In the era of globalization, managers of firms have to consider firm-growth options through internationalization. In this context, we will focus on three of the most crucial decisions managers have to take every time they decide to expand globally current business operations: where to invest, how much to own of the foreign operations and how to set up this new foreign subsidiary. If you see yourself sometime in the future as a business consultant, a member of a top management team, or a CEO of a MNE, then working under the umbrella of this theme will enlighten you on some of the pitfalls in the internationalization of business activities. Our emphasis will be on understanding the institutional context of a foreign market investment decision; this is an important factor to consider particularly when investing in an economy in transition (or an emerging economy), characterized with unstable or frequently changing governing institutions.

The course introduces students to the domain of foreign direct investment entry modes. At the end of the course, students will be able to recognize the existing challenges for firms when they have to:

1) choose an appropriate exact foreign location for investment;

2) determine the level of ownership in the foreign operation (how much they would like to own of the foreign operation, i.e. whether to set up a partially (jointly owned) or a wholly owned subsidiary);

3) decide on how to establish the foreign outlet (i.e. whether to opt for an operation from scratch (greenfield), or an acquisition).

Furthermore, students will be able to analyse and evaluate different market entry strategies with respect to two major issues:

1) the specifics of the host country national institutional environments (i.e. whether a market entry strategy is best chosen to fit the specific institutional context of the host country);

2) the characteristics of the home institutional environment for the strategy formulation of MNEs.

In the course, students will analyse and discuss barriers to the internationalization process which institutional differences create and suggest ways to overcome them. In the end, participants in the course will understand the complex nature of foreign market entry mode decisions and the implications for performance.

Presence is mandatory. It´s allowed to miss one session.

The course is taught using a combination of lectures, case analyses and a final research project. The course encompasses six regular lecture sessions applying key concepts to real-world problems, plus two sessions for feedback on the research projects.

The students' grade is a composite of the following individual marks:

1. Case analysis & Presentations of case analyses: 30%

2. Evaluation of case analysis (by non-presenting teams): 20%

3. Class discussion (individual grade): 10%

4. Written report on the final project (one report per team): 40%  

The following indicative marking scheme will be used:
- Excellent/outstanding contributions: 10 points
- Very good contributions: 8 points
- Good contributions: 6 points
- Weak insufficient contributions: 4 points or less.

Project reports will be evaluated on the basis of: 

• Relevance of content

• Application of course concepts

• Quality and originality of insights

• Arguments given to support the con­clusions

• Clarity and persuasiveness

• Usefulness of recommendations for Managers