Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers. International or global marketing is extending these processes to “foreign” markets. International marketing has become a major area of expertise for managers since the business world has become more global and companies in Western countries are facing increased competition and pressure in their “home” markets.

This course covers the core issues small- and medium sized companies face when entering international markets. Compared with resource-rich large-sized firms, most SME’s lack the capabilities of entering international markets. Hence, the complexities of global operations become considerably more challenging and difficult.

The key areas of culture, economic forces, political and legal issues, infrastructure, and language will be the focus of the course. Key marketing issues, including the marketing mix, the basics of international marketing strategy, and international markets, get specific attention.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to

•    understand the core principles of internationalisation,
•    evaluate core concepts of marketing in different markets,
•    capture the environmental forces and challenges of internationalisation and international marketing,
•    understand the segmentation, targeting, and positioning process in international markets
•    decide why, when and how to enter foreign markets, and
•    develop an international marketing mix.

Students may miss up to 2 sessions. However, they will not be able to collect contribution points for the respective sessions missed.

A multi-method approach is used to achieve the learning outcomes. Specifically, the following teaching methods will be used in this course:

•    Pre-readings
•    Lectures
•    Guest Speaker(s)
•    Class Participation
•    Individual Assignment
•    Group Assignment
•    Case Studies
•    Final Exam

Grades are distributed as follows:

•    Class Attendance and Participation (Individual & Group) – 20 %
•    Summary Guest Speaker (Individual) – 10 %
•    Final Exam – 70 %