Background Brand loyalty has been studied by a large number of scholars over the past few decades, including its impact on consumer purchase behavior and as a core concept when creating brand value. Having ethical business practice helps retain customers trust and enforce their loyalty to the brand. However, brand’s unethical behavior has always been a topic discussed by society, especially for the soft drinks industry. Problem Previous research has shown that there is a link between brand loyalty, brand trust and brand attachment. It has also been implied that consumers with high commitment to a brand might justify a brands unethical behavior. However, there is a lack of research within the field of brand loyalty and ethical business practices within the beverage industry. Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how millennials with different levels of brand loyalty respond to unethical marketing activities to soft drink brands within the beverage industry. Furthermore, this research would like to give an insight to whether consumers care about ethical brands within this industry or not. Additionally, this study can help brands in the beverage industry to build their marketing strategies and maintain their consumer relationship. Method This study used a qualitative research method, where 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling method, with millennials as research objects. Additionally, the brand Pepsi has been used as a case to measure the participants brand loyalty in order to classify them to one of the three levels of loyalty in the conceptual framework.  Conclusion The results show that the more loyal consumers are towards brands, the less impact the brand’s unethical behavior has on them. For consumers with low loyalty, the chances of turning to alternatives when brands have ethical issues are greater. Whereas consumers who are on the Satisfied level have a neutral opinion towards the brand when it comes to unethical issues. While, consumers with high brand loyalty may ignore the brand's unethical behavior because of their loyalty and love for the brand. Brand image, product quality, product safety, environmental footprint and how brands handle the unethical issues have been identified as important factors when consumers make the purchasing decision.

Job insecurity in the current global climate has escalated and more organisations are engaged in downsizing and restructuring in an attempt to survive under difficult economic conditions. At the same time, organisations are also exposed to structural reforms and international competition leading to transformations in the labour market. Jordan, Ashkanasy and Hartel (2002) developed a model to explain the effect of job insecurity on employees’ coping behaviour. In their two stage model they propose that perceptions of job insecurity could lead to lower affective organisational commitment and higher job-related stress which in turn could lead to negative coping behaviour. They then include emotional intelligence - a moderator linking the above-mentioned constructs. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether this model will be applicable to a national soft drink company in South Africa. A literature review was conducted to determine how emotional intelligence, job insecurity, affective organisational commitment, job-related stress, and coping behaviour were conceptualised. The relationships between these constructs and the role of emotional intelligence as moderator were also determined. This was done to investigate the model of Jordan et al. (2002). A cross-sectional research design was used for the purpose of this study. Managers of a national soft drink company were the participants. The Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) (Schutte et al., 1998); the Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ) of De Witte, (2000); the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire of Meyer and Allen (1997); the COPE Questionnaire of Carver, Scheier and Weintraub (1989); and the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances Questionnaire (WLQ) of Van Zyl and Van der Walt (1991), including the biographical questionnaire, were utilised. The SPSS programme was used to perform the statistical analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to assess the reliability; and explorative factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson’s product-moment coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the moderating influence of emotional intelligence. It was determined that, in this specific research group, job insecurity has a negative correlation with affective organisational commitment, but job insecurity has a positive correlation with job-related tension. A positive correlation was found between job-related tension and negative coping behaviours, such as denial, behavioural disengagement, mental disengagement or alcohol-drug disengagement. A negative correlation was found between job-related tension and affective organisational commitment. Furthermore, job insecurity was found to have a negative correlation with affective organisational commitment. Lastly, problem-focused coping has a positive relationship with emotion-focused coping. All of these correlations were statistically and practically significant. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the moderating effect of emotional intelligence as mentioned above. The results indicated emotional intelligence does not moderate any of the relationships between the constructs. Conclusions and limitations of this research and recommendations for the national soft drink organisation as well as for future research were made. / MA, Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 145-150).

The aim of this study was to determine a carbon and water footprint for a beverage manufacturing company. The carbon footprint etermination was conducted on Scope 1 and Scope 2. The water footprint was determined on the blue water and grey water. The beverage production volumes of the beverage manufacturing company were used to determine both the carbon and the water footprint. The theoretical background to this study was based on both local and international beverage companies and the outcome for the carbon and water footprint was benchmarked against the local and international companies. The objectives of this study were achieved by calculating a carbon and water footprint for the beverage company. The carbon footprint unit of measure is g CO2e / litre produced and the water footprint is litre water/litre produced. The unit of measure for pollutant grey water footprint is measured in milligram. Based on the results achieved in this study, commendations for carbon and water footprint reductions were made to the beverage company. Reduction targets for production year 2020 were also recommended based on the implementation of the reduction plans. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

The concern of society about the environmental impact mainly post-consumer waste is increasing every day. The degradation that the environment suffers from the dump this waste and the lack of sustainability that the current economic model predicts, are factors that influence the search for alternatives to solve or minimize these effects. The objective of this paper is to present the application of Lean Six Sigma in packaging reverse logistics activities in a soft drink industry. The Reverse Logistics has become important in organizations because it deals with the reverse flow of resources among members of the traditional supply chain. Can help the most points explored by organizations: maximize profit while minimizing costs. The Lean Philosophy and Methodology Six Sigma are two important and innovative trends in business and the joint application of the two methodologies can bring significant benefits to organizations. The research methods were Bibliographic Search, Documentary Research and Case Study. Applied to Lean Philosophy in the process to reduce waste and also applied up to the practical Six Sigma reduce variability. After the diagnosis of waste and variability, we applied the solutions proposed in the improvement plan and the gains were the reduction of operating costs and reduced lead time of the process. The conclusion was that Lean Six Sigma process improvement and provided significant financial gains for the organization. / A preocupação da sociedade com o impacto ambiental principalmente dos resíduos de pós-consumo vem aumentando a cada dia. A degradação que o meio ambiente sofre com o despejo destes resíduos e a ausência de sustentabilidade que o atual modelo econômico prevê, são fatores que influenciam a busca por alternativas que solucionem ou minimizem esses efeitos. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar a aplicação do Lean Seis Sigma nas atividades de Logística Reversa de embalagens em uma indústria de refrigerantes. A Logística Reversa tornou-se importante nas organizações, pois trata do fluxo reverso de recursos entre os integrantes da cadeia produtiva tradicional. Pode auxiliar nos pontos mais explorados pelas organizações: maximizar o lucro ao mesmo tempo minimizando custos. A Filosofia Lean e a Metodologia Seis Sigma são duas importantes e inovadoras tendências no mundo dos negócios e a aplicação conjunta das duas metodologias pode trazer benefícios significativos para organizações. Os métodos de pesquisa foram a Pesquisa Bibliográfica, a Pesquisa Documental e o Estudo de Caso. Aplicou-se a Filosofia Lean no processo para reduzir os desperdícios e aplicou-se também as praticas Seis Sigma para reduzir a variabilidade. Após a realização do diagnóstico dos desperdícios e da variabilidade, foram aplicadas as soluções propostas no plano de melhorias e os ganhos obtidos foram a redução do custo operacional e diminuição do lead time do processo. A conclusão foi que o Lean Seis Sigma proporcionou melhoria do processo e ganhos financeiros significativos para organização.

Bakgrund Idag diskuteras det mycket kring vilken roll sockerkonsumtionen kan spela gällande de ökande hälsoproblemen i samhället. På senare tid har det flytande sockret lyfts fram som en av de stora bovarna i dramat och forskning visar på att läsk bestående oberoende av vanligt socker eller artificiellt socker, kan påverka hälsan negativt.SyfteSyftet med undersökningen var att granska ungdomars läskkonsumtion samt att ta reda på deras motiv till varför de föredrar att dricka vanlig läsk respektive lightläsk. Det är även av intresse att undersöka eventuella könsskillnader. MetodUndersökningen har gjorts med hjälp av en enkätundersökning med intention att beskriva ungdomars läskkonsumtion. Valet av undersökningsmetod syftade till att ge bredd åt undersökningen. Undersökningen gjordes på tre stycken 0-9 skolor i Vellinge kommun. Undersökningen var en totalundersökning på årskurserna 7-9 vilket resulterade i att inget urval gjordes. Sammanlagt medverkade 221 elever i undersökningen.ResultatGenom undersökningen framgår det att de flesta, d.v.s. 163 stycken (73,8 %) av de medverkande eleverna dricker läsk 1-3 gånger per vecka. Resultaten visar även att pojkar har en statistiskt säkerställd benägenhet att dricka mer läsk än flickor. Vid valet av vanlig läsk respektive lightläsk är vanlig läsk populärast då 162 av de medverkande eleverna föredrar att dricka vanlig läsk medan endast 56 elever föredrar att dricka lightläsk.SlutsatsUngdomarna tycks vara belysta kring de aspekter som media berört gällande sockrets och sötningsmedlenas tänkbara effekter på hälsan, men saknar kunskap kring de faktiska bevis som finns. Därför är det viktigt att både föräldrar och skola figurerar som förebilder och visar var man står gällande hälsofrågor. Detta för att på sikt kunna få bukt med dagens ökande ohälsa bland barn och ungdomar. Dagens barn och ungdomar behöver både undervisning i och redskap till att utveckla en hållbar hälsosam livsstil. / The pros and cons debate on the issue to what effect sugar has on our health, is widely spread today. During recent years liquid sugar has been identified as a major cause to the increasing health problems. The purpose of this thesis is to examine young peoples habits regarding consumption of soft drinks and to find out their motives and preferences for ordinary soft drinks respectively light soft drinks. It is also of interest to search for any variation in habits between the sexes. The survey, which included all students (221) at three 0-9 schools, was conducted by means of questionnaires in an opinion poll with the over all intention to describe young peoples consumption of soft drinks. The research shows that most young people drink soft drinks 1-3 times a week and that boys significantly drink a larger amount of soft drinks than girls do.The result also show that it is more popular to drink ordinary soft drinks than to drink light soft drinks.

Final draft report presented to the Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa / The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the major service quality variables that determine customer satisfaction for the Carbonated Soft Drink market which is dynamic and is also part of the highly competitive impulse beverage industry in South Africa. Amalgamated Beverages Industry (aka Coca Cola) still holds the lion’s share of the market although its share has fallen in the last 5 years presumably due to the growth in the consumption of substitutes such as bottled water, 100% fruit juices, energy drinks and dairy juice blends. The proliferation of “diet conscious” consumers has exacerbated the situation. These alternatives are the primary growth areas in the impulse beverage market. This has obviously threatened the viability and profitability of major players in this industry. To date the performance of Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSDs) has been less than satisfactory. There are other key players which have penetrated this market namely Pepsi, trading as Pioneer Foods, Royal, Pioneer Foods, California Cola, Pick ‘n Pay and Quality Beverages. For purposes of this study the three key players were chosen namely ABI, Pepsi and Quality Beverages. These key players have made huge investments in this industry at the level of production and distribution. In addition heavy investments go towards advertising and promotional campaigns. This research is exploratory in nature and makes way for further research in order to reach a more logical conclusion. This study is conducted within the confines of Gauteng region and more specifically Johannesburg North and Central. These two regions were chosen because the researcher resides close to these regions and wanted to minimize the costs involved in this study. The researcher also assumed the findings are a true representation of the broader picture of the South African scenario. Before collecting information the researcher initially consulted recent articles, books, magazines, company reports and even the internet in order to develop a clear understanding of the industry. This also helped the researcher to make logical decisions in the course` of undertaking the research. To that effect the researcher adopted the service quality SERVQUAL and the Gaps models in coming up with a measurement instrument for the research. The CSD companies have two broad categories of customers namely the trader and the end user or consumer. The trader purchases the product for purposes of research whilst the end user buys for consumption. This research focused on the trade customer. According to research experts a sample of more than 5% of the total population does not compromise validity. However the researcher opted for more than 10% of the total population in order to increase reliability of the results. Thus from the population size of 965 trade outlets the researcher arrived at a sample of 100. The traders were classified into four major categories namely retail outlets, wholesalers, restaurants and service stations. Information was collected from these 100 traders using personal interviews. The researcher is the one who conducted all the interviews. Information was gathered from buyers, managers and owners. The researcher took advantage of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists in order to make a meaningful analysis of the data collected. Many service oriented recommendations have been promulgated by this research. They are neither exhaustive nor prescriptive given the time constraint within which this research was conducted.

The aim of this study was to determine a carbon and water footprint for a beverage manufacturing company. The carbon footprint determination was conducted on Scope 1 and Scope 2. The water footprint was determined on the blue water and grey water. The beverage production volumes of the beverage manufacturing company were used to determine both the carbon and the water footprint. The theoretical background to this study was based on both local and international beverage companies and the outcome for the carbon and water footprint was benchmarked against the local and international companies. The objectives of this study were achieved by calculating a carbon and water footprint for the beverage company. The carbon footprint unit of measure is g CO2e / litre produced and the water footprint is litre water/litre produced. The unit of measure for pollutant grey water footprint is measured in milligram. Based on the results achieved in this study, recommendations for carbon and water footprint reductions were made to the beverage company. Reduction targets for production year 2020 were also recommended based on the implementation of the reduction plans. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Final draft report presented to the Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa / The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the major service quality variables that determine customer satisfaction for the Carbonated Soft Drink market which is dynamic and is also part of the highly competitive impulse beverage industry in South Africa. Amalgamated Beverages Industry (aka Coca Cola) still holds the lion’s share of the market although its share has fallen in the last 5 years presumably due to the growth in the consumption of substitutes such as bottled water, 100% fruit juices, energy drinks and dairy juice blends. The proliferation of “diet conscious” consumers has exacerbated the situation. These alternatives are the primary growth areas in the impulse beverage market. This has obviously threatened the viability and profitability of major players in this industry. To date the performance of Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSDs) has been less than satisfactory. There are other key players which have penetrated this market namely Pepsi, trading as Pioneer Foods, Royal, Pioneer Foods, California Cola, Pick ‘n Pay and Quality Beverages. For purposes of this study the three key players were chosen namely ABI, Pepsi and Quality Beverages. These key players have made huge investments in this industry at the level of production and distribution. In addition heavy investments go towards advertising and promotional campaigns. This research is exploratory in nature and makes way for further research in order to reach a more logical conclusion. This study is conducted within the confines of Gauteng region and more specifically Johannesburg North and Central. These two regions were chosen because the researcher resides close to these regions and wanted to minimize the costs involved in this study. The researcher also assumed the findings are a true representation of the broader picture of the South African scenario. Before collecting information the researcher initially consulted recent articles, books, magazines, company reports and even the internet in order to develop a clear understanding of the industry. This also helped the researcher to make logical decisions in the course` of undertaking the research. To that effect the researcher adopted the service quality SERVQUAL and the Gaps models in coming up with a measurement instrument for the research. The CSD companies have two broad categories of customers namely the trader and the end user or consumer. The trader purchases the product for purposes of research whilst the end user buys for consumption. This research focused on the trade customer. According to research experts a sample of more than 5% of the total population does not compromise validity. However the researcher opted for more than 10% of the total population in order to increase reliability of the results. Thus from the population size of 965 trade outlets the researcher arrived at a sample of 100. The traders were classified into four major categories namely retail outlets, wholesalers, restaurants and service stations. Information was collected from these 100 traders using personal interviews. The researcher is the one who conducted all the interviews. Information was gathered from buyers, managers and owners. The researcher took advantage of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists in order to make a meaningful analysis of the data collected. Many service oriented recommendations have been promulgated by this research. They are neither exhaustive nor prescriptive given the time constraint within which this research was conducted.

[pt] As alterações no cenário econômico dos países emergentes causaram reflexos positivos na base da pirâmide através do aumento de seu poder aquisitivo. No Brasil, esta realidade é percebida pelo ritmo acelerado de mudanças na última década que impactaram o setor varejista, trazendo uma grande quantidade de marcas para os diferentes setores da economia. Estas novas ofertas para o consumidor de baixa renda foram fundamentadas, muitas vezes, em preços mais acessíveis a sua capacidade de consumo. Este movimento de fortalecimento de marcas populares suscitou a reação das marcas premium. Para direcionar a estratégia das grandes empresas, nesta busca por se re- conectarem aos consumidores pobres, é importante entender mais profundamente a relação deles com as marcas. A presente dissertação teve então como objetivo obter um melhor entendimento do papel e do significado da marca no processo de decisão de compra de produtos, dos segmentos de refrigerante e sabão em pó, para consumidores da classe baixa. Para tanto foram realizadas dez (10) entrevistas em profundidade com mulheres pertencentes às classes C e D, residentes no estado do Rio de Janeiro e responsáveis pela compra de supermercado de suas famílias. Apesar da pesquisa não se propor a explorar o peso das variáveis utilizadas por estas mulheres na decisão de compra, pôde-se observar que existe certa hierarquização. No caso de refrigerante, as mulheres entrevistadas avaliam, em geral, (1) os refrigerantes não reprovados pela família, (2) o preço, (3) o orçamento disponível e (4) as marcas preferidas (premium). No caso de sabão em pó, a escolha parece ser feita levando-se em consideração (1) a marca (verbalizada como sendo a opção pela qualidade), (2) o preço e (3) o orçamento disponível. Avaliando os elementos subjetivos da compra e indo além do discurso das mulheres entrevistadas, a compra do refrigerante (das marcas aprovadas pela família) traz a recompensa pelo elogio dos filhos e marido; enquanto a compra do sabão em pó das marcas premium (percebida por elas como as marcas de melhor qualidade) traz um sentimento de realização do cuidado com a família, a certeza de ter feito a compra certa, mais inteligente, de melhor custo/benefício. Percebe-se então que a equação de valor que rege a decisão de compra destas mulheres de baixa renda não é simples e não é única. Parecem existir modelos diferentes para a tomada de decisão de compra de produtos distintos (refrigerante e sabão em pó). / [en] Changes in the economic scene of emerging countries had caused positive consequences in the base of the pyramid through the increase of its purchasing power. In Brazil, this scenario is perceived by the sped up rhythm of changes in the last decade that impacted the retail business, bringing a great number of brands for different sectors of the economy. These new offers for the low income consumer had been often based in more affordable prices for the consumption capacity of this tier. This movement of popular brands empowerment awaked the reaction of premium brands. To guide the strategy of great companies, in this pursue for reconnecting with poor consumers, is important to deeply understand their relation with brands. The present dissertation had then the objective to get a better understanding of the role and meaning of brands in the purchase decision process of products, within the segments of soft drink and powdered soap, for low income consumers. To reach that goal, ten (10) in depth interviews with women pertaining to C and D tiers, residents in the state of Rio de Janeiro and responsible for the supermarket purchase of their families, had been carried through. Despite the research does not consider to explore the utility of the variables used for these women in the purchase decision, it could be observed that a hierarchy exists. In soft drink purchase, the interviewed women mostly evaluate (1) soft drinks not disapproved by their family, (2) price, (3) available budget and (4) preferred brands (premium brands). In the powdered soap purchase, the choice seems to be made taking in consideration (1) brand (expressed as being the option for quality), (2) price and (3) available budget. Evaluating the subjective elements of the purchase and going beyond the speech of the interviewed women, the purchase of soft drink (of brands approved by their family) brings rewards through compliment of kids and husband; while the purchase of powdered soap of premium brand (perceived for them as better quality brands) brings a feeling of accomplishment in taking care of their families, the certainty to have done the precise purchase, more intelligent, of better cost/benefit. Is perceived then that the value equation that drives the purchase decision of these low income women is not simple and is not unique. They seem to exist different models in purchase decision taking of distinct products (soft drink and powdered soap).