International Business Strategy and Management (in English)

Teachers

Included in study programs

Teaching results

Students will possess following abilities:
- to understand recent trends in internationalization and globalization of business environment and their impact on management of international companies,
- to understand the basic prerequisites of international success: strategic capability, partnership capability, staffing capability, learning capability and organizational capability,
- to understand how to do qualitative research significant for managing international companies.
Students will obtain following skills:
- to apply best practices from the course in decision-making process of international companies, eventually in teaching and research,
- to apply problem-solving procedures in international companies, to evaluate the strategy and applied management tools and their accuracy in real cases,
- to apply qualitative research methods, especially case study research method at their work, both research and educational.
Students will gain following competences:
- critical and analytical thinking related the right choice of foreign market, suitable method of foreign market entry, option of an appropriate strategy and fitting management tools for an international success,
- diagnostic and systematic thinking when evaluating each step of internationalization and ways how progress including application of appropriate research methods,
- creative thinking, creation of the research concept based on case study research method, its discussion and defense within the study group, and in discussion with the course teacher.

Indicative content

• International business strategy and foreign direct investment in era of globalization.
• Managing international strategic partnership.
• International human resource management as a success factor of international companies.
• Innovation and knowledge management in international companies.
• Changes of organization structures as a prerequisite of international success.
• International business management and international marketing management in the time of crisis.
• Research and its implication in international companies.

Support literature

HILL, Charles. International Business: Competing in the Global Market Place. 13th ed. Mc Graw-Hill, 2020
CULLEN, John, B. – PARBOTEEAH, Praveen, K. Multinational Management:A Strategic Approach. 7ed. Mason, Ohio: South-Western 2017
RYIN, Robert,K. Case study research design and methods. 5th ed. Sage 2014
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa. a kol. Medzinárodná expanzia firiem: stratégie, partnerstvá a ľudské zdroje. Bratislava: Iura Edition 2013
PIEKARRI, Rebecca.-WELCH, Catherine. Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business.Northampton: Edward Elgar 2004
COVID – 19 and International Business – Change of Era. Edited by Marinov, M., Marinova, S. Routledge 2021
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Články
SCHUH, Arnold. Investment Attractiveness of Central and Eastern Europe for Western Multinational Firms in the Post-COVID-19 Era. COVID – 19 and International Business – Change of Era. Edited by Marinov, M., Marinova, S. Routledge 2021, pp. 339 - 348
ANDERSEN et al. (FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa). Careers in Context: An International Study of Career Goals As Mesostructure between Societies' Career-Related Human Potential and Proactive Career Behaviour. In Human Resource Management Journal. - Chichester : Wiley-Blackwell. ISSN 1748-8583, 2020, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 365-391 online.

DELLO RUSSO, Silvia et al. (FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa.) Still Feeling Employable With Growing Age? Exploring the Moderating Effects of Developmental HR Practices and Country-Level Unemployment Rates in the Age - Employability Relationship. In International Journal of Human Resource Management. - London: Taylor & Francis. ISSN 1466-4399, 2020, vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 1-42.
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa. - HLUŠKOVÁ, Tatiana.: Internationalization of Central and Eastern European companies : Theory and its Implications in the Slovak IT Sector In: Journal of Eastern European Management Studies. Regensburg: University of Regensburg, 2015, Vol. 20 , No. 4, pp. 415-434 , ISSN 0949-6181.
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa et al.: Perceived Differences of Austrian, Czech, and Slovakian Managers regarding the Need for Change of Future Competencies : A Self-affirmation Perspective, co-authors Nettekoven, M. Siebenaler, T., Mühlbacher, J. In: Journal of Eastern European Management Studies. 2017, Vol. 22 , No. 2 , p. 144-168.- Augsburg: Rainer Hampp Verlag, 2017. ISSN 0949-6181.
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa. Internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises from Central and Eastern Europe : a Theoretical Framework, In: Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research. - Minnesota: The IEECA Press, 2018, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 1-10- ISSN 2328-8272.
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa - FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa, Jr. Outward Investment Flows and the Development Path: The Case of Slovakia. In Eastern European Economics. - London: Taylor & Francis. 2012, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 91–118. ISSN 0012-8775.
DOW, Douglas - FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa. More than Just National Cultural Distance: Testing New Distance Scales on FDI in Slovakia. In International Business Review. Amsterdam: Elsevier, February 2010, vol. 19, no. 1, s. 46-58. ISSN 0969-5931.
FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa.: Transition at Whirlpool-Tatramat: From Joint Venture to Acquisitions. Transnational Corporations, UN/UNCTAD Switzerland,2002, Vol.11, N.5, pp. 69 – 97, ISSN 1014-9562.

SMITH, Adrian - FERENČÍKOVÁ, Soňa. Inward Investment, Regional Transformations and Uneven Development in Eastern and Central Europe: Enterprise Case-Studies from Slovakia. In European Urban and Regional Studies. - London: Sage Publications Ltd., 1998, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 155-173. ISSN 1461-7145.

Syllabus

• Changes in international business environment: VUCA world, pandemic, globalization, digitalization – the implications for foreign-invested companies. • Trends in international business strategies and their impact on Slovakia and Slovak companies (globotics, AI, Industry 4.0 etc.). • Strategic partnerships, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, international joint ventures: selected management issues. • International human resource management and international marketing management in post-covid era and their aspects as international success factors. • Innovation and knowledge management in international companies. • Organizational changes in international companies in digital era: micro-multinational, unicorns, new networks etc. • Internationalization of Slovak companies: pressing issues. • Qualitative and case study research methods in international business, their applicability and limits.

Requirements to complete the course

40% seminar paper
60% final exam

Student workload

Total study load (in hours): 10 credits x 26 hours = 260 hours
Distribution of study load
Participation at classes: 16 hours
Preparation for classes: 32 hours
Seminar paper work: 32 hours
Preparation of seminar paper presentation: 8 hours
Final paper work: 48 hours
Preparation of final paper presentation: 8 hours
Preparation for final exam and discussion: 126 hours

Language whose command is required to complete the course

Slovak, English

Date of approval: 15.07.2024

Date of the latest change: 15.12.2022