Nominees for the People of Distinction | LEI Linan: Supporting the Development of Management Talents for 'Hidden Champion' Enterprises by Exploring the Integration Between Industry and Education

LEI Linan is an Assistant Professor at the Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS). Since joining the international campus in July 2020, she has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to education and research. With a student-centered approach, she has nurtured many exceptional talents in niche leader enterprise management, earning honors such as Outstanding Employee at the university level. Lei is a promoter of the industry-academia collaborative case teaching model, actively exploring distinctive training paths for the iMBA program. She has worked with companies in developing courses, case studies for teaching, and field studies. Her teaching cases have received national and international recognition. Dedicated to developing new types of management talent, she is committed to fostering international, innovative leaders capable of driving global change and leading others into the future. She leverages a network of leading universities, companies, and experts to integrate research and industry collaboration. As one of the leaders of China’s first International Joint Research Center on Hidden Champions, she has promoted China’s integral knowledge system in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Developing New University-Enterprise Co-Built Case Teaching Models

Lei has devoted herself to innovating university-enterprise co-constructed teaching models. Interactions with her students during her classes led her to realize her students' keen interest in the growth models of "hidden champion" enterprises. This inspired her to launch the co-constructed premium course "Innovation and Digitalization of Champion Enterprises," partnering with leading enterprises such as Ningbo Yongxin Optics and Zhejiang Shuanghuan Transmission. This course has consistently received ratings above 4.97 (out of 5) from students over the past two years.

In her exploration of teaching methods, Lei realized that achieving mutual empowerment between teaching and learning is key to enhancing educational outcomes. Learning from experienced mentors, she found that case-based teaching is a powerful method to guide students in transforming “knowledge” into “capability.” Lei has actively developed case-teaching methods, focusing on transforming and applying case study results. To provide students with realistic teaching scenarios and fresh discussion material, Lei led the 15th National Outstanding Management Case Project, titled “From Value Chain to Value Network: The Growth Path of Single Champion Enterprises Based on the Sixth Generation of Technological Innovation Paradigms.” With a focus on the internationalization of single champion enterprises, she authored the national top-case study, "Hikvision’s Path of Catch-Up and Global Expansion," which has been downloaded over 7,000 times and recognized as an excellent graduate teaching case by Zhejiang Province. Additionally, Lei collaborated with researchers from over 20 countries in the Central and East European Management Development Association to develop a series of English-language cases on hidden champions, which have been compiled and published by Springer. iMBA student Fan Chunbo expressed his appreciation for Lei’s courses, noting that her rigorous academic approach and in-depth case discussions have greatly benefited him.

Promoting International Talent Development and Building a Research Ecosystem

As a member of the International Campus in developing an international Collaborative Education Model, Lei is dedicated to supporting the development of international talent and the construction of a robust research ecosystem. As one of the first Moral Education Advisors at ZIBS, Lei focuses on cultivating wisdom in teaching, emphasizing personalized guidance and teaching tailored to individual students’ needs. In particular, Lei has found that "out-of-class" personalized mentoring and informal communication play a vital role in supporting international students, helping them feel the warmth of iZJU and its professors. Teguh Sentoso, an iMBA student from Indonesia, shared that while he was writing his thesis, Lei provided him with positive energy at “every step," which gave him the courage to face unknown challenges. To meet the national demand for internationalized management talent in manufacturing, Lei has spearheaded the development of the iMBA’s specialized track in Hidden Champion Innovation Strategies. The program received the 2021 “Most Distinctive Program Award” from MBA China and Manager magazine.

As Assistant Dean, Lei actively contributes to the development of the school's distinctive international research platforms, organizes research activities, and assists in faculty recruitment. Her initiatives include organizing joint seminars with leading institutions such as the Australian National University's College of Business and Economics, Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the UPF Barcelona School of Management in Spain. Additionally, she has initiated interdisciplinary lecture series to foster a more dynamic interdisciplinary research environment and created the ZIBS "Global Leading Scholars Program," offering global faculty and students opportunities for academic exchanges and research project involvement. Through these efforts, Lei plays a critical role in advancing the internationalization of talent development and the construction of a vibrant research ecosystem at the school.

Since joining ZIBS, Lei has nurtured over 20 business management professionals with international enterprise management skills. Many of her students now hold critical management roles in prominent companies, including Changchuan Technology, Baweitong Technology, and ZaiLingyunti Information Technology.

Showcasing the Innovation Stories of Chinese

Enterprises are the driving force of innovation, with specialized and advanced "little giant" enterprises playing a key role in fostering high-quality national economic development. Lei focuses on the development of these specialized enterprises, grounding her research in the innovation practices of Chinese companies. She is one of the earliest researchers in China to study "hidden champions" and specialized "little giants," and she authored Hidden Champions of China's Manufacturing Industry: From Managerial Cognition to Firm Growth, the first academic monograph in China on this subject. Lei has developed strategic configurations and growth strategies for enterprises to achieve leapfrog development during periods of technological paradigm shifts, based on the innovation practices of China's specialized enterprises. Professor Hermann Simon, the renowned German management thinker known as the "Father of Hidden Champions," stated that her work "provides a systematic approach to hidden champion strategy analysis." As a principal investigator, Lei has been granted many national research initiatives, including the National Key R&D Program for Young Scientists and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In collaboration with leading international research institutions, Lei led the creation of China's first International Research Center on Hidden Champions, where she serves as Deputy Director. In 2021, the center was recognized as a Soft Science Research Base by Zhejiang Province.

Guided by the principle of "integrating theory and policy to support national strategic decision-making," Lei aims to develop the policy and social impact of her research. Her work has provided theoretical foundations for MIIT's evaluations of high-quality SMEs and the construction of Zhejiang's champion enterprise development system. For three consecutive years, Lei has co-published the Innovation and Development Report on Specialized Listed Companies with the EY Institute. Her practice-oriented articles have appeared in leading journals. In particular, her article, "Cultivating Champion Enterprises: A New Driving Force for Regional High-Quality Development," has been reprinted in full on the Xuexi Qiangguo platform. To further popularize her research, Lei leads the weekly newsletter "Monday 8 PM" on hidden champions, significantly extending the social impact of her work.