Based on classroom usage data from the CEIBS ChinaCases.Org International Case Database in FY2024, the CEIBS Case Center Faculty Service Group selected high-frequency cases. Among them was "AI-powered Home Appliances: COLMO's Strategic Decisions," a science and innovation case authored by Prof. He Jiaxun's team from East China Normal University. Prof. Jiaxun is a subject leader and second-grade professor. AI-powered Home Appliances: COLMO's Strategic Decisions" (subtitle: AI Technology Home Appliances COLMO: Decisions for Continuing to Climb), authored by He Jiaxun, Liu Shijie, Hu Jingyi, and Huang Fei, was selected.
This case stems from field research conducted by Prof. He Jiaxun's team at Midea Group, which implements the "Technology Leadership Strategy." COLMO, a high-end AI technology brand, was launched by Midea Group as part of its efforts to upgrade its supply and demand structure. Since its establishment in 2018, COLMO has focused on high-end brand development, aiming to establish brand leadership in the new technology home appliance market. This case highlights a decision-making paradox in the brand's development process. Drawing on the theory of "dual nature of brand" and "synergistic strategy between enterprise and customer" developed by Prof. He Jiaxun (as detailed in Strategic Brand Management - Synergistic Strategy between Enterprise and Customer by He Jiaxun, Renmin University of China, Beijing), this case exemplifies how COLMO has successfully evolved into a prominent brand. (Strategic Brand Management - Corporate and Customer Synergistic Strategy by He Jiaxun, Renmin University of China Press, 2021), this case has been written as a full-length teaching guide to help teachers solve the “strategy-driven” or “customer-oriented” decision-making dilemma by using an autonomous body of knowledge that is different from that of the Western tradition.
This case won the first prize of “2023 China International Best Case Award in Business Administration”. In the new era when new-generation artificial intelligence technology is commonly used, intelligent technological innovation is profoundly changing our lives, as well as the strategies and paths of high-end brand building. In theory and academic research, such new practices also challenge the knowledge in classic textbooks and traditional ways of thinking and decision-making. This case, AI-powered Home Appliances:COLMO's Strategic Decisions, builds a training path for decision-making thinking and decision-making ability in the new AI era with practical problems and autonomous knowledge systems.
In his acceptance speech, Prof. He Jiaxun stated, "The new AI era presents a new mission and responsibility for case development and teaching: to establish a robust foundation of rapidly emerging practical knowledge that supports new theoretical constructs applicable across diverse AI scenarios. The practice of COLMO, a high-end AI technology brand, has provided us with new knowledge and thinking, and its value of knowing and doing can also be reflected in the teaching of management and business programs worldwide.”
As early as 2023, at the “Third National Forum on Science and Technology Innovation and Business Education in Colleges and Universities and the First Expert Seminar on Excellence in Practical Knowledge (Science and Innovation Cases)”, the “Center for Research on Excellence in Practical Knowledge (Cases) of Science and Technology Industry” was officially inaugurated by the college. In May, 2023, the “Chinese Model of Entrepreneurial Brand Strategy: Midea Group's Case Study of High-end Science and Technology Brand COLMO” declared by Prof. He Jiaxun on the theme of “China's Science and Technology Creation” was awarded the project of the Ministry of Education's Center for the Development of Academic Degrees and Postgraduate Education. In March 2024, Professor He Jiaxun's case study on "Smart Manufacturing," titled "The Chinese Paradigm of Strategic Upgrading of New Energy Vehicle Brands: A Field Study of Chang'an Automobile," was again awarded funding by the Ministry of Education's Academic Degrees and Postgraduate Education Development Center. In April 2025, Prof. He Jiaxun declared the case study “Leading Practices of New Quality Productivity: A Field Study on the Collaboration of Technology and Management Innovation in New Energy Vehicle Enterprises” to be the third project of the Ministry of Education's Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center. These achievements demonstrate SIAT's active response to the "Artificial Intelligence +" initiative and its significant progress in cross-disciplinary construction of "Science and Technology Business" and educational practices for science and innovation cases.