Case B describes what Long decided to do and how, in the first year, she executed her priorities, which primarily consisted of two improvement projects: culture consolidation and talent review. Case B asks students to set priorities on tackling the remaining HR problems in the coming few years.

In 2012, JD.com had emerged as the biggest business-to-consumer e-commerce retailer in China. The company’s founder and chief executive officer, Qiangdong Liu, realized that he had to strengthen the company’s internal management in order to sustain rapid growth. In 2011 and 2012, he recruited several chief officers, including Yu Long, who became JD.com’s chief human resources officer and general counsel. Case A describes the challenges Long faced .....more

Between 1998 and 2018, JD.com Inc. (JD.com) transformed from a compact disc (CD)-burner shop into a technology-driven group of service companies (JD Group) and China’s largest retailer by revenue. Yu Long joined the Group in August 2012 as chief human resources (HR) officer and general counsel. Over the years, Long launched various initiatives to strengthen the HR team and improve its practices to support the Group’s rapid growth and transformation. .....more

Teaching note for product 9B19C024.