BASF COMES TO TOWN

Abstract

LACK OF ORGANIZATIONAL self-confidence is not an attribute often associated with BASF, the world’s largest chemical company. Later this year, BASF will begin construction of a $1.2 billion polyurethane complex at the Chongqing Chemical Industry Park in southwest China. BASF’s assuredness will come in handy as it tries to convince wary residents that its project is in their best interest. The German company is eager for the plant’s construction to proceed smoothly. But it faces challenges on two fronts. Residents of the communities adjacent to the chemical park are former farmers, many of whom are bitter about having had to give up their land to make way for industry. Beyond the local communities, environmental activists are unconvinced of the safety of the project, which, they say, was approved in a secretive way. To improve its standing in the eyes of local residents and to bring environmental activists on board, the company’s Chongqing-based staff is launching ...