International Marketing Strategy

Course code: MKT 530

Term and year: Fall 2026

Day and time: Monday, 11:15-14:00

Instructor: Emel Yarimoglu, Ph.D.

Instructor contact: emel.yarimoglu@aauni.edu

Consultation hours: Monday 14:00-14:30

1.    Course Description

This course builds on students' knowledge of marketing strategy gained in undergraduate courses. Understanding the challenges of international marketing is vital for all organizations, whether involved in foreign markets or facing foreign competitors at home. The course provides a detailed overview of these challenges, and skills and knowledge necessary to overcome them. Students will investigate the principles underlying the development and implementation of effective marketing strategies across and within foreign countries. The international marketing decision-making process will guide the intensive discussion of international marketing strategy at three levels; (a) the macro level – what foreign country/market(s) to select to enter (analyzing the economic, ecological, cultural, political, and legal factors); (b) the national level – what foreign investment (market entry) modes to choose and why; and (c) the market level – what international marketing strategies to design and implement for successfully positioning, branding, planning, pricing, promotion, and distributing the product(s) in the selected foreign market(s). By the end of the course, students should be able to identify, analyze, and solve marketing mix and strategy problems in an international context.

2.    Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

●        Understand and critically discuss international marketing and the difficulties of conducting marketing in non-domestic markets.

●        Identify and critically review the strengths and weaknesses of a company's international marketing strategy to create a sustainable competitive advantage, including branding and positioning.

●        Analyze and assess the marketing strategies, tactics, tools, and practices used to address international business opportunities and their associated issues.

●        Identify and critically review regional economic markets and understand how to qualify and quantify potential opportunities using marketing research, segmentation and targeting techniques.

●        Critically evaluate a foreign country's market's potential and its economic, social / cultural, legal / political, and regulatory environment (using PLEESTIC), identify market opportunities, assess challenges and threats, and critically appraise alternative market entry strategies.

●        Understand and critically discuss the management of the extended marketing mix – product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence – and its impact on international marketing strategy.

●        Identify when and why to take sourcing decisions and understand the impact of competition on an international marketing strategy.

●        Understand and critically discuss topical issues in international marketing, including globalization, country of origin effects, standardization versus localization, Fair Trade, and counterfeiting.

●        Identify and critically review recent research related to international marketing.

3.    Reading Material

Required Materials

Textbook: Warren J. Keegan & Mark C. Green. Global Marketing Management, Prentice Hall. 

List of required articles:

●        Porter, Michael E. (1996). Competitive Advantage, Agglomeration Economies, and Regional Policy. International Regional Science Review, 19(1-2):85-90.

●        Grönroos, C. (1999). Internationalization strategies for services. Journal of services marketing, 13(4/5), 290-297.

●        Pan, Y., & Tse, D. K. (2000). The hierarchical model of market entry modes. Journal of international business studies, 31(4), 535-554.

●        Yarimoglu, E., & Paker, N. (2024). Analyzing the Direct Effect of Multidimensional Country Image on Purchase Intention: A Preliminary Study on Foreign Student in Turkiye. Journal of East-West Business, 30(3), 267–282.

Recommended Materials

●        Perlego: Solberg, C. A., & Huse, H. (2024). Strategic International Marketing. Routledge. 

●        Philip Cateora and John Graham and Mary Gilly (2013). International Marketing, Mc Graw Hill.

4.    Teaching methodology

The course includes 14 interactive classes based on lectures, in-class discussions, article analyses, and student presentations. Students will have individual assignments such as A1 (Reading Assignments: R1-R13), A2 (Term Project), and A3 (Presentation) throughout the semester. Reading assignments will be uploaded to NEO one week before the class. The term project should be written as an academic paper. It should be presented in class.

Students are expected to participate in all class sessions. Timely submissions, active participation, and being ready for Reading Assignments every week and for Final Presentation at the last week are important.

5.    Course Schedule

6.    Course Requirements and Assessment (with estimated workloads)

*1 = Critical Thinking; 2 = Effective Communication; 3 = Effective and Responsible Action

7.    Detailed description of the assignments

Attendance

Students’ physical and timely attendance to every class. Attendance is mandatory at AAU School of Business.

Class Participation

General participation in class discussions, contributing to class learning with personal experiences, not disturbing class.

Assessment breakdown

Assignment 1 (A1): Reading Assignments from R1 to R13

Reading assignments will be uploaded to NEO one week before the class. Students are expected to read the assignments and accomplish the tasks given regarding the assignment. Submission on NEO before the class.

Assessment breakdown

Assignment 2 (A2): Term Project on a selected topic

One research topic related to global markets and international marketing strategy will be selected. Students will review literature about the topic, find the gap in literature, and develop a paper by enhancing the topic with research methodologies. You can analyze a real problem in the industry by focusing on real companies and finding solutions for their new markets, targeted consumer strategies, cultural barriers, and branding strategies in global markets.

Term Project Guideline:

1. Project report should be written in MS Word around 15 pages.

2. Use Times New Roman, 12 font, justified, spacing 6 pt before and after, single line spacing.

3. References are not included to the page number.

4. APA style should be used for all references.

5. Project report should include these parts:

Introduction: importance of the topic, real data from the industry  

Literature Review: a brief review of previous studies

Research Methodology: research aim, gap, research questions, research method

Findings: analyze secondary data or primary data and present the findings here

Conclusion: solve main problem, discuss and make suggestions, show limitations

References: articles, books, URLs together in alphabetical order. 

6. Project report should be uploaded to NEO before deadline.

Assessment breakdown

Assignment 3 (A3): Final Presentation

Present your project in class with a PowerPoint presentation lasting approximately 25 minutes. Following the presentation, be prepared to answer questions and engage in a discussion with your peers and professor.

In the presentation, summarize the entire topic, from the problem statement and objectives to data analysis and key findings in a clear and organized PowerPoint presentation. Ensure the presentation is clear, concise, and visually engaging. Ensure that your findings are presented using clear and effective visual tools to enhance understanding and communication of the data insights. The presentation should be formed by statements, bullet points, tables, figures, and only related images. The PowerPoint should be submitted to NEO before the class on the presentation day.

The presentation should include a title slide, followed by slides that cover the brief literature, research problem, research aim, research questions, research methodology, key findings, their interpretations in conclusion, discussion, suggestions, and limitations.

Assessment breakdown

8.    General Requirements and School Policies

General requirements

All coursework is governed by AAU’s academic rules. Students are expected to be familiar with the academic rules in the Academic Codex and Student Handbook and to maintain the highest standards of honesty and academic integrity in their work. Please see the AAU intranet for a summary of key policies regarding coursework.

Course specific requirements

There are no special requirements or deviations from AAU policies for this course.