Action Education: A Customer-First Strategic Change

Founded in 2006, Shanghai Action Education Technology Co., Ltd. (Action Education), a provider of management training services for small and medium-sized private enterprises, was the first listed management education company in China. In 2014, due to the fierceness of the market competition and the splitting of the top management team, Action Education changed their strategy from a product-oriented one to customer-oriented one and repositioned themselves as a “world-class practical business school.” This strategic change not only helped Action Education win the recognition and loyalty of their customers but enhanced the company’s profitability and management ability. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and rising consumer demand, Action Education faced increasing pressure. Li Jian, the chair of Action Education, is considering two paths with different customer value focuses: should he add a consulting business unit and provide one-stop services for customers or standardize the company’s management training services and improve their quality and delivery?

This case is suitable for undergraduate- or graduate-level courses on strategic change or customer value innovation in strategic management courses. It can also be used to illustrate the strategic change of service-type enterprises facing a dilemma within a competitive marketplace. The case focuses on how Action Education achieved strategic change and rapid development. After completing the case and assignment questions, students will be able to:<ul><li>understand the basic concepts and strategies of strategic change;</li><li>analyze the driving factors of enterprise strategic change;</li><li>comprehend the process of strategic change and how to align operational activities with each other and the new strategy;</li><li>recognize the role of value innovation in strategic change; and</li><li>understand that corporate strategy is dynamic in a rapidly changing environment.</li></ul>

• Action Education
• management training
• China business school
• strategic change
• customer value
• COVID-19 impact
• Li Jian
• consulting services
• one-stop solutions
• service innovation
• market competition
• management team
• profitability boost
• corporate strategy
• competitive marketplace
• business repositioning
• top management
• quality improvement
• rapid development
• value innovation
• small-medium enterprises
• customer value innovation
• customer-oriented strategy
• strategy fit