Banana Republic Case

Banana Republic Case

1. What do you think were the root causes for Chiquita’s actions in Colombia that ultimately led to their conviction?

2. Do you think Chiquita or its managers had a choice? Why or why not?

3. What other companies or industries do you think should be worried about Chiquita’s experiences? How does this story change your perspective on doing business abroad?

4. What can current CEO Fernando Aguirre do now to restore Chiquita’s reputation and ensure future competitiveness?

1) The root cause that led Chiquita to be convicted is the unethical actions taken by the company in order to create a monopolistic market for itself, which can be described as egoist. To be provided with the necessary conditions, Chiquita was involved in paying bribes to Latin American official government. However, this exchange of mutual benefits turned into more of a political and social issue than an ethical one as local workers were exploited, and Chiquita did businesses with unofficially armed groups.

2) In a number of developing countries, companies have to get along with the official and sometimes even unofficial organizations in order to be allowed to do business. I consider that Latin American countries are included in this category. The governmental structure and political status in these places are completely different from Western World. Even civil people sometimes have to get engage in this sort of activities to survive. It might sound relativistic, but maybe Chiquita’s managers did not have a choice due to these reasons.

3) I believe that Chiquita would keep its domestic market share or at least have a chance to regain the percentage lost in the long term since its practices are more tolerable by both the public and the government in Latin America. Therefore, its competitors such as Dole and Del Monte would take advantage of this situation for a while, but the market will eventually reach to a habitual equilibrium point. Also, native consumers have been...