90237 - Laboratory Of International Business Strategy

Learning outcomes

At the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Apply appropriate concepts, tools, and analytical frameworks of strategic management in the context of international business
• Explain and analyse the challenges that accompany international operations for organizations and formulate recommendations to solve them
• Acquire key tools for taking strategic decisions in the current dynamic environment

• Assess the current and future prospects of businesses by examining a range of internal and external factors

Students will also be able to develop skills, such as:

• Demonstrate effective oral business communication skills
• Work effectively and efficiently in groups

Course contents

The course will cover the following topics:

Part I - Recap of strategy

• What is international business strategy?
• Main trends in internationalization and globalization processes
• Key challenges in the international strategy implementation

Part II - Principles of strategy formulation and implementation

• External analysis
• Industry analysis
• Internal analysis

Part III - Business-level and corporate-level strategies

• Business-level strategies
• Corporate-level strategies

Part IV - Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and innovation

• FDIs and economic development
• FDIs and Global Value Chains (GVCs)
  
• Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and the internationalization of innovation activities

For each part and topic, attention will be particularly devoted to the introduction and application of analytical tools (i.e. strategic diagnostic, PESTEL framework, SWOT analysis, VRIO and competitor analysis, among others). Moreover, a spreadsheet software will be used to work on data and complement analytical tools.

For each part, a final simulation will be played by students in class.

Readings/Bibliography

Selected chapters from the following books:

• Collinson, S., Narula, R., & Rugman, A. (2020). International Business, 8th Edition, Pearson.
• Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2019). Strategic management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Cengage Learning.
• Mellahi, K., Meyer, K., Narula, R., Surdu, I., & Verbeke, A. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of International Business Strategy, 1st Edition, Oxford University Press.
• Castellani, D., & Zanfei, A. (2006). Multinational firms, innovation and productivity. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Additional reading materials will be indicated four weeks prior to the teaching term.

Students are invited to check on Virtuale for the most updated version of the syllabus.

Teaching methods

Classes will combine lectures, use of analytical tools, case study assignment analysis, and role plays for coping with real-life complex issues in international business. Additionally, examples and case studies will also be analyzed using a spreadsheet software (i.e. Microsoft Excel).

Assessment methods

The course mark is either pass or fail.

Assessment is based on:

• class participation (20%).
• Paper analysis + case study analysis and presentation + quantitative analysis (80%).

Specifically:

1. Class participation: Students' active engagement is strongly recommended. Different learning activities will be presented, such as in-class business case analysis, discussion of influential scholarly papers, debates, use of analytical tools. Students are expected to contribute to the discussion and demonstrate their understanding of the issues presented.
2. Individual work - Paper analysis: Students will analyze an academic paper dealing with relevant international business strategy-related topic. The assessment is based on the written and oral presentation.
3. Groupwork - Case study analysis and presentation: Students will be assigned a case study on specific topics related to international business strategy. Students are expected to read the case, analyze related materials and data, do further research if necessary and developing an understanding of the key issue and potential solutions. The assessment is based on the oral presentation of the case (supported by PowerPoint presentations).
4. Quantitative analysis: By using a spreadsheet software, students will work on data concerning the presence of foreign multionationals in host countries, i.e. inward Foreign Direct Investements (FDIs). The exercise will consist in making basic descriptive statistics (e.g. charts) and calculating specialization indicators, aimed at identifying and analyzing possible issues related to international business, innovation and local economic development.

Teaching tools

Case studies and lecture slides will be used to support lecture delivery. These will be made available in advance of classes.

Additional teaching tools will include a number of articles from journals (e.g. The Economist, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review), as well as academic journals (e.g. Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Business Research, Research Policy), and Podcasts to keep up with current business developments and analyze real cases to connect theory to practice.

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Alessandri