Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T09:12:10.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Huawei’s R&D Management Transformation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2020

Xiaobo Wu
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Johann Peter Murmann
Affiliation:
Universität St Gallen, Switzerland
Can Huang
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Bin Guo
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Get access

Summary

Although Huawei started its business as a small agent in 1987, the firm began the independent development of telecommunications equipment in its fouth year of operation and then gradually increased its R&D investments over the years. As the scale of R&D efforts increased, Huawei encountered significant problems with its organization of R&D and felt that it was necessary to transform how it conducts R&D several times over its thirty-year history. In this chapter, we develop a four-step model to analyze three major R&D management transformations in Huawei’s long history of R&D activities. The first transformation, from 1991 to 1995, helped Huawei to establish an informal R&D system; the second transformation, from 1995 to 1998, changed the informal R&D management system into a formal system with clear structures and processes; and finally, the third transformation built up a process-oriented, high-performing R&D organization. We find that although the transformations shifted Huawei’s focus from making structural changes to process changes, all of them were closely aligned with the firm’s market position and with its strategic re-orientation.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Management Transformation of Huawei
From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership
, pp. 292 - 346
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, B., Klein, E., & Stuart, J. (2000). Why change is a consciousness choice. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 23(1), 32.Google Scholar
Appelbaum, S. H., Habashy, S., Malo, J. L., & Shafiq, H. (2012). Back to the future: Revisiting Kotter’s 1996 change model. Journal of Management Development, 31(8), 764782.Google Scholar
Burnes, B. (2004) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, 4th edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Cai, Y. (2009). Study on strategy and structure evolution: Case study of Huawei technology company. Zhongshan University. Doctoral dissertation.Google Scholar
Edmondson, A. C., Bohmer, R. M., & Pisano, G. P. (2001). Disrupted routines: Team learning and new technology implementation in hospitals. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(4), 685716.Google Scholar
Feldman, M. S. & Pentland, B. T. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as a source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(1), 94118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, R., Heisler, W., & McCreary, W. (2008). Leading change with the 5-p model: ‘Complexing’ the swan and Dolphin hotels at Walt Disney world. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 49 ( 2), 191205.Google Scholar
Hannan, M. T. & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational changeAmerican Sociological Review, 49, 149164.Google Scholar
Hu, H. (2009). R&D Dilemma. Beijing: Electronic Industry Press, 264-269.Google Scholar
Huawei. (2016). Annual reports 1993-2015. www.huawei.com/en/about-huawei/annual-report (accessed May 14, 2016).Google Scholar
Huawei. (2019). “Annual report 2018. www.huawei.com/en/about-huawei/annual-report (accessed April 2, 2019).Google Scholar
Huawei people. (2006). 1991, we were working in Haoye village. http://huangzhiguang.blog.sohu.com/11906499.html (accessed May 15, 2016).Google Scholar
Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading Change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 5967.Google Scholar
Li, Y. (2016). Interviewed by Can Huang, Zihan Zhang in Hangzhou via mobile phone. May 6, 2016.Google Scholar
Luecke, R. (2003) Managing Change and Transition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Moran, J. W. & Brightman, B. K. (2000). Leading organizational change[J]. Journal of Workplace Learning, 12(2), 6674.Google Scholar
Murphy, S. A. & Kumar, V. (1997). The front end of new product development: A Canadian survey. R&D Management, 27, 515.Google Scholar
Nelson, R. R. & Winter, S. G. (1982). An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Ouyang, J. (2015). R&D management transformation of Huawei. Presentation at the Huawei Forum organized by the Ruihua Institute for Innovation Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.Google Scholar
Pettigrew, A. M. & Whipp, R. (1993). Managing Change for Competitive Success Cambridge: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Qiu, H. (2006). Changes of Human Resource Institutions in 10 Years. http://tech.sina.com.cn/t/2006-11-25/15401256473.shtml. (accessed August 23, 2016).Google Scholar
Raza, S. A. & Standing, C. (2011). A systemic model for managing and evaluating conflicts in organizational change[J]. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 24(3), 187210.Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (2003). What can we learn from Americans? Chinese Entrepreneur, 11: 3435.Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (2012). Encourage leaders to be generals. Chinese & Foreign Corporate Culture: Insurance Culture, 12, 8890.Google Scholar
Rieley, J. & Clarkson, I. (2001). The impact of change on performance. Journal of Change Management, 2(2), 160172.Google Scholar
Ru-chy. (2015). Huawei tells you how to earn the first 100 million? http://mt.sohu.com/20151217/n431557427.shtml (accessed May 15, 2016).Google Scholar
Senior, B. (2002). Organisational Change, 2nd edition. London: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Sun, Y. (2016). Huawei R&D Management Transformation. Interviewed by Z. Z. Can Huang, May 7.Google Scholar
Tian, T. (2015). How Huawei innovates? –www.chuangyejia.com/top/2015/0529/150070.shtml (accessed May 17, 2016).Google Scholar
Winter, S. G. (2000). The satisficing principle in capability learning. Strategic management journal, 21(10-11), 981996.Google Scholar
Wu, J. (2006). The World of Huawei. Beijing: China CITIC Press.Google Scholar
Xing, X. & Li, Y. (2015). Huawei Launched Aesthetics Research Center in Paris. https://tech.huanqiu.com/article/9CaKrnJIOCc. (accessed August 23, 2016).Google Scholar
Xinhuanet. (2016). Face to face with Ren Zhengfei. http://news.xinhuanet.com/info/2016-05/09/c_135344953.htm (accessed May 17, 2016).Google Scholar
Ya, F. (2016). Unveil most mysterious research base in China: 2012 laboratories in Huawei. www.ithome.com/html/it/248441.htm (accessed August 23, 2016).Google Scholar
Zhang, L. (2012). Huawei R&D. Beijing: China Machine Press.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×