90237 - LABORATORY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

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

Contenuti

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 - 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
  

Part IV - Innovation and profitability: application using STATA

• Innovation and profitability: key theories and concepts
• Measures of innovation and indicators of profitability: patent data and balance sheet data
• Structure of STATA, data cleaning, descriptive and summary statistics, graphs
• Simple and multiple linear regression models in STATA. Analysis of the relationship between: overall innovation and firm profits; different types of innovation based on positioning along the global value chain and profits; technological diversification and profits

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 and a statistical (STATA) 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.

Testi/Bibliografia

Papers or selected chapters from the following readings:

• 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.
• Alessandri, E. (2025). Mining innovation, technological diversification and profitability. Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Vol. 52, No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-025-00363-2
• OECD (2009). OECD Patent Statistics Manual. Chapters 2, 5 and 6.

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.

Metodi didattici

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) and a statistical software (i.e. STATA) for regression analysis. STATA is freely available to registered students, who can download the software and the license using their student credentials at the following link: https://www.unibo.it/secure/software-stata/ 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The course mark is either pass or fail.

Assessment is based on:

• class participation (20%).
• 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. 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).
3. Quantitative analysis:The written exam consists of theoretical and empirical questions based on the topics and applications covered in the course—specifically, FDIs and innovation (Part III of the course contents), and innovation and profitability (Part IV). The exam is divided into two sections: a multiple-choice section; an open-ended questions section. Notably, students will be presented with STATA codes and regression outputs similar to those generated during the course’s lab sessions. They will be required to interpret these materials and respond to a related set of questions.
    

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

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 data + STATA codes to analyze real cases to connect theory to practice.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Enrico Alessandri