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2011/2012  KAN-CBL_BSDC  Business strategy in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

English Title
Business strategy in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

Course Information

Language English
Point 7,5 ECTS (225 SAT)
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course Period Autumn
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study Board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture
Course Coordinator
  • Lotte Thomsen - Department of Intercultural Communication and Management
Michael Wendelboe Hansen
Main Category of the Course
  • Corporate and Business Strategy
Last updated on 29 maj 2012
Learning Objectives
  • Understand and describe the particular challenges and opportunities that relates to business strategy
  • and management in emerging markets and developing countries,inter alia in relation to competitive strategy,internationalization strategy,human resource management,and CSR strategy.
  • Describe, compare and critically discuss theories and approaches that address the particular challenges and opportunities of business strategy and management in developing countries and emerging markets
  • Apply these theories and approaches to concrete cases of business strategy and management in developing countries and emerging markets and assess their respective relevance and applicability.
Prerequisite
Bachelor degree – Knowledge of International Business theory literature is an advantage, but not a pre-condition. This course is an approved CEMS elective.
Business strategy in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets:
Assessment Written Exam
Marking Scale 7-step scale
Censorship Internal examiners
Exam Period December/January
Aids Open Book, Written Aid is permitted
Duration 4 Hours
Exam will be in Week 43
Course Content

Strategy formulation and management in developing countries and emerging markets take place in a context and regulatory environment that is significant different from that of developed countries. Institutional failures, cultural differences, economic and political volatility etc. render strategy and management qualitatively different in such locations. The business literature has traditionally devoted little attention to this aspect of business strategy and management and only recently has a literature focusing specifically on the interface between business strategy and developing countries emerged. The course “Business strategy in developing countries and emerging markets” is specifically designed to introduce students to this literature on the business activities in developing countries and emerging markets.

The course will consist of five modules. Module I (Introduction) will provide a general introduction to the business and development studies literature. The point will be first, that the business literature until recently has failed to take into account the particular conditions of doing business in developing countries and emerging markets, and second, that the development literature has devoted too little attention to the role of firm strategy and management in economic development. Module II, introduces theories of business strategy and management in developing countries and emerging markets. The module will position the institutional perspective on business strategy vis-à-vis more conventional theories of business strategy (e.g. the resource based perspective, transaction cost economics, network theory, principal agency theory, etc.). Furthermore, it will discuss the applicability of different theoretical frameworks depending on factors such as the scale of firms (SMEs, conglomerates, clusters), governance and ownership, nationality, or degree of internationalisation. The module contains a special session that focus on cultural aspects of management and strategy in developing countries and emerging markets. Finally, the module will introduce a theoretical tradition that has won prominence in the business literature in recent years – the bottom of the pyramid perspective - to critically assess firm strategies aimed at alleviating poverty. Module III presents an economic organisation perspective on firm strategy in developing countries. The Module examines the role of clusters in the strategies of developing country firm. Furthermore it introduces a global value chain perspective on firms and industries in developing countries and discusses the governance structures of global value chains, as well as the options for local firms in developing countries to upgrade through chain participation. Furthermore, the module includes two theme days on respectively (i) entry barriers into regional and global value chains and markets for developing country firms; and (ii) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in clusters and value chains. Module IV applies regional practical perspectives on business strategy and management in developing countries, offering Latin American, African and Middle Eastern perspectives on the issue. Module V is the conclusion of the course summing up on the content, evaluating the course and preparing for exam.

Teaching Methods
The course will consist of 2-4 hour sessions over 6 weeks. These sessions will be a combination of lectures, cases and student presentations. Student presentations will be based on specific questions related to the lectures’ theme and will have a duration of max. 10-15 minutes. Typically, presentations will be Power-point based. In some cases there will be additional materials for the student presentation supplied by the lecturer. Class discussions and case teaching are integral parts of the course and all students should prepare and be ready to discuss the issues, questions and cases listed for each lecture.
Literature

To be announced, but most likely
Peng, Mike, Business Strategies in transition economies, London: Sage, 2000
Meyer, Klaus and M.W. Peng (2005), “Probing theoretically into Central and Eastern Europe: transactions, resources, and institutions” Journal of International Business Studies 36, 600-621
Robert E. Hoskisson, Lorraine Eden, Chung Ming Lau and Mike Wright (2000), “Strategy in Emerging Economies.” Pp. 249-267, in Academy of Management Journal, vol. 43, no. 3
Arnold, D., and Quelch, “New strategies in emerging markets”, Sloan Management Review, Vol 40 no 1, Fall 1998
John Child & David Faulkner (1998). Strategies of cooperation: managing alliances, networks, and joint ventures, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998
Prahalad, C.K., The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, Upper Saddle River, NJ : Wharton School Publishing, 2005