeholders, including local communities, NGOs, and the government. The call for sustainability, ethical business operations, and social equity has marked the evolving nature of CSR in India.

1.2. Problem Statement

The issue of CSR in emerging markets for big companies, such as Coca-Cola operating in India, indeed has been quite complex. While global standards and practices exist, companies quite often find it rather difficult to balance profit motives with social and environmental responsibilities in developing countries. Probably the most common case refers to Coca-Cola operations in India, where much scrutiny and criticism have been received due to complaints about excessive water consumption, environmental degradation, and adverse impact on local communities. These controversies have cast serious aspersions on the efficacy and genuineness of CSR policies and implementations in emerging markets (Khatun and Dar, 2022). The challenge is to comprehend how Coca-Cola, being a multinational, can have CSR policies and implementations that actually improve the quality of life and environment of the local communities in India, while meeting their business goals. This study attempts to bridge the gap between Coca-Cola’s corporate social responsibility policies and their actual implementations on the ground in India. This will determine whether the company’s CSR policies are going to be enough to offset the negativity in its operations and, at the same time, show how well they are meeting the expectations of their stakeholders, which also include the local communities, NGOs, and the Indian government. The research will try to contribute to the greater debate on the role of CSR in emerging markets and how MNCs can best address these challenges.

1.3. Aim

“The aim of this study is to assess the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy of Coca Cola in India as it meets the expectations of the stakeholders within the Indian context as well as contributes to sustainable development in the country.”

1.4. Research Objectives

“To analyse the key CSR initiatives undertaken by Coca-Cola in India.”

“To evaluate the impact of these initiatives on local communities and the environment.”

“To identify the challenges and opportunities for Coca-Cola in enhancing its CSR efforts in India.”

1.5. Research Questions

“What is the engagement of Coca-Cola’s CSR actions with the scenarios of local stakeholders?”

“What are the challenges faced by Coca-Cola in implementing CSR initiatives in India?”

“What are strategies for Coca-Cola to enhance its CSR efforts and better serve the local communities?”

1.6. Structure of the Dissertation

Table 1.1: Dissertation Structure

(Source: Created by the Researcher)

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

2.1. Chapter Introduction

In the present chapter, it will be discussing regarding the various methods adopted by the researcher to conduct systematic review. It will also share the justification for selecting research methods for collecting and analysing data.

2.2. Research Onion

The research onion was developed by Saunders in 2007 in order to discuss the different stages with the help of which a researcher could pass while constructing the creative methodology. It is fundamentally an extended version of the research method tree that highlights the different methods related to the research methods being adopted by the authors for their work (Saunders et al., 2009). It, within this context, assists the author in selecting those specific methods with regard to their research work to obtain relevant information in relation to the topic. Conversely, a research onion is described as the diagram associated with layered processes concerning any particular research study. In this respect, the research philosophy is primarily useful in undertaking the research work through various appropriate and justified research techniques. Additionally, the first layer of these techniques depicts the different kinds of philosophies, such as interpretivism and realism and positivism. Apart from that, the second layer of the research onion is that it discusses the different approaches, such as deductive as well as inductive and abductive, used by the researchers. The third layer of the research onion indicates the different data collections, such as secondary and primary research (Saunders et al., 2009). The last layer of the diagram addresses the different techniques of data analysis, such as qualitative and quantitative analysis used by the author in his research work.

Figure 2.1 Saunders’ Research Onion

(Source: Saunders et al., 2009)

2.3. Philosophy

The positivism philosophy has been included by the researcher which mainly pays attention on the factual and truthful data collected from authentic sources according to the selected research topic. The main benefit of positivism philosophy which has supported the researcher is that it focuses on the properly explained structure that encourages to gather analyse all the research questions.

2.4. Approach

A deductive approach has been considered for this study because it helps researchers to focus on the existing theories for developing relevant research-related questions and solve them in a logical way. The main benefit of the deductive approach is that it mainly focuses on the causal interconnection between variables and concepts. A deductive approach mainly observes a known theory and tests the identified theory in relation to the selected issue or situation effectively (Bairagi and Munot, 2019). In this aspect, after applying the mentioned approach, it helped the researcher of this study to follow the path of logic for analyzing all the gathered information in relation to the selected topic.

2.5. Design

The research study has been completed using a descriptive design because its main aim is to focus on the situation and challenges related to the selected topic with the help of an in-depth analysis process. It categorises all the analyses based on the “factors like what, when, how and where rather than the why factor”. The descriptive design primarily focuses on discussing any phenomenon or set of circumstances with the population in a relevant and systematic way by conducting an in-depth analysis of the pertinent topic. It is opined by Ryder et al. (2020) that, in this regard, it has helped the researcher to focus on discussing the characteristics of the population as well as the features that have been chosen for performing this research work. Alongside this, after adopting descriptive design, the author of this present study benefited as it is both time and cost-effective regarding analysing any particular situation and issue.

2.6. Data Collection

Secondary systematic review data collection technique is being considered for which it has focuses on the already existing information collected from authentic journal articles. It has helped to understand the opinion of different scholars. On the other hand, secondary data has been collected in this study to analyse the collected primary information for understanding the relevance of the work. Apart from that, the main benefit of secondary research is that it has helped the researcher to collect already existing information on the selected research topic in a positive manner.

2.7. Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis has been chosen in order to evaluate all the secondary data and reach a final result at the end of the study. The researcher has developed small themes based on the big information for doing the thematic analysis for the systematic review.

2.8. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria

Table 2.1: Inclusion and Exclusion criteria

(Source: Created by the Researcher)

2.9. Prisma Diagram

N: 600

N=400

Published before the year 2020, Improper or incomplete information t articles and non-English language articles have been excluded.

N=250

Lacks critical data needed for analysis and is not considered meaningful to the review

N=60

Methodological quality issues: Insufficient data on selected topic, Irrelevant focus

2.10. Search Strategy

(Refer to Appendix 1)

2.11. Ethical Consideration

The ethics of this study have been maintained because the researcher has cited all the works of other scholars by mentioning their names and references at the end of the study. It has helped the researcher to maintain relevancy and reliability of the work by not stating the work as their own research work.

2.12. Research Timeline

Table 2.2: Research Timeline

(Source: Created by the Researcher)

References

Grinchenko, S. and Shchapova, Y.L., 2020. The deductive approach to Big History’s Singularity. In The 21st Century Singularity and Global Futures pp. 201-210.

Khan, Y., Ahmed, I. and Munir, Z., 2023. Analyzing Business Ethics in International Markets: A Case Study of Coca-Cola. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 11(9), pp.530-560.

Khatun, A. and Dar, S.N., 2022. Corporate social responsibility in emerging economies: a study with special reference to India. In Research Anthology on Developing Socially Responsible Businesses (pp. 1254-1264). IGI Global.

Ryder, C., Mackean, T., Coombs, J., Williams, H., Hunter, K., Holland, A.J. and Ivers, R.Q., 2020. Indigenous research methodology–weaving a research interface. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23(3), pp.255-267.

Samantara, R. and Dhawan, S., 2020. Corporate social responsibility in India: Issues and challenges. IIMS Journal of Management Science, 11(2), pp.91-103.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2009. Research Onion. Research methods for business students, pp.136-162.

Upadyay, N.K. and Rathee, M., 2021. An analysis of corporate social responsibility in India with special reference to covid-19 situation. Revista do Curso de Direito da Universidade Candido Mendes, 1(1), pp.42-61.