BISA1120 Managing in Global Business Environments (5 op)

This lecture series offers an introduction to the changing role of nations and multinational firms in the global economy. By integrating international economics and business, we adopt a bottom-up approach where firms’ decisions to internationalize shape broader trade and investment patterns. These patterns, in turn, both influence and are influenced by their home and host countries.
Key themes include the development and structure of the global economy, motivations and barriers for internationalization, the organization and management of multinational firms, and the role of multinational firms as both drivers and solutions to sustainability issues in home and host country contexts.

On successful completion of the course, the students will
• be able to describe the development and structure of the global economy, focusing on the role of both nations and multinational firms
• be able to describe, and compare how and why the business environments in different countries are different and how they affect the operations and management of firms
• be able to apply and present your analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving skills in different practical realms relevant to the international business discipline, including sustainability-related issues.

The lecture series is supported by a textbook (Beugelsdijk, Brakman, et al., 2024) and includes topic-specific reading packages that provide an entry into the academic and practical discourse of international business.