ng managers among its business units as a way of developing future top executives. PepsiCo's restaurant chains also provided an additional outlet for the sale of its soft drinks. The company's soft drinks and restaurants could be marketed together in the same radio and television segments, providing higher returns for each advertising dollar.
The acquisition of KFC in 1986, gave PepsiCo the leading market share in chicken, pizza, and Mexican food, three of the four largest and fastest-growing segments within the US fast-food industry.
After PepsiCo merger, KFC's relationship with its parent company changed quite drastically. KFC management was replaced with PepsiCo management. Franchise contracts were re-written giving PepsiCo more control over operations, staff levels were reduced to cut costs, and serious morale problems resulted. Restructurings led to many layoffs throughout the KFC organization. The replacement of management personnel with PepsiCo personnel and the corporate culture differences between the two companies created serious rifts within the two companies.
KFC's former culture was very laid back and informal, stemming from Colonel Sanders' original role with the company, and continuing through the Heublein and R.J. Reynolds ownerships of the company. PepsiCo's culture was characterized by a strong emphasis on performance and accountability. PepsiCo rotated its top managers through its five divisions on average every two years. The practice created intense pressure managers to continuously demonstrate their prowess within short periods, in order to maximize their potential for promotion. It also left many KFC managers with the feeling that they had few career opportunities with the new company. Employee loyalty was often lost and turnover became higher than in other companies due to this culture.
Franchisees were also a problem for PepsiCo
...