Alumni Forum

Theme: Digital Transformation and the 3-End Architecture of Eco-organization

The world has entered the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) era. In such a business environment, how could our enterprises effectively create and capture business values? How to balance division of labor and coordinate diverse activities is the oldest and most essential issue of organizational management. Dr. Peter Ping Li, Li Dak Sum Chair Professor of International Business at the University of Nottingham at Ningbo, believes that digitalization requires a new organizational form, i.e., the distributive 3-end architecture (nimble front-end project team; integrative central-end platform, and long-term back-end headquarters) can solve the problem of balancing the division of labor for specialization and the coordination for integration. Underlying the 3-end architecture is a balance between modular decomposition (autonomy and diversity) and architectural coordination (integration and unity) as the best way forward. Professor Li will bring this original theoretical perspective built upon the case studies of the most advanced firms in China with deep insights into how to operate under the VUCA conditions. Dr. Ding Weixu, Mr. MAO Jianhua (UoM alumnus), and Tracy Liu(digital transformation expert)will participate in the sub-topics’ discussion (empowerment, design, digitalization). At that time, Professor Li will also entertain some online questions from netizens.

Keynote Speaker:

Professor Ping Li

Peter Ping Li is Li Dak Sum Chair Professor of International Business at the University of Nottingham at Ningbo, China, and also Professor of Chinese Business Studies at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. He used to be Professor of Management at California State University, and also Research Director for the Greater China Region of US-based Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). His primary research focus is on building the geocentric (West-meeting-East) theories from the cultural and historical perspectives, especially applying the Chinese philosophy of wisdom to the development of holistic, dynamic and duality theories. He has been widely recognized as one of the global thought leaders in two fastest emerging research streams: (1) multinational firms from the emerging economies, and (2) indigenous research on the Chinese management.