Open Innovation at Huawei
[Sponsored article] This is a summary of the case study prepared by Professor Jeevan Jaisingh, Kim Yongsuk, Xu Yan and Huang Minyi for the Business School’s Thompson Center for Business Case Studies.
[Sponsored article] This is a summary of the case study prepared by Professor Jeevan Jaisingh, Kim Yongsuk, Xu Yan and Huang Minyi for the Business School’s Thompson Center for Business Case Studies.
Huawei’s history, performance and structure
Huawei Technologies was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, originally as a sales agent for telephone switches. Unlike other Chinese companies that formed joint ventures with foreign companies to obtain technological know-how and manufacturing competence, Huawei decided to do its own research and development (R&D) on switch production.
Within about 20 years of its founding, the company had grown to be the world’s leading provider of information and communications technology (ICT) solutions. By 2016, its total revenue was US$75.1billion and it ranked 129th among the 2016 Fortune Global 500 companies. By 2016, Huawei had more than 170,000 employees working in more than 170 countries.
In terms of management structure, Ren Zhengfei, the founder and CEO, jointly led the company with a rotating CEO.
Huawei was organized into three business groups, each serving a different customer segment: Carrier Network Business Group, Enterprise Business Group and Consumer Business Group.
