Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment

Ray A. Goldberg; Kefei  Yang

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2008 (Revised March 2018)

Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment

Abstract

China's COFCO, the country's leading edible oil and food importer and exporter and its largest food manufacturer, had in its 50-plus years of operation undergone four stages of transformation and was about to embark on a fifth. The global agriculture system was undergoing major changes and the standard of living in China was increasing, changing the food consumption and dietary habits of the nation's 1.3 billion people. COFCO's management needed to decide how the company should transform to seize the opportunities in the industry and in China.

Keywords: Food; Leadership; Change Management; Transformation; Globalization; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; China;

Language: English

Format: Print

54 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Goldberg, Ray A., and Kefei Yang. "Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment." Harvard Business School Case 909-403, November 2008. (Revised March 2018.)

Book | 2018

Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust

Ray A. Goldberg

The global food system is the largest segment of the world's economy. As agribusiness-studies pioneer Ray Goldberg suggests, it is also the largest health system on the planet. And it is changing fast. Its size and importance to human, environmental, and economic health means that no system is viewed with as much suspicion by so many people around the globe. Changing societal expectations and scientific and medical advances have made the drivers of the food system—the world's food citizens—realize they must take more responsibility for society's nutritional needs, economic development, and the health of the environment. Goldberg argues that the traditionally commodity-oriented, bargaining relationship between segments of the food system has become win-win, collaborative, and characterized by public and private partnerships. Those who are responding to society's needs are succeeding; those who are not are losing out. The food system's greatest growth area is the developing world, where millions of small-scale producers, workers, and impoverished consumers need help to become part of the commercial food system. In this book, Ray Goldberg interviews the change makers of today's food system: leaders and constructive critics in government, private industry, nonprofits, and academia who provide a panoramic and in-depth look at a revolution in progress.

Keywords: Food; System; Global Range; Health; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Public Opinion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry;