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Huawei: A Silent Chinese Telecom Multinational
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Reference: SM-1560-E
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Year: 2010
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Number of pages: 18
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Geographic Setting: China
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Publication Date: Apr 28, 2011
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Source: IESE (España)
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Type of Document: Case
Description
In terms of sales, Huawei is the world's fourth-largest maker of network equipment, after Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Alcatel-Lucent. It also ranked second in optical networking and third in mobile-network gear in 2008.
It is one of the leading global telecommunications solution providers with a revenue of 18.33 billion USD in 2008 and a net income of 1.15 billion USD. Contrary to the typical image of Chinese companies that depicts them as basing their competitive advantage on low labor costs, Huawei's principal growth strategy focuses on research and development (R&D). Its 14 global R&D centers are located around the world in Silicon Valley and Dallas in the United States, Stockholm in Sweden, Moscow in Russia and Bangalore in India, as well as major cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The case delves into the history and background of this Chinese IT giant in order to analyze the firm, its culture, its management system, cost competitiveness and customer relationships. There are some critical questions with pending answers, such as whether or not the firm will outlive its founder (Zhengfei Ren) when he retires or steps down.