Strategy and Marketing in a Global Context

The course is included in the fourth semester of the Bachelor’s Programme in Business and Economics for students whose main field of study is business administration. It is not offered as a freestanding course. The course is open to incoming exchange students.

Department of Business Administration

To be eligible for the course 60 passed credits from the first three semesters of the Bachelor's Programme in Business and Economics or equivalent are required.

All companies and organisations, regardless of size and industry, operate in a global context. Management and development of companies is therefore today about being able to analyse and understand how global change sets the framework for the company’s development, and about being able to benefit from changes in the company’s environment. This means that in addition to understanding the underlying economic structure of an industry, management must also understand how new and unused market areas can be created for growth.

The course is based on theories and models for corporate and market strategies and how these strategies and activities relate to the company’s environment. Initially, the main theories and models of the course are introduced and illustrated and how they interact with each other. Subsequently, basic concepts and theories are introduced in the field of international business, and a framework for building the company’s systematic knowledge about the global business environment is presented. The starting point is that companies in today’s economy must build a systematic understanding of the business environment in which they operate, and how they are affected by global economic changes.

In the next step, the focus shifts from the companies’ global environment to corporate strategies and, in particular, to how corporate strategies are shaped in practice. Here it is shown that corporate strategies are formed by both deliberate management-driven strategy activities and emerging activities that over time prove to have strategic significance and that successful companies manage these activities in parallel.

Thereafter, the perspective shifts from corporate strategies to innovative business and marketing strategies, i.e. how companies and organisations can create sustainable and ethical conditions to compete in the context of new market conditions in a global and digital world. Here, basic perspectives, theories, concepts, and models are provided and dealt with, which are required for business and market strategies to be shaped, valued and put into action.

The course thus combines insights from literature in international business, corporate strategy and marketing. Theories and concepts from these areas are discussed specifically in relation to how they are affected and shaped by global economic change and social, economic, and environmentally sustainable development.

During the course, the students work with a case where they apply the various theories and concepts from the literature. The work on the case is discussed in seminars and the results are presented in a report.

All in all, the course provides a broad understanding and knowledge of the conditions of international enterprise, how business leaders face new ethical challenges through globalisation, and how companies and organisations can create innovative conditions for development.

On successful completion of the course the student shall be able to:

Knowledge and understanding
1. describe and explain basic concepts and theories in the areas of international business, marketing strategy and corporate strategy,
2. describe and explain empirical applications in the areas of international business, marketing strategy and corporate strategy,

Competence and skills
3. analyse market strategies and strategy work in a global context,
4. apply basic qualitative and quantitative methods, discuss results and draw conclusions on how companies act in relation to international business, market strategy and corporate strategy,

Judgement and approach
5. reason critically and independently about ethical, economic, social and ecological sustainability challenges linked to globalization of business.

Lectures, seminars, attendance in excursion, and a theme day with focus on sustainable development. Attendance at the seminars, the excursion, and the sustainability day is compulsory. The sustainability day applies only to programme students at the School of Business, Economics and Law.

Language of instruction: English

Objective 1 is examined through an individual written exam.

Objective 2 is examined through written group assignment, individual written exam and excursion.

Objective 3, 4 and 5 are examined through written group report and seminars. Objective 5 is also examined through participation in Sustainability Day – Responsibility.

Absence from compulsory elements of the course can be replaced with alternative assignments.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone major changes, the student must be offered at least two examination sessions in addition to ordinary examination sessions. These sessions are to be spread over a period of at least one year but no more than two years after the course has been discontinued/changed.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local Rules Regarding RIU Students at the University of Gothenburg.

The grading scale comprises: Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E) and Fail (F).

Pass is required on all examination formats. A failed group report can be supplemented to a pass grade. The course grade is determined by a weighing of the results of the written exam and the group report.

After completion of the course, a course evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the procedures established for the Bachelor's Programme in Business and Economics. The results of the evaluation, together with any resulting changes to the course, will be communicated to the students who participated in the evaluation as well as to those enrolled in the subsequent offering of the course.

The School of Business, Economics and Law has a policy regarding the use of generative AI and similar tools. The application of this policy, together with course-specific instructions for the course, is published on the course’s learning platform.