The course introduces students to the theory and practice of global marketing. The course begins with an overview of key terms, the current strategic environment for global marketers, and an introduction to the three major theories of globalization. In the subsequent five sessions, students will deeply engage with theories, tools, and ways of thinking that enable them to identify global market opportunities, take informed decisions, and grow international brands.

Brands are considered focal anchor points for all marketing decision and therefore introduced in more depth. After all, brand strategies shape how global marketers serve consumers from different cultures, which technologies they will adapt, and they will run digital campaigns. Throughout the course, matters of sustainability as well as equality, diversity, and inclusion will be discussed.

The students will learn through interactive lectures with their professor, interactions with guest lecturers from leading internationally companies, and self-directed study assignments such as deep dive topic discussions and independent brand analyses. 

The course aims to develop strategic thinking in a global marketing context. Students will learn key concepts and tools used in global marketing management practice and how to apply them to make well-informed global marketing decisions.

The course also provides students with opportunities to sharpen their analytical and communication skills through case study discussions and interactions with guest speakers. 

Attendance in the first session is mandatory. Students that do not attend the first session will be de-registered from the course.

To obtain a grade for the course, students must attend at least 80% of the sessions. An absence of 3 hours (1 session) is permitted. Please let the lecturer or tutor know about your absence in advance. Students will only receive class participation points for the lectures in which they are present. Students must attend the multiple-choice test unless extenuating circumstances apply.

The course utilizes a combination of interactive lectures, global marketing topic discussions, independent study, and interactions with global marketing professionals. Attendance and participation in class discussions is critical to the success of the course and will determine students’ grade and learning experience.

About half of the assignments are group tasks. The lecturers will assign students to groups of 7-8 students that will tackle the group tasks together. While these are large groups that require more coordination and diplomacy than smaller groups, they allow for dedicating less class time to students presenting to each other and more time for lectures and guests to share their expert knowledge.

In many situations, learning is better without the use of technology. Therefore, some classes will be analog classes, where computers, tablets, smart watches, etc., will be banned into a corner of the room so that students can focus freely on the lecture.

Learning Elements & Grading Scheme

• Individual Multiple-Choice Test:  30 Points
• Deep Dive Presentation: 30 Points
• Brand Analysis 1 and 2: 10 + 10 Points
• Class Participation: 10 Points
• Peer Assessment Deep Dive: 5 Points
• Peer Assessment Groupwork Contribution: 5 Points
• Total: 100 Points

Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

• Personal meetings are possible after all classes.
• For an appointment, please contact Sophie Klikovits at imm@wu.ac.at.
• For administrative matters please contact our teaching assistant 

Course Materials

All course materials will be made available via WU’s Canvas learning platform and the WU library.

UN Sustainable Development Goals Considered in the Course

• 5.1 (Gender Equality).
• 8.3 (Encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises)
• 12.1 (Encourage Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns)
• 12.8 (Ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature)  

The Use of AI

We encourage you to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as Open AI’s Chat GPT, Google’s Gemini, or Antropic’s Claude for tackling the tasks outlined in this syllabus. 

• To capitalize on AI use, we recommend using AI as a collaborator not as a competitor. Because according to recent findings in AI in education research, the following will happen when you use AI in ineffective ways:
• If you outsource your thinking to an AI, the AI will learn and you will not.
• If you let the AI solve the problem at hand, you will not enjoy the good feeling of owning your recommendation and be unable to defend it.
• If you come out of a session with an AI and do not remember what you have just learned or how it shifted your thinking, you have wasted your time.
• If you accept AI output as fact without checking it, you will get the bad grade, not the AI
• If you present AI output without diving deeper into the subject matter, you will give an average presentation and earn an average grade.

We have integrated the use of AI into our teaching and declare openly where and how we are using AI in our lecture. We encourage you to do the same so that we can discuss best practices in class. 

Note that misuse of AI (e.g., submitting entirely AI-generated assignments as original work) constitutes a case of academic misconduct and can have serious consequences. 

For guidelines on citing AI-generated output in your submission, please consult WU Library Website, section “fit4research”: https://library.wu.ac.at/bib/fit4research/index.php/en/fit4research-english/cite-and-organize-your-literature/citing-correctly/citing-ai/