Internal Mobility to Boost Innovation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 May 2026
This chapter explores how Tencent’s marketised management approach enhances resource allocation, promotes dynamic minds, stimulates employees’ self-motivation, and boosts the organisation’s innovation, with a focus on its internal mobility programme, Flowing Water (活水), launched in 2012. Tencent not only fosters an open and distinctive ‘flowing water’ culture but also develops a digital platform that allows employees to freely apply for internal positions, thereby promoting and improving internal mobility policies. Tencent’s commitment to information sharing and transparency in the process further supports the effectiveness of the programme. Flowing Water not only aids skill development and career growth for employees but also ensures a flexible and agile talent supply, retaining top performers in a highly competitive environment. It contributes to knowledge sharing, internal cooperation, and the adaptability of business units. Ultimately, this programme plays a critical role in supporting Tencent’s innovation and organisational agility through continuous, self-driven talent circulation.
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