Huawei’s Global Quest to Catch-up: An Atypical Approach in R&D Internationalization

In this chapter, Schaefer takes an in-depth look into Huawei’s atypical research and development (R&D) internationalization strategy to investigate the company’s remarkably fast ascent in the telecommunications industry. She uses patent and interview material to examine the emergence of Huawei’s offshore activities through the eyes of the R&D experts the company hired abroad. The material covers eight of Huawei’s biggest R&D locations in North America and Europe. The chapter explores the barriers for Huawei’s internationalization, the hiring and management of offshore experts as well as the internal and external cooperation between the employees in China and colleagues or project partners abroad. The chapter shows the importance of reputation, trust and cultural understanding for managing transnational R&D activities.