Teaching Interests
- Digital Transformation
- Strategic Innovation Management
- Strategic Management
- Doing Business in China
Teaching Cases
Li, Haiyang & Chung, R. 2015. GE China Technology Center: Evolving role in global innovation. Ivey Publishing, Product No.: 9B15M099.
This case describes how GE has developed its China Technology Center (CTC) over the past decade and elaborates the changing role of CTC in GE’s global R&D strategy. GE started to set up its CTC in Shanghai in 2000 by bringing its own technologies and products to China. However, the Chinese market is quite different from the US market. GE CTC spent the first few years to build local engineering teams with a focus on learning and to develop local suppliers to reduce cost. Over time, GE CTC developed its “In China For China” (ICFC) strategy, incrementally changing its own products and design to adapt to the local market and developing innovative technologies and products to address China’s toughest challenges (e.g., in healthcare industry). This strategy was very successful and indeed it turned out that some innovation outcomes from GE CTC can also catch other emerging markets, even be good for US and European markets, what they called reverse innovations. With the significant growth of GE CTC in China and the increasing importance of the Chinese market, Xiangli Chen, VP of GE in China, is thinking to change GE CTC’s strategy from ICFC to ICFW (In China For the World). Given the fast-changing environment in China and GE competitors’ strategic moves globally, Chen has to decide what value CTC could bring to GE’s Global Research Network and what innovation priorities CTC will have in the next 5-10 years.
Li, Haiyang, Jacquemin, F., & Li, T. Pacific Drilling: The preferred offshore driller. Ivey Publishing, Product No.: 9B16M061.
Founded in 2006, Pacific Drilling is a fast growing offshore drilling company that addresses the challenges of extracting oil and gas from the deepest, most remote areas of the ocean. By working with major oil and gas companies, the company contracts drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews primarily on a dayrate basis to drill wells for its customers. The offshore drilling industry is characterized with very intense competition. From the beginning, CEO Chris Beckett was determined to create a unique drilling company by focusing exclusively on ultra-deepwater drilling and technological innovation. By the end of 2014, the company has more than 1,600 employees (with one employee in 2006), generating $1billion in annual revenues. However, the company is also facing several challenges such as too much relying upon a key customer (i.e., Chevron) and higher cost of differentiation. Especially, because of the recent crisis in oil and gas industry (e.g., oil price has been plummeting since the end of 2014), the company is struggling with developing new customers. Beckett has to decide what to do strategically in the next 5 years to maintain the growth of the company.