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2018/2019  KAN-CCBDO1006U  Managing Foreign Direct Investment Projects in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

English Title
Managing Foreign Direct Investment Projects in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Michael Wendelboe Hansen - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Globalization and international business
  • Strategy
  • Cultural studies
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 12/02/2019

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Present and discuss the particular strategic challenges and opportunities that relates to the planning, design, organization and management of FDI projects in developing countries and emerging markets.
  • Present, discuss and assess relevant theories and concepts related to global strategic management and the FDI project cycle in developing countries and emerging markets.
  • Apply relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts to concrete cases of FDI in developing countries and emerging markets with the view of generating realistic and usable analyses and prescriptions.
  • Understand and critically assess methods to write and analyze company cases
  • Demonstrate proficiency in academic writing skills, including: correct referencing, clear argumentation and correct usage and definition of key concepts
Course prerequisites
Knowledge of International Business theory literature is an advantage, but it is not a requirement.
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved: 2
Compulsory home assignments
To qualify for the mini project exam, students need to pass academic writing assignments.
The first assignment is a 3-5 page assignment in class. In case of illness, a retake is scheduled prior to the hand-in of the mini project.
The second assignment is a group assignment of 3-4 pages. The assignment will be approved/dismissed on the basis of the academic writing in English, but students will also receive feedback on the content. In case of illness, a retake is planned prior to the hand-in of the mini project.
Examination
Managing Foreign Direct Investment Projects in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Individual oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-4
Size of written product Max. 25 pages
For 2 students writing together the mini-project must have a length of 15 pages, for 3 students 20 pages and for 4 students 25 pages.
Students writing individually (after having obtained an exemption from writing a group project) must submit 10 pages.
Exchange students can apply for an exemption for an exam set-up without the oral exam if they cannot be present at CBS during the exam period.
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
There are four different scenaria for the re-exam:
1) if a student is absent from the oral exam but has been part of the report s/he does not have to submit a new project report, but MUST submit the same project report AGAIN for the re-exam.
2) if an individual student fails the oral exam she/he does not have to submit a new project report, but MUST submit the same project report AGAIN for the re-exam.
3) if a whole group fails they must submit a revised report for the re-take.
4) If you haven't submitted anything for the ordinary exam. You will submit a project report for the re-exam.
Course content and structure

More and more firms in the North are undertaking foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging markets and developing countries, partly to access rapidly growing markets there, partly to access the vast human and natural resource potentials of these countries. In this situation, it becomes increasingly pertinent for managers to understand how to plan, design, organize and manage an investment project in such countries. The aim of this course is, based on practical examples and real life cases presented by practitioners, to enable students to analyze, present and make recommendations for various strategic issues arising in connection with setting up FDI projects in emerging markets and developing countries.

More specifically, the course will provide an overview of the issues that arise when a company plans a foreign direct investment project in a developing country/ emerging market. Students will learn about global strategy as it relates to emerging markets and developing countries. They will furthermore be presented to the tools that are employed when designing, organizing and implementing an investment project in such locations, e.g. in connection with organizing a marketing strategy; getting finance for the project; searching for local partners; making a feasibility study; managing human resources; and providing for an appropriate exit of the project. The introduction to these issues will be based on experiences from concrete projects in emerging markets and developing countries presented by practitioners. There will be presentations by and on firms and organizations such as Bestseller, Carlsberg, IFU, Arla, Danfoss, Grundfoss, Ecco, FLS, etc.
Description of the teaching methods
The course has app. 800 pages of literature that will form the basis for the lectures, project work and the exam.

The teaching is to a large extent based on presentations by practitioners. The practitioners all have ample experience with setting up and managing FDIs in emerging markets. It is essential that students are well prepared and ready to engage the practitioners in a qualified dialogue. In order to facilitate dialogue with the practitioners, a discussant group will be assigned for each lecture. The task of the discussant group is to conduct background research on the company case in question and prepare questions for the practitioner. Moreover, the discussant group will, in collaboration with faculty, be responsible for summarizing and reflecting on the lecture in relation to the required literature.

To ensure a frank and open dialogue, it is essential that students respect that information obtained through the practitioner presentations is kept confidential and only is used in the context of the course, except if explicit approval is obtained from the practitioners. If students for some reason are not willing to observe these Chatham House style rules, they must explicitly state this in advance of the lecture.

The course will emphasize methodologies of case writing and case analysis. This will be done through lectures and class exercises.

During the course, students must hand in brief assignments that will be assessed in terms of their academic writing proficiency. The assignments must be passed in order to qualify for the final exam.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will get individual and class feedback on proposals for mini-projects

Students will get individual and class feedback on academic writing skills
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Exam 4 hours
Preparation 172 hours
Total 206 hours
Expected literature
  • Cavusgil, S.,P.Ghaury, and M. Agarwal, Doing Business in Emerging Markets, London: Sage, 2002.
  • Hansen, M.W., Pedersen, T., Marcus Larsen, and Wad, P., Strategies in emerging markets: A Case Book on Danish Multinational Corporations in China and India, Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press, 2010.
  • Khanna, T. & Palepu, K.G (2010). Winning in Emerging Markets – A Road Map for Strategy and Execution. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
  • Lasserre, P., Global Strategic Management, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
  • Tallman S. B. and Yip, G. S. 2001. Strategy and the Multinational Enterprise, in A. Rugman and T. Brewer (eds.): Oxford Handbook of International Business.
  • Welch, L. S., Benito, G. R. G., & Petersen, B. (2007). Internationalization, International strategies and FOMs, in Foreign operation methods: Theory, analysis, strategy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

 

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Last updated on 12/02/2019