مفاهیم استراتژیک در شرکت های در حال ظهور چند ملیتی چینی : مورد مطالعه حایر

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of Chinese multinationals with a presence in both developed and developing countries. Yet little is known about them. This paper presents a case study of one of the leading Chinese multinationals, the Haier Group. It addresses the internationalization strategy that has made Haier successful, factors influencing the strategy, and the strategic implications for both Western and Chinese companies.

China is rising as a globally influential political and economic power. Having achieved an average growth rate of nearly 10 per cent over the past 20 years, China already ranks as one of the world’s largest economies and trading powers. This rapid economic development has strengthened China’s international competitiveness. Many Chinese blue chip companies have seen the limitations of the Chinese market and are striving to become global players. Many of them have already quietly moved into international operations. Some exemplary names of Chinese multinationals include Haier, Changhong, TCL, HiSense, Gree, Kelon, and Chunlan. Although the Chinese government encourages the internationalization of Chinese companies, it has not yet developed a facilitating policy framework for such activities. Many Chinese companies have started to pursue internationalization on an experimental basis while the government has adopted a flexible and practical approach to governing their international initiatives. For instance, it has given special permission to certain companies to invest overseas without being restricted by existing policy hurdles such as foreign exchange controls. To date, little has been known about the international activities of Chinese companies. This paper, using the case study method, examines strategies, influences, and process whereby the Haier Group, a leading Chinese home appliance manufacturer, has developed into an influential Chinese multinational. Haier has invested aggressively in a large number of developed as well as developing countries in the last few years and taken a large tranche of market share in those countries. The paper addresses strategic implications from the experience of Haier’s successful international expansion, prepares Western companies strategically for the arrival of Chinese competitors and facilitate the development of their strategic response. Haier has already made some international manufacturers such as Sanyo play catch-up (Fonda, 2002). The success or failure in the internationalization of Chinese companies will also have an important impact on both future government foreign economic policy and the Chinese companies that seek to invest internationally.

Haier has been one of the few pioneers in Chinese manufacturing to have ventured internationally. To date, its strategy for internationalization has been on the whole successful, despite some hard lessons learned from a few failed FDI projects. It is expected that some more Chinese companies will follow suit but at a slower speed of development. For instance, TCL, a major Chinese electronic giant, having set up sales and representative offices in the USA, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Philippines, and Hong Kong, invested in manufacturing facilities in India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Exporting its products to over 80 countries and regions worldwide, Chunlan, a diversified Chinese conglomerate, established assembly lines for motorcycle and air conditioning production in Russia, Spain, and Argentina. Some strategic implications can be drawn from the Haier case study: 1. Despite some external factors that have driven Haier to go international, Zhang Ruimin’s personal leadership and aspiration have played a dominant role in Haier’s pursuit of internationalization. This centralized organizational structure or individual dependence can result in a fast decision-making process, and explains why Haier has been able to move into a large number of countries within a short period of time. It may also entail a high degree of uncertainty or risk. Thus, if a firm such as Haier has a highly competent strong business leader, a relatively centralized structure can work better than a decentralized one. 2. Some of Haier’s later decisions have been questioned, such as the logic of buying an Italian company where cost is high, and its technology is not at the forefront. There are also concerns about how Haier can balance its foreign currency requirements with such a rapid speed of international expansion (Business Week, 2002). It is notable that with the support of the Chinese government, Haier has now got into the financial sector, and acquired majority shareholding in a regional bank. In addition, as a Chinese flagship company, it is likely that the Chinese government may give Haier some financial backing from the financial channels that may not be available to other Chinese companies. In other words, Western home appliance companies may have to compete with this new competitor that has a stronger base of financial support than it appears to have. 3. Haier’s success (to date) is built on its competitive advantage that still falls into classic competitive paradigms: more flexible, faster, closer to customers, and more focused. Haier can do so because Zhang Ruimin has developed such an organizational culture under his personal leadership. This is quite similar to the earlier period of IBM when Watson promoted a culture of ‘respect for the individual, devotion to customers and pursuit of excellence in all activities’ that prevailed in IBM. Haier’s experience has further demonstrated the fundamental and successful tenets of market orientation and innovation, which many Western companies seem to have forgotten or moved away from. 4. Western multinationals should ask themselves the question: why can a company from a developing country with limited resources and non-technological and cost advantage come to our markets and take away our market share? It seems that Haier has only recently started to play the game that Western multinationals have played for a long time, but in some areas it has slightly outperformed the founders of the game. It may be said that Western multinationals have paid too much attention to ‘globalization’ or ‘standardization’ and left some ‘blind spots of markets’ at home and abroad. 5. As a company from a developing country, Haier has some disadvantages, compared with Western multinationals, such as a lack of resources and advanced technology. However, to date, it has managed to overcome such disadvantages by setting up research centers in developed countries and developing strategic alliances for technological development with Western multinationals. These research centers have been used to develop, acquire, and transfer technology. These strategies have general applicability to those companies in developing countries that have a strong foothold at home, because Western multinationals are willing to trade off technology against market penetration. 6. A Chinese company that has the intention to go international must acquire a strong foothold in its home market. This can provide it with the possible support from the Chinese government and financial backing needed to sustain its international operations. Without this, it can be exposed to high risk, and is more than likely to be short lived. More importantly, it must have something unique to offer, either distinctively different from or better than its competitors.