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| CRBJ Home > September 2006 | |||||
Pepsi does one rightTom Eggert
The story begins with an early May letter to Pepsi offering up confidential information about a new soft drink that was under development by Coke. In the letter, "Dirk" offered to provide the recipe and a sample of the new drink for $1.5 million. Trafficking in trade secrets has long held a place in the corporate world as companies try to gain an edge on competitors. Whether hiring top workers from rivals or collecting intelligence on peers in the industry, businesses seek to increase their competitiveness by staying a step ahead of their competitors. But Pepsi doesn't take the bait and instead contacts Coke. Coke in turn contacts the FBI and a sting operation is set up. Undercover cameras capture a Coke executive administrative assistant rummaging through company files and removing both the recipe and a sample of the new product. An exchange is set up in Atlanta at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. However, instead of a representative from rival Pepsi, an FBI undercover agent is present with the money. An exchange of money and information is recorded and three arrests are made. An administrative assistant of a Coke executive along with two others are arrested and charged with conspiracy. Why is this good news? In an age where too many of us believe that anyone will do anything if the price is right, Pepsi appears to have taken the high road. "Competition can sometimes be fierce but also must be fair and legal," Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said. Historically, Pepsi and Coke have been bitter rivals. Yet, when an opportunity to bend the rules a bit for competitive advantage was presented, Pepsi didn't act. This is in sharp contrast to our expectations regarding the private sector. But does this make news? Unfortunately, much of the time when a company does the right thing, it isn't heavily reported. Doing not only what is legal, but what is right, is not as unusual as we may be led to believe. In fact, it happens all the time. Tom Eggert is a senior lecturer at the UW School of Business. He can be reached at teggert@bus.wisc.edu. Information about his courses is available at http://instruction.bus.wisc.edu/teggert. teggert@bus.wisc.edu madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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