Huawei

(a) Situation faced: Huawei has surpassed companies such as Ericsson, Nokia Network Solutions, and Motorola Solutions and thus became the biggest telecommunication firm in China and the third world biggest telecommunication firm right after Apple Inc. and Samsung Group. Despite the success achieved by the company today, Huawei had a humble and rigorous beginning. In order for Huawei to become a worldwide recognized company with a high reputation, the company had to overcome four main challenges: (1) country of origin, (2) liability of foreignness, (3) latecomer effects, and (4) lock-in effects. (b) Actions taken: Huawei encountered challenges such as having a negative image and reputation, developing basic ICT through reverse engineering, lacking on talented workforce, and relying on a centralized and governance structure as well as on interdepartmental activities. To become a global player and streamline the firm enterprise architecture, Huawei relied on three different strategies: (1) using operations in the periphery as a technological catch-up strategy to foster ICT-application systems by relying on business networks and customer-centered solutions, (2) creating and breaking routines to promote a decentralized and demand-driven supply structure, and (3) lowering innovation barriers throughout hiring international talent as well as relying on co-created and cross-departmental activities. (c) Results achieved: Founded in 1987 as a distributor for telephone switches, Huawei is now recognized as one of the global and digital leaders in the telecommunication industry. By relying on managerial practices such as value creation, collaboration, and decentralization, Huawei has developed capabilities in different forms such as R&D, university collaborations, development of leading-edge technologies (e.g., 5G network, digital switching technologies, enterprise networks), and strategic mergers and partnerships. These actions have led the company to fulfill its meaning by developing pioneering technologies and services and becoming a symbol of innovation, inside and outside of China. (d) Lessons learned: Today, the success of digitalization does not lie in the development of digital technologies individually. Instead, it stems from how companies integrate them to transform their businesses and how they work. In this context, the ability to digitally reimagine the business is determined in large part by having a clear strategy supported by leaders who foster a culture able to change and invent. To successfully ride the wave of change, companies need to evaluate how digital disruption is changing customer behavior continuously, rethink their business toward developing more individual and customized solutions, and redesign customers’ roles to form co-creation practices.