Polycentric Case Study: Haier In the bustling port city of Qingdao, China, a small refrigerator factory teetered on the brink of collapse in 1984. Burdened by debt and plagued by defective products, its future looked bleak—until Zhang Ruimin stepped in. A young, determined leader, Zhang took a sledgehammer to 76 faulty refrigerators in a dramatic […]
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Unilever: Leading Globally, Empowering Locally
Case Study Executive Summary By the late 2000s, Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, faced growing complexity across its operations in over 190 countries. Under the leadership of CEO Paul Polman (2009–2019), Unilever embraced a polycentric leadership model, empowering regional hubs while advancing a unified purpose: “Making sustainable living commonplace.” This case […]
