How Huawei Built Its Identity on Political Ideology (With Dr. Johann Fortwengel)

Dr. Johann Fortwengel, Professor of International Management and Head of the Department of Strategy, International Management and Entrepreneurship at King’s Business School, UK, joins us to discuss his research on how Huawei constructed its organizational identity through political ideology between 1987 and 2020. Drawing on his co-authored study with Dr. Keyan Lai from the University of Edinburgh, he explains how the Chinese concept of Fen Dou, rooted in Chinese communist ideology yet progressively reinterpreted over time, became the central pillar of Huawei’s identity, motivating employees, resonating with political stakeholders, and later being adapted for global audiences. In this conversation, Dr. Fortwengel unpacks the advantages and risks of building an organization around such an ideological resource, traces Huawei’s identity evolution across founding, internationalization, and national security allegation phases, and reflects on what this reveals about the long-term consequences of early ideological choices for today’s organizations operating in an increasingly polarized and geopolitical world. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com. Disclaimer: A. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. B. Dr. Johann Fortwengel shared key insights from his research, “CONSTRUCTING AN ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY WITH POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: THE CASE OF HUAWEI, 1987-2020”, in an engaging episode of the Business Talk podcast. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.