TEACHING MATERIALS

Blue ocean pedagogical materials, used in nearly 3,000 universities and in almost every country in the world, go beyond the standard case-based method. Our multimedia cases and interactive exercises are designed to help you build a deeper​ understanding of key blue ocean concepts, from blue ocean strategy to nondisruptive creation, developed by world-renowned professors Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. Currently, with over 20 Harvard bestselling cases.

TONGWEI GROUP

How Business and Society Can Thrive Together: Tongwei’s Innovation of a Brand-new Green Energy Market in China

Author(s): KIM, W. Chan, MAUBORGNE, Renée, JI, Mi

Case study trailer

Summary

This case describes how Tongwei Group, a China-based global leader in both aquafeeds and photovoltaics, created a fast-growing new market for green energy and a model for sustainable economic development by integrating high-yield aquacultural ponds with water-based PV plants in eastern and central China, regions where utilizable land resources were scarce and demand for electricity was high and ever increasing. This innovative approach not only increased clean energy production in eastern and central China, but also multiplied income for fish farmers and the regions’ tax coffers, providing a sustainable socioeconomic development model that addresses green energy objectives and economic development goals simultaneously.
This case provides an illustrative example of “nondisruptive creation”, a new concept crafted by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their book Beyond Disruption (2023). By going into geographical areas other companies eschewed, Tongwei created a new market of profitable growth and a thriving new business without disrupting the existing solar energy industry.

Teaching Objectives:

• Illustrate what nondisruptive creation is and what the major advantages of this market-creating method are.
• Explore why Tongwei made a distinctive strategic decision to build PV power plants in China and how the company identified a burning and unaddressed problem for eastern and central China – the tension between the ever-increasing demand for electrical power and the limited land resources for green energy development.
• Discuss what unique resources and capabilities Tongwei leveraged in creating a viable solution to the aforementioned key problem.
• Discuss why the Tongwei strategic move is nondisruptive by exploring how different parties concerned benefit from the fishery–PV integration projects and why no displacement and disruption happened to existing players.
• Use the key analytics and concepts learned through the Tongwei example to discuss the next possible opportunity for nondisruptive creation in solar energy development based on the information provided in the case.

Case Study

HBSP | Case Centre | INSEAD

Teaching Note

HBSP | Case Centre | INSEAD

Lecture Slides

English: Available to download for free in the Educators’ Space