International Business Strategy

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 7
• Convenor and tutor: Odile Janne
• Prerequisites: some knowledge of strategic management and economics is advantageous
• Assessment: a 2500-word group report (30%) and a two-hour examination (70%)

This module focuses on the strategic challenges confronting firms which compete in the global economy. The aim of the module is to provide you with a thorough understanding of the key strategic issues confronting managers of multinational corporations, both within the business enterprise and in the global marketplace. It is about the opportunities and challenges faced by corporations in the context of globalisation.

The module also focuses on corporate strategy for worldwide operations. It goes beyond the buzzwords often associated with discussions of globalisation and global strategy, and provides the tools and insights needed to identify and analyse key international business strategic issues.

indicative module content

• Exploring and exploiting national differences
• Leveraging resources and capabilities across national borders
• The internationalisation process and foreign market entry
• The formulation of international strategies and global innovation strategies
• Innovation and learning in multinationals
• Corporate social responsibility

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• identify and understand the key issues in international business strategy
• use the conceptual and analytical tools of strategic management and economics to the greater understanding of international business strategy
• appreciate alternative patterns of strategies, structures and operations, appropriate in different international contexts and changing market conditions
• address the management of the greater complexity that accompanies international operations
• analyse case studies of strategies in business organisations in the context of the relevant concepts and theories.