Course overview, teaching methodology, grading structure - Multi-National-Companies: Definitions, types, origin & history, characteristics, advantages & risks. - Eliciting single brand vs. multiple brand, incl. examples. - Discussing the nature of Multi-National Companies using examples from luxury goods categories & retail categories, comparing also local vs. multinational market approaches. Learning outcome: Based on understanding of historic origins, students becoming familiar with definitions & structures of Multi-National Companies (MNC). First eliciting of advantages / disadvantages / challenges sets course for structure of classes to come.

(1) Corporate Culture & Heritage in View of International Expansion. Introduction to Culture Sensitivity, translating into development of different corporate cultures / business cultures as challenge for international organizations. Learning outcome: Students learning basic drivers of culture in general. Thus being able to expand why there are cultural differences between countries and regions. Which then can become challenges for international business. Students understanding the challenges of foreign markets from a cultural viewpoint. (This aspect will be deepened in further classes). (2) The future balance of global vs. local business in light of market cultures. How this effects the development of online vs. B&M retail, and manufacturing ethics. Examples of the clothing industry given as homework and will be discussed next class, eliciting key patterns. Learning outcome: Students deepening their grip on working with cultural differences and how these can affect business in multiple facets. This understanding then leads to sensibilisation, recognizing potential risks for international expansion and start to develop thoughts how to mitigate these.

1. Wrap up of class 2: Why the balance of global vs. local business is key for analyzing international expansion; in today's global & online communication, isolation of reputation not possible anymore; separations between markets disappearing 2. Ad hoc Case Study: Brammibal's vegan donuts: Based on a most recent article (dated February 11, 2024) about international expansion plans of a German vegan donut start - up, case discussion about potential international expansion options. https://www.brammibalsdonuts.com/about-us/ https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Mit-veganen-Donuts-zum-naechsten-Starbucks-article24721860.html 3. Homework: International expansion: Analysis of Successes & Failures of Selected Examples: Group work on Starbucks, Red Bull, IKEA, Mc Donald's, to be presented in following class How did they cope with cultural challenges, different customer preferences & profiles in various geographies? Learning outcome: Students elicit different dimensions as key success factors for international expansion, thus accessing the full scope from cultural differences, respecting different consumer habits & profiles, legal environments, regulatory frameworks, environmental & ethical boundaries. Students also got a first flavor about teaching with a case study. Specifically, that the value & learning opportunity of a case study is the discussion in class, not the question about the right or wrong solution.

Presentations of group work from class 3: International expansion: Analysis of Successes & Failures of Selected Examples: Group work on Starbucks, Red Bull, IKEA, Mc Donald's Learning outcome: Beyond learning about the successes & failures of international expansion of each of the given examples (Starbucks, Red Bull, IKEA, Mc Donald's), students had to research their content online, assess the credibility and correctness of various sources, and defend their statements in class discussion. Factual evidence is mandatory and beats hypotheses or convictions. On a higher level, the learning is that cultural sensitivity is a never ending challenge. It is not a fixed set of rules but always depends on perspective, framing of business challenges and the never ending development of cultures.

The geo - political environment: Geopolitical development is a complex and multifaceted narrative that spans millennia, with the rise and fall of empires, shifting borders, and global power struggles. Throughout history, geopolitical developments have been shaped by factors such as military conflicts, diplomatic negotiations, economic interests, and the pursuit of strategic advantage, all of which continue to influence global politics and international relations. Specific examples how geo-political developments affect international business. How they determine new strategies, what king of risk mitigation they require, how predictions for future developments can be formed & assessed. Excursus: Strategy Learning outcome: Students will understand the importance of geo-political variables, their historical development, how to preview future outcomes and how to assess & manage risks. With this closer look at current geo-political risks, students will better understand in which environment MNE's operate today. Our today's global economy implies that thinking business actually means thinking international business more often than ever before. Hence, understanding geo-political implications and potential risks is essential becomes essential for corporate management, independently from in which branch the company operates. Homework for quiz in next class given

Quizz on assignment #1 - graded

1. Midterm Exam

I. The New Silk Road: An Avenue or a Dead End Street? Group work in class on the following sub-topics: 1.History of the Silk Road • When? / Where? / Who? / Why? • Geo-political context • Importance? Successful? • Still there? Why not? 2.The Silk Road Initiative • When? / Where? / Who? / Why? • Geo-political context • Development / Issues? 3.Current Status • Achievements / Set-backs? • Outlook • What about India??? Learning outcome: Students elicited that whilst the first silk road was very much an infrastructure project with trade being the ruling objective, the current silk road initiative has a much stronger political component. In other words, trade not just for the sake of trading and making profit, but trading for establishing ties & alliances (dependancies?) as instruments of political power. Depending on context, evaluations & assessments may differ a lot. II. Case study "Alaska Goldmine": Understand the nature of strategic thinking because international business, hence international business strategies, are almost always determined by i) geopolitical strategies, and ii) decision making in a multicultural environment. The engaging nature of case discussion lets students experience first hand i) different people conclude different action strategies although all are given exactly the same factual information, ii) based on the same factual information for everybody, different people determine different objectives, therefore different strategies, iii) the challenge of making someone else execute once own strategy.

Introduction to Legal Considerations in International Business First orientation for students in foundations of international business law, its key principles and international legal bodies. Intensive in-class discussion on protection of intellectual property in the global market (patents, copyrights, trademarks). Challenges & enforcement in a global context, international law vs. foreign law, arbitration vs. litigation. Providing insight into key regulatory frameworks (e.g., FCPA, GDPR) that impact global business operations. Importance of ethical considerations in global business: Emphasizing the role of ethical behavior in fostering trust and sustainability in international business relationships. Learning outcome: Students understand the "dilemma" between international law and local / country / foreign law. Students also recognized parallels between topics from previous classes (e.g. driving factors for culture, intangible entry barriers) and international legal considerations: Cultural values in the context of trust, corruption, "friendshoring" in international relationships, ethical behavior and ethical boundaries as intangible market entry barriers. The objective is NOT just to report about the legal issue of a given company and how the dispute ended. Students need to elicit whether / how the company disregarded e.g. cultural differences in certain geographies, whether it violated ethical standards in a given legal frame, and if / how the company learned from that and initiated changes in its way doing business.

1. Students present group assignment on How companies managed their legal challenges in different geographies. 2. In class discussion: “If Spotify was to be launched today: What would need to be done differently from a legal viewpoint?”

Challenges for regional expansion in start-up's Starting with reminding of learnings from previous lectures about the importance of cultural sensitivity and geo-political risks, the frame for differentiating between local - regional - global was set. Discussion about recent trends of globalization turning into regionalization and even glocalization, and about offshoring - nearshoring - friendshoring. Learning about the interrelationships in supply chains (e.g. "Evergreen" - Suez Canal), sourcing strategies in EV and battery cell production. Learning about organizational structures supporting regionalzation strategies, e.g. Toyota. Flipping the coin: What are the conclusions for start-up's of their growth strategy calls for regional expansion? Diving deeper into conclusions for start-up's for their growth strategy if it calls for regional expansion, practical group work in-class: Researching multiple examples of regional expansion of successful Glocalization examples. Learning Outcome: Based on understanding of cultural differences and geo-political issues discussed in previous classes, students develop a perspective on why regionalization vs. globalization is becoming an essential discussion point in regional business. Friendshoring as a means of expressing the growing importance of trust & stability in supply chain design. Glocalization as a result of having to take cultural differences - and even protectionism - even stronger into account than before. Students learn, because of forced time limit for their research, to assess very quickly the Key Success Factors of regional expansion and to elicit the various used expansion strategies from the example companies. Assignment #2 - Group assignment - GRADED!: Students will explore in groups the details of regional expansion of delivery services and assessing whether successful & why (e.g. Door Dash, Uber Eats, Wolt, Getir, Delivery Hero, Gorillas, Deliveroo, Just Eat)

Students' presentations & discussion of graded Group Assignment from class 11. Diving deeper into conclusions for start-up's for their growth strategy if it calls for regional expansion, practical group work in-class: Researching multiple examples of regional expansion of delivery services and assessing whether successful & why (e.g. Door Dash, Uber Eats, Wolt, Getir, Delivery Hero, Gorillas, Deliveroo, Just Eat) Learning outcome: Students learned, to assess the Key Success Factors of regional expansion and to elicit the various used expansion strategies from the example companies.

Guest lecture Marek Prach: The Beer Industry - Local or Global?

Final Exam