Bachelor 2024/2025

International Business

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Compulsory course (International Business)

Area of studies: Management

Delivered by: Department of Strategic and International Management

Where: HSE Graduate School of Business

When: 3 year, 3 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Anja Tekic

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Why do some companies thrive abroad while others fail spectacularly? This course on International Business explores how firms navigate globalization by understanding entry modes, institutions, strategy, and core functions rather than just geography and distance. We begin with the dynamics of (de)globalization, examining how shifting value chains, digital platforms, and geopolitical tensions create opportunities and risks for firms. We then move directly to the practical question of how to enter foreign markets, comparing key modes of entry (exporting, licensing, franchising, FDI) and practicing their selection in seminars through an in-class OLI-based pitch. Next, we analyze how formal institutions (political, legal, economic systems, trade and investment regimes, regional integration) and informal institutions (national culture, norms, values, ethics, CSR expectations) shape international business decisions. In seminars, teams compare two countries as potential host markets on these institutional dimensions and present integrated recommendations. Building on this, we examine international business strategy and organization, focusing on the fit between global strategies and organizational structures, and then zoom in on IB functions—global R&D, operations, marketing, and HR—and how they must align with strategy and country context. The course culminates in a team foreign market entry strategy project, where students design a coherent entry plan for a specific company and country, including strategy–organization–function fit and a 3-year expansion roadmap. A final multiple-choice exam assesses students’ mastery of core concepts and frameworks across all blocks.

Learning Objectives

• Provide an integrated understanding of how globalization and country-level institutions shape the environment in which firms operate internationally.
• Develop students’ ability to think strategically about why and how firms expand abroad, including choices of market, entry mode, and organizational set-up.
• Introduce core international business functions, and how they must be aligned with institutional context and global strategy.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to assess the business advantages and challenges that companies face in a global context, and suggest how companies should develop their international business strategies, taking into account economic, institutional and cultural factors
• Students will have a comprehensive set of knowledge and skills that will enable them to explain and critically discuss the key theoretical concepts related to international business
• Students will have a holistic understanding of the issues of international business at both strategic and operational levels in large multinational companies, SMEs, as well as in new and growing ventures
• Students will improve their skills of presentation and communication of the main issues of international business to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, in English, both orally and in writing
• Students will learn how to become team players and pursue effective exchange of relevant ideas and experiences within the teams, as their members or leaders, while being ready to acquire knowledge and skills independently, creating the basis for the self-directed and autonomous life-long learning
• Students will be able to explain how globalization creates key opportunities and challenges for firms operating in international markets.
• Students will be able to analyze how national political, legal, and economic systems shape the risks and opportunities of international business.
• Students will be able to evaluate how cultural differences and informal norms influence managerial decisions and outcomes in international business.
• Students will be able to compare major foreign market entry modes and justify an appropriate choice for a specific firm–country context.
• Students will be able to determine and assess the fit between a firm’s international strategy and its global organizational structure.
• Students will be able to develop teamwork, communication, and self-directed learning skills needed to analyze, present, and discuss international business issues in English with both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Course Contents

• International business and globalization
• International business and formal institutions
• International business and informal institutions
• Modes of entry
• International business strategy and organization

Assessment Elements

• Team assignment 1
  Students will be required to form teams (5-6 students) for the team assignments. Students who do not register a team by the deadline will automatically receive -5 points. There will be 3 team assignments during the course. Team assignments will need to be submitted by the indicated deadline, and presented at seminars. Assignments that are only submitted, but not presented at the seminar will not be graded. Late submission will be penalized by 50% grade reduction. Points earned for team assignments are a team grade. Individual grade for these assignments will be recalculated at the end of the course on the basis of the peer evaluation (i.e., evaluation of team members’ contribution to team assignments). Students who do not submit their evaluation forms by deadline will automatically receive -5 points for team assignments.
• Exam
  Exam is based on multiple-choice questions (20 questions, 2 points each, bringing in total 40 points). Duration of the exam: 60 minutes
• Team assignment 2
  Students will be required to form teams (5-6 students) for the team assignments. Students who do not register a team by the deadline will automatically receive -5 points. There will be 3 team assignments during the course. Team assignments will need to be submitted by the indicated deadline, and presented at seminars. Assignments that are only submitted, but not presented at the seminar will not be graded. Late submission will be penalized by 50% grade reduction. Points earned for team assignments are a team grade. Individual grade for these assignments will be recalculated at the end of the course on the basis of the peer evaluation (i.e., evaluation of team members’ contribution to team assignments). Students who do not submit their evaluation forms by deadline will automatically receive -5 points for team assignments.
• Team assignment 3
  Students will be required to form teams (5-6 students) for the team assignments. Students who do not register a team by the deadline will automatically receive -5 points. There will be 3 team assignments during the course. Team assignments will need to be submitted by the indicated deadline, and presented at seminars. Assignments that are only submitted, but not presented at the seminar will not be graded. Late submission will be penalized by 50% grade reduction. Points earned for team assignments are a team grade. Individual grade for these assignments will be recalculated at the end of the course on the basis of the peer evaluation (i.e., evaluation of team members’ contribution to team assignments). Students who do not submit their evaluation forms by deadline will automatically receive -5 points for team assignments.

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 3rd module
  0.4 * Exam + 0.2 * Team assignment 1 + 0.2 * Team assignment 2 + 0.2 * Team assignment 3

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Griffin, R. W., Pustay, M. W. (2019). International Business: a Managerial Perspective. Global Edition, Pearson Education Limited.
• International business, Peng, M., 2019

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G. A., & Riesenberger, J. R. (2017). International Business: The New Realities, Global Edition (Vol. Global edition). Boston: Pearson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1419679
• Gooderham, P. N., Grøgaard, B., & Foss, K. (2019). Global Strategy and Management : Theory and Practice (Vol. 2nd edition). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2142768

Authors

• Tekich Ania