Steward Redqueen: Coca-Cola important to Croatia
Coca-Cola has over the past decades not only built itself a vital position within the community, in some countries it has also become a key driver of the economy. A new study from consulting firm Steward Redqueen shows that the famous beverage brand has over the past 18 years created 7,400 local jobs and contributed circa €4.4 billion to the Croatian economy, this comes down to an average 0.9% of the total national GDP in this period.
Socio-Economic Impact Study
In September 1968 Coca-Cola opened its first operations in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city. Between then and now, it has grown its local presence significantly, currently employing 540 people divided in 2 plants. In honoring its 45 years jubilee, Coca-Cola decided to perform a Socio-Economic Impact Study on its Croatian operations. Based on previous successful working relationships with Steward Redqueen in The Netherlands, Italy and the UK, the Dutch-based consulting firm was hired to perform the analysis, in cooperation with Ethan Kapstein*.
The study, which took nine months from preparation to final report, shows that Coca-Cola contributed 33.8 billion HRK to Croatia’s overall economy over the past 18 years, which constitutes approximately 0.9% of the total national GDP in this period. The consultants quantify that out of every HRK spent on Coca-Cola, as much as 90% remains in Croatia. The direct contribution to the Croatian economy is value at 125 million HRK in taxes and 554 jobs and its indirect effect is much larger.
Two examples: For every 1 HRK Coca-Cola directly contributes, it indirectly contributes another 9 HRK to GDP, and for each job at Coca-Cola, the company provides another 12 jobs in the wider economy. “When I see how much Coca-Cola contributes to employment, it makes me want to drink more Coca-Cola” said the Croatian Minister of Entrepreneurship Gordan Maras after seeing the results of the in the research report.
Societal responsible entrepreneurship
In addition to the economic benefits, the consultants point out several other important contributions. The Coca-Cola system boosts knowledge transfer to local organizations and promotes local entrepreneurship in associated business domains. MVO is another key area. “Coca-Cola sets the right example in the local economy by promoting corporate social responsibility, investing in the education of its employees and organizing sports and eco projects for children and young people” said President Josipović.
Business Forum
The results of the study were recently presented in a special Business Forum that took place at the end of September in Zagreb, which was attended by key representatives from economic, political and non-governmental sectors, including the President Ivo Josipović.
* Ethan Kapstein is a specialist in international economics. He currently is a professor of International Affairs at Arizona State University and is a well-known author in the field of economics and international relations. Over the past years Kapstein has been a consultant to many private and public sector organizations, including Coca-Cola.
