Partnership with Lifeline Express

The partnership between Li-Ning and Lifeline Express, from 2005 to 2009, was carried out to help cataract patients who live in rural areas without access to medical services, especially in areas impacted by the degrading environment from business conduct over the years. Li-Ning began to support Lifeline Express through donating funds and goods to support their operation.

5.7.5.1 NPO Background (Lifeline Express)

Lifeline Express is a hospital train service that provides free cataract operations to patients in China, operated by the Lifeline Express Foundation (Lifeline Express , 2012). The development of Lifeline Express was supported by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Railways, and Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (Lifeline Express , 2012). The Ministry of Health estimated that 1 million cataract patients remain uncured, with an increase of half a million new cases every year (China Central Television, 2009). People suffering from cataracts are younger in remote areas due to unsatisfactory hygiene conditions and demanding physical labour; more and more are being diagnosed as genetically inherited. Lifeline Express brings back sight to the patients, allowing the people to pick up their work in the fields again and help poverty-stricken areas to retrieve their work force and improve their livelihood (Lifeline Express , 2012). While working on the eye-train, eye-doctors are trained to facilitate future development. Table 11 displays the awards Lifeline Express has received between 2005 to 2008 (Lifeline Express , 2012).

Year Organization Award

2005 State Council National Award-Issuing Ceremony on Ethnic Unity and Progress

National Award on Enhancing Ethnic Unity and Progress

2005 China Charity Federation, Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC China Charity Award 2006 The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty

Alleviation and Development

China Poverty Eradication Award 2008 China Charity Federation, Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC China Charity Award

Table 11 Lifeline Express Recived Awards (Lifeline Express , 2012) 5.7.5.2 The Formation of the Partnership

The partnership was formed in 2005 and ended in 2009; Li-Ning discussed the beginning of their partnership with Lifeline Express as:

119 …our attention were firstly caught by the presence of Lifeline Express in China. At the time, for Li-Ning, we were constantly seeking for opportunities to demonstrate how much we care about our society, as a business… our extensive CSR commitment over the years is the evidence of our seriousness, then Lifeline Express was one of them.

From Lifeline Express:

…we are one of the very first NPOs to carry out free mobile sight restoration services to the cataract patients in rural China, and are supported by relevant government departments directly… the things we have done have had a huge impact in Chinese society… hence we were not surprised when big names, such as Li-Ning, approached us several years back… Li-Ning is a great brand with many loyal followers in China, we are glad they joined us.

5.7.5.3 Partnership Objective

Li-Ning illustrated their expectation from the partnership with Lifeline Express as:

…increasing brand awareness… enhancing brand loyalty… extending brand perception… enriching brand culture… through performing CSR activities with Lifeline Express to express the genuine social initiative in our business strategy.

Lifeline Express stated that:

…the purpose of establishing various partnerships with businesses has always been a resource recruitment oriented action for Lifeline Express… finding capable businesses to help Lifeline Express to carry out our social mission… it is an essential part of our operation as a NPO with limited access to funds and other resources.

5.7.5.4 Expectations

With regard to the expectation from their partnership with Lifeline Express, Li-Ning mentioned that:

Through the operation with Lifeline Express, we did not expect much from them but adequate usage of recruited resources, in fact, they did exceptionally

120 well with a rigorous managerial system to ensure the maintenances of high efficiency.

Lifeline Express commented on their expectations of working with Li-Ning as:

…we were expecting genuine commitment from our partners… we do not

judge by how generous they are… how much involvement they commit

themselves into the program… plus we expect matching ethical behaviour from our partners in their business practice.

5.7.5.5 Resource Utilisation

Li-Ning listed a number of resources which they had been utilising through their partnership with Lifeline Express:

Li-Ning is a well-know brand in China with an extensive retailing network across China, and Mr. Li Ning is a highly respected public figure in China, which are the most valuable resources to us… besides, the size of our business actually allows Li-Ning to support NPOs and government, considering the large population size which often requires a fairly significant amount of monetary resources to make a difference, not just with Lifeline Express, but philanthropy and CSR in general are often associated with the financial capability of the participating business.

Lifeline Express stated that:

Lifeline Express is an action oriented NPO, not a marketing agent to create buzz for business… we have appreciated all the contributions made by businesses and individuals in the past to keep our organisation going… we praised their efforts to the public in every possible way all the time, not just to keep them happy and motivated, it also allows Lifeline Express to show a positive spirit to our people in this country.

5.7.5.6 Commitment

Li-Ning began to support Lifeline Express through making donations to the Lifeline Express Foundation in 2005, and over three million Yuan worth of goods and funds has been donated by Li-Ning until 2009 (Li-Ning, 2012). Li-Ning commented:

121 …it was not easy for us to come up with that amount of funds and goods; however we did, purely because we strongly believed in Lifeline Express and the difference we could make together to our society.

Over four years of sponsorship, Lifeline Express commented that:

…we are very grateful for the amount of help that we received from Li-Ning over the past few years… we are glad that a large firm like Li-Ning stepped in and empowered us with funds and goods to help those patients to recover their vision. What we have achieved with our sponsors cannot be put into words because of the large demand for funds and efforts.

Further, Lifeline Express commented on the aspect of consistency when establishing social image:

…speaking from our own experience, it is difficult to conduct social work in China; we have to make sure we keep a positive image from every possible aspect to slowly build trust and credibility from the ground up. A rigourous control system is what every Chinese NPO needs in China; without a consistent pattern, matched promise and commitment, years of hard work could be easily destroyed.

5.7.5.7 Achievements Assessment

Li-Ning assessed their partnership with Lifeline Express as:

…it was an honour for Li-Ning to be able to put its name next to Lifeline Express, we felt completely satisfied with the achievements over the years… as a progressive enterprise, we always experiment with new ideas, there was nothing wrong with the partnership we had with Lifeline Express, the decision [to terminate the partnership] was only a business decision in our changing CSR strategy.

Lifeline Express spoke about their assessment of the partnership:

Li-Ning has been demonstrating their superior social awareness through their actions, which should be appreciated by the entire nation for what has been achieved, not just the ones who recovered from the operation… The very last donation which we received from Li-Ning was in 2009… we never pushed any

122 of our sponsors for funds and we have been working on our strategies to pursue a self-sustaining operational model for the future too… before the pollution scandal was reported, Li-Ning had begun to phase out from supporting Lifeline Express without much clear indication for the future; it could be changes in their strategic direction, but I am aware that they are still very proactive in terms of social work in mainland China.

Lifeline Express then commented on the reported pollution scandal of Li-Ning:

…in fact, we don’t know much about what actually happened; judging from

the past experience with Li-Ning, we doubt it was their intention at all… however, according to my limited knowledge on this case, it happened due to an insufficient control system over the supplier or contractor, which I think makes a lot of sense… Li-Ning spent millions of Yuan to establish their social image, they should be wise enough to protect it with priority… regardless, it is a hard route for many domestic firms to learn about establishing a solid social image, donations and social works are only a part of it, but maintaining consistency through the entire operation cycle is the key to sustainable success. 5.7.5.8 Table of Case Summary

Li-Ning Lifeline Express

Origin of Motivation

x Enhancing socially initiated corporate culture

x Newly established

x Resources recruitment

Formation of Partnership

x National presence and exposure

x Social initiative corporate culture

x Resource capabilities

Partnership Objective

x Enhance brand awareness

x Maintain socially responsible business image

x Allocating resources

x Mobile sight recovery in rural/poor areas

Expectation x Improved brand awareness

x Enhanced corporate image

x Publicity

x Supply of funds

123 Resource

Utilisation

x Availability of funds and goods x Publicity channels

Commitment x Donations of funds and goods x Publicity

Achievement Assessment

x Donated funds

x Gained positive corporate image

x Change in CSR strategy focus

x Empowered by Li-Ning’s donations

Table 12 Li-Ning Case Summary 1