New Study Weighs Firms’ Political Stands Pros, Cons
Huawei was used as a case study to show how political ideology can motivate staff and appeal to local government but balancing that with long-term flexibility is not easy.
A new study from King’s Business School and University of Edinburgh has found that aligning corporate identity with political ideology can help businesses resonate with certain stakeholders – but may also restrict strategic flexibility and create internal tensions.
It traces how the Chinese technology company used concepts from Chinese Communist Party ideology to shape its organisational identity across different stages of its growth.
Published in Strategic Organization, the paper outlines how Huawei drew directly on Chinese Communist Party ideology in its early years, using concepts like Fen Dou (“struggle”) to frame itself as a “national industry revitaliser”. The company described its mission as “serving the country through industry” and “carrying the flag of the national industry.”
This rhetoric helped build internal commitment and legitimacy in its home market. As Huawei expanded internationally, it had to neutralise this ideological language to present itself as an “international corporate citizen,” but traces of its original ideological stance remained and were later revived as geopolitical tensions increased.
The study shows that this long-term alignment with political ideology helped Huawei mobilise staff and gain support. However, it also created challenges when external pressures, such as global scrutiny and geopolitical tensions, increased. The authors argue that this example highlights a broader issue for multinational businesses navigating values-based branding in a volatile world.
The research also contributes to ongoing debates about how organisations manage their identity in complex institutional environments and arrives at a moment when many global firms are quietly rolling back climate and Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) initiatives in response to growing political polarisation. With political uncertainty globally and mounting investor scrutiny, the tension between value-driven ideology and business pragmatism is sharper than ever.
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/new-research-highlights-pros-and-cons-for-firms-taking-political-stands