Course 2016-2017 a.y.

Course Objectives

This course examines the role of entrepreneurs and corporations in the global market over the past centuries. Based on a longitudinal methodology of analysis and a vast array of case histories, the course addresses a wide range of issues related to international business. Through the inductive, articulated methodology typical of the historical approach, it is possible to answer questions relevant to contemporary international business management, e.g. how can entrepreneurs and firms successfully exploit opportunities and overcome the problems of operating outside their home country? What is the role of technology in explaining the evolution of internationalisation strategies? What is the part played by local culture and patterns of consumption in explaining the success or failure of international corporations? What is the part played by governments in this process? What is the contribution of multinationals to the wealth of a nation?

Course Content Summary

• Introduction
• Theorizing international business.
• Transaction and agency costs, uncertainty and information asymmetries: strategies of international business before industrialization.
• Governments, trade and internationalization: strategies of international business in the First Industrial Revolution.
• Globalization and technology: strategies of international business in the Second Industrial Revolution.
• Crisis and disequilibrium. Strategies of international business in the 1930s.
• Growth and integration. Strategies of international business in the Golden Age.
• Cultural challenges. Strategies of international business in new contexts.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

• Written exam.
• Team assignment.
• Class participation. 
  

Textbooks

• A. COLLI, Dynamics of International Business: Comparative Perpsectives About Firms, Markets and Countries, Routledge, 2016.
• Class materials available on the class website, readings available at Course Reserves.