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Case Study

Creating a customer-oriented company: ZZJYT at Haier

By William A. Fischer and Fang Liu

13 pages

December 2012

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Reference: IMD-3-2351

This case describes how Haier, the world’s largest white goods manufacturer, reinvented its corporate culture, at least three times over the past three decades. The case details the four stages of Haier’s transformation to become a company of the times and the six themes that underlie its continuous evolution. The case also describes Haier’s newest business model (ZZJYT), what it is and how it works. This is also the story of a long-running belief in the power of talent. Nearly every strategic move that Haier has made over the past three decades has been to realize the potential of human talent and to work to unleash that talent in the context of China. The fact that these two themes are playing-out in an organization that is competing in an “old economy,” commodity market, and which comes out of an emerging market as well, makes the story that much more remarkable.

Learning Objective

Two learning objectives run through the case: This story about how the company successfully reinvented its business model and the supporting corporate culture at least three times over several decades will prompt executives to consider how their companies are meeting the challenges of dynamic competitive market environments. The case also highlights the power of realizing the potential of human talent and unleashing it to create and sustain a competitive advantage.

Keywords

Corporate Culture, ZZJYT, Corporate Transformation, Management Innovation, Ruimin, Zhang, Refrigerator, Globalization, Star Model, Business Model Generation, Business Model Canvas, White Goods, Consumer Goods, General Management, Strategy

Settings

Asia, China
Haier
1984 – 2012

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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