Lenovo’s Venture Philanthropy: Evaluating and Planning

Abstract

This chapter provides insight into the later period of China’s transition from a centrally planned economy to greater economic liberalization. This period was marked by China’s effort to engage other sectors within the broad mission of furthering economic development. The chapter features Lenovo China, the market leader in the PC industry in 2013, and its implementation of a corporate social responsibility initiative aligned with the state’s goal of developing a strong non-government organization sector to support economic growth. The chapter describes Lenovo’s effort to implement a flagship CSR project aimed at expanding and developing the space for Chinese non-government organizations. Major brands, such as Lenovo, face higher levels of expectations of corporate responsibility. The challenge for corporations typically lies in implementing initiatives that both respond to a large-scale societal need but also align with the corporation’s core capabilities. For Lenovo, a large Chinese company with a global brand, both local and global expectations are important in corporate responsibility efforts. This case captures the challenges involved in implementing large-scale local CSR initiatives which are not fully embedded into corporate strategy.