International Strategic Management

Building on the concept of strategic management, generally defined as consisting of the analysis, decisions, and actions undertaken by an organisation in order to create and sustain competitive advantages, the course emphasises the application of strategic management in international markets and the strategic challenges that companies are confronted with. The course addresses not only a variety of internationalisation patterns chosen by companies, but also how companies resolve the increasing tension between their need to integrate activities globally (in the pursuit of economies of scale and scope) with their equal need to respond to local market conditions. Accentuating recent economic and technological forces in the international business environment that continue to move towards a globalisation of industries, and accounting for political as well as social imperatives that claim for nationally responsive strategies, the course deals with the question of how companies pro- or reactively adjust their strategies and structures to these prevailing dynamics. Hence, the course gives emphasis to the process of strategy formulation and its implementation.