• is well-acquainted with characteristics of SMEs & international business
• can distinguish between the different types of SMEs, outlining dis/advantages of each
• is familiar with business environments faced by SMEs and the impact they have in foreign markets
• is familiar with ethical issues inherent in doing business internationally
• can critically discuss the main theories of international business
• can gather data, evaluate them, and draw appropriate conclusions
• can explain the latest concepts in the field of international business strategy
• can evaluate firm level information that can be found from business operations
• can analyze the internal and external environment of companies and organizations
• can operationalize company marketing in an international marketplace

As business grows increasingly international due to the interaction, exchange, and interdependence amongst nations, firms, and people around the world, more firms are confronting this exciting yet challenging dynamic. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are no exception. Indeed, SMEs are important players in most economies around the world, and thanks to the acceleration of globalization processes, a record number of SMEs have begun to take advantage of new environmental conditions presenting opportunities for international growth. 

Globalization both poses dramatic new competitive challenges while also offering new opportunities which are becoming increasingly important to the competitiveness of enterprises of all sizes. Success in the global arena demands mindsets that can design strategies that blend skills and experiences of entrepreneurial firms with large international companies. 

This course aims to help students make sense of this dynamic and how it impacts SMEs. The course begins by discussing the specific characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) paying particular attention to their prevalence, significance, and economic contribution to most economies around the world, followed by an examination of their competitive advantages. The course will outline various types of SMEs including but not limited to micro-businesses, startups, family firms, etc. Thereafter, we will discuss the ways in which SMEs internationalize, and why.

Theories of international business will be discussed, focusing on SMEs and the ways in which they strategize in an ever more complicated global business environment.

Preliminary assignment:  The preliminary assignment is intended to help students get maximum value from ISUP courses. The lecturer will assign a few readings and multimedia resources which students will be expected to have read and viewed before the course starts. Students will each be assigned questions pertaining the preliminary readings and will be expected to discuss these questions in the first lecture. This assignment is intended to help 'jump-start' the learning process before the first lecture.

Class 1: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Definition & significance (+case method introduction)
Class 2: Strategic management of SMEs
Class 3: SME ownership and governance: The impact of owner hetero/homogeneity 
Class 4: Competitive advantage(s) of SMEs & determinants of SME internationalization
Class 5: Theoretical foundations of firm Internationalization: history and context 
Class 6: Classical approaches towards SME internationalization 

Feedback activity: Feedback on project topic proposal at the midterm.
Class 7: The Internationalization processes of SMEs: context & regional differences
Class 8: Drivers of international growth: Human capital, social capital, & board influence
Class 9: Internationalization strategies for SMEs: the beauty of Born Globals
Class 10: 21st Century leadership: SME competences
Class 11: The competitive advantages of international SMEs

Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings or video clips to be read or viewed before the start of classes with a related task scheduled for class 1 in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.

Course timetable is available on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams.

We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams end February 2018 at the latest.

Mandatory readings:

Relevant peer-reviewed articles, readings from international press, and several cases will be mandatory reading. 
Cerrato, D., Crosato, L., & Depperu, D. (2016). Archetypes of SME internationalization: A configurational approach. International Business Review, 25(1), 286-295.

D’Angelo, A., Majocchi, A., & Buck, T. (2016). External managers, family ownership and the scope of SME internationalization. Journal of World Business, 51(4), 534-547.

D'Angelo, A., Majocchi, A., Zucchella, A., & Buck, T. (2013). Geographical pathways for SME internationalization: insights from an Italian sample. International Marketing Review, 30(2), 80-105.

Hsu, W. T., Chen, H. L., & Cheng, C. Y. (2013). Internationalization and firm performance of SMEs: The moderating effects of CEO attributes. Journal of World Business, 48(1), 1-12.

Håkanson, L. & Kappen, P. (2017). The ‘Casino Model’ of internationalization: An alternative Uppsala paradigm. Journal of International Business Studies. 

Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J. E. (2009). The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership. Journal of international business studies, 40(9), 1411-1431.

Knight, G. A., & Liesch, P. W. (2016). Internationalization: From incremental to born global. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 93-102.

Li, L., Li, D., & Dalgic, T. (2004). Internationalization process of small and medium-sized enterprises: Toward a hybrid model of experiential learning and planning. MIR: Management International Review, 93-116.

Lu, J. W., & Beamish, P. W. (2001). The internationalization and performance of SMEs. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6‐7), 565-586.

Nordman, E. R., & Tolstoy, D. (2014). Does relationship psychic distance matter for the learning processes of internationalizing SMEs?. International Business Review, 23(1), 30-37.

Oehme, M., & Bort, S. (2015). SME internationalization modes in the German biotechnology industry: The influence of imitation, network position, and international experience. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(6), 629-655.

Onkelinx, J., Manolova, T. S., & Edelman, L. F. (2016). Human capital and SME internationalization: Empirical evidence from Belgium. International Small Business Journal, 34(6), 818-837.

Pellegrino, J. M., & McNaughton, R. B. (2017). Beyond learning by experience: The use of alternative learning processes by incrementally and rapidly internationalizing SMEs. International Business Review, 26(4), 614-627.

Wright, M.; Westhead, P.; Ucbasaran, D. (2007) Internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and International Entrepreneurship: A Critique and Policy Implications. Research Policy, Regional Studies, Vol. 41.7, pp. 1013–1029.

Cases(indicative list): 
- INGLOT: CONQUERING THE WORLD (INSEAD)
- A SPEED RACE: BENELLI AND QJ COMPETE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MOTORBIKE ARENA (IVEY)
- NATURA: EXPANDING BEYOND LATIN AMERICA (INSEAD)

Additional relevant readings:

Daszkiewicz, N. & Wach, K. (2012) Internationalization of SMEs: Context, Models, and Implementation. Gdansk University of Technology Publishers.