Universidad Pública de Navarra - Nafarroako Univertsitate Publikoa

Module/Subject matter

Strategy and External Performance.

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Contents

Course content summary

This International Business course focuses on current and relevant issues affecting firms operating abroad. The course is divided in two sections. In the first section of the course, we start by identifying and discussing the determinants and consequences of the globalization process and examine the most enduring and salient differences across countries, including a review of cultural, psychic and institutional distance. We study later the two most critical international strategic decisions for firms operating abroad: market selection and entry modes. The fifth theme contains a reflection on the existence of multinational firms and outlines the ongoing debate on the contribution to value creation of headquarters and subsidiaries in the multinational company. The sixth topic deals with the relevance of innovation development and transfer in multinational firms. In the second section of the course we focus on the annual accounts of multinational groups to discuss topics such as accounting standards harmonization, foreign currency effects and country risk and the role of financial statements for profitability-risk analysis and valuation.

Course content 

1. Globalization and differences across markets

1.1. The globalization process

1.2. Differences across markets

2. Cultural and institutional international business environment

2.1. Cultural and psychic distance and their measurement

2.2. Institutional distance and its measurement

3. International market and customer selection

3.1. Selection approaches

3.2. Selection methods

4. Entry modes in international markets

4.1. Non-equity entry modes

4.2. Equity entry modes

5. Managing the multinational firm

5.1. Theories of the multinational firm

5.2. Headquarters-subsidiary relationships in the MNC

6. Development and transfer of innovations in multinational firms

6.1. Innovation development

6.2. Innovation transfer

7. Financial statements in a mutinational annual report

7.1. Parent-only vs. Consolidated statements

7.2. Segmented reporting

8. International accounting: main topics

8.1. Foreign currency accounting

8.2. Other topics in international accounting

9. Financial statement and ratio analysis

9.1. Profitability analysis

9.2. Risk analysis

10. Ethical issues in multinational accounting and tax

10.1. Accounting scandals from an international perspective

10.2. Tax-based strategies from an international perspective

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Descriptors

International business; international business environment; international business strategy; multinational companies (MNC); international accountancy and finance.

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General proficiencies

Besides the basic competences (CB6, CB7, CB8, CB9 and CB10), the general competences are the following:

CG07 - Ability to search for and analyze information.

CG08 - Decision making skills.

CG09 - Teamwork skills.

CG11 - Work in an international environment.

CG12 - Interpersonal relationship skills.

CG13 - Commitment to ethical business.

CG15 - Ability to adapt to new situations.

CG16 - Creativity.

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Specific proficiencies

CE09 - Ability to identify, develop, and evaluate marketing strategies based on knowledge of established objectives and market characteristics.

CE11 - Ability to retrieve and analyze information and write reports about the activities of the firm or department.

CE13 - Ability to elaborate improvement plans and corrective actions.

CE14 - Ability to understand, select and assess information and use it in decision-making processes.

CE15 - Ability to communicate effectively in business situations.

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Learning outcomes

At the completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Identify major forces and analyze challenges of the global business environment.

2. Understand, measure and analyze differences in the cultural and institutional international business environment.

3. Apply tools and critical thinking skills to analyze foreign market opportunities.

4. Recognize alternative entry modes and design and evaluate market entry strategies.

5. Discuss different perspectives on the existence of multinational enterprises and the difficulties in the relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries.

6. Understand the role of innovation development and transfer in shaping and fostering the competitive advantage of multinational firms.

7. Identify international business situations that present potential complications due to ethical issues in accounting and tax.

8. Discuss relevant international accountancy and finances issues affecting multinationals.

9. Understand the effects of political, macroeconomic and regulatory aspects on the financial statements of multinational groups.

10. Actively reading financial press and looking for relationships to the material covered in the course.

11. Understand how business strategies and valuation are analyzed using the financial statements of multinational groups.

12. Understand and locate international business research.

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Methodology

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Languages

English.

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Evaluation

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Agenda

A week by week schedule will be available in MiAulario.

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Bibliography

Access the bibliography that your professor has requested from the Library.

- Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G. and Riesenberger, J. R. (2014). International Business: The New Realities. 3rd edition. Pearson.

- Forsgren, Mats (2013). Theories of the multinational firm: A multidimensional creature in the global economy. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

- Hollensen, Svend (2013). Global Marketing - A Decision-oriented Approach. 6th edition. Pearson.

- Weil, R.L., Shipper, K, and Francis, J. (2014): Financial Accounting. An introduction to concepts, methods and uses. South Western. Cengage Learning

- Kieso, E., Weygandt, Jerry J. and T.D. Warfield (2014). Intermediate Accounting. IFRS 2nd Edition. Wiley.

- Wild, J. J. and Wild, K. L. (2014). International Business: The Challenges of Globalization. 7th edition. Pearson. 

- Choi, F.D.S. and Meek, G.K. (2013). International Accounting, international edition, Pearson

Additional bibliography:

- Bond, C. & O'Byrne, D. (2014), "Challenges and conceptions of globalization: An investigation into models of global change and their relationship with business practice", Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 23-38.

- Martín Martín, O. & Drogendijk, R. (2014), "Country Distance (COD): Development and Validation of a New Objective Measure", Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 52 No. 1, pp. 102-125.

- Papadopoulos, N. & Martín Martín, O. (2011), "International Market Selection and Segmentation: Perspectives and Challenges", International Marketing Review, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 132-149.

- Roman L. Weil, Katherine Schipper, Jennifer Francis (2013) Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses, 14th Edition. Cengage Learning

- Palepu, K.G., Healy, P.M., Bernard, V.L. and Peek, E. (2013) Business analysis and valuation. IFRS edition. Thomson

- Estados contables: elaboración, análisis e interpretación (cuarta edición) Archel, Pablo; Lizarraga, Fermín, Sánchez, Santiago y Cano, Manuel

Editorial Pirámide (2012)

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Location

Aulario (Campus Arrosadía).

http://www.unavarra.es/estudios/postgraduate-degrees/official-postgraduate-options-available/postgraduate-degrees/faculty-of-economics-and-business-science/masters-in-business-management+?languageId=1

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