International Strategic Management

Internationalization is reshaping our world, and it will continue to do so. International firms manufacture, sell, service, and employ people in markets with different cultures, beliefs, laws, and socio-economic development in comparison to their home market. The reawakening of nationalism and protectionism, and recent high-impact events further reveal the multi-faceted challenges firms face when doing business across borders. Political changes, such as Brexit, can limit the ability to hire labor from abroad and push firms to seek other markets and relocate production facilities. A global pandemic can slow down expansion plans and halt business travel altogether. International armed conflicts can redefine market portfolios. Even a single container ship blocking the Suez Canal can break the supply chains of entire industries.

Only those firms that can identify and overcome these challenges and that turn cross-national differences into opportunities will be able to compete successfully at the international stage. In International Strategic Management, we are going to explore which strategic decisions make international expansion successful. Building on a rich body of research at the intersection of international business and strategy, this course introduces students to a coherent, research-based collection of concepts, frameworks, and tools to enable (future) managers to craft and implement successful international strategies.

This course is designed to stimulate discussions concerning managerial decision-making and reflections on contemporary international strategic management topics. Students will learn to identify key concepts, frameworks, and theories behind international strategic management practices; and to creatively apply knowledge from different approaches to the problems facing today’s international firms.

Course leader

Michael Mueller - Department of International Economics, Goverment and Business

Target group

This is a graduate level course. CBS Summer University courses at Copenhagen Business School is open to all and welcomes domestic and international students as well as professionals.

Course aim

Identify key concepts, frameworks and theories behind international strategic management practices discussed during the course.

Use relevant theories and frameworks to analyze challenges and problems associated with implementation of international management practices.

Understand and assess the dilemmas and challenges facing the international manager in different contexts and different phases of the business cycle.

Discuss how recent developments in international business challenge conventional strategic management practices.

Apply and critically assess international strategic management theories and frameworks to real cases.

Credits info

7.5 EC
This is an intensive 3-week course. 3-week courses cannot be combined with any other courses.

Fee info

DKK 6000: Tuition fee for Open University students (EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship)
DKK 15000: Tuition fee for non-European students.