• is well-acquainted with characteristics of SMEs & international business, and sustainable management
• 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 and sustainability
• 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. SMEs are important players in most economies around the world, and with the acceleration of globalization processes, a record number of SMEs have begun to take advantage of new environmental conditions presenting opportunities for international growth. SMEs are no longer considered to be miniature versions of large firms. Indeed, they are now understood to be particular enterprises with specific characteristics (Julien 1997), specifically in the ways in which they develop strategies for sustainable growth, approach investments, contribute to societal sustainability, and manage human capital. 

Globalization both poses dramatic new competitive challenges and also offers new opportunities which are increasingly important to the competitiveness of enterprises of all sizes. Success in the global arena demands mindsets that can develop strategies by blending skills and experiences of entrepreneurial firms with those of large international companies.

This course aims to help students make sense of how this international dynamic impacts SMEs. 
We begin 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 globe, followed by an examination of their (dis)advantages. The course outlines various types of SMEs including but not limited to micro-businesses, startups, and family firms. Thereafter, we discuss the ways in which SMEs internationalize, and why. Theories of international business and sustainability will be studied, focusing specifically on SMEs and the ways in which they strategize in an ever more complex interdependent global business environment.

Preliminary assignment:  The preliminary assignment is intended to help students get maximum value from ISUP courses. The lecturer will assign several readings and multimedia resources which students will be expected to have read and viewed before the course begins. 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 internationalization and sustainability: 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 sustainable international growth: Human capital, social capital, & board influence
Class 9: Internationalization strategies for SMEs: the beauty of Born Globals
Class 10: 21st Century sustainable 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 2019 at the latest.

Mandatory readings:

Bartlett, C. A., Nanda, A. (1990). Ingvar Kamprad and Ikea. Case nr. 390-132. Harvard Business School.

Cerrato, D., Crosato, L., & Depperu, D. (2016). Archetypes of SME internationalization: A configurational approach. International Business Review, 25(1), 286-295.

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

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.

Gordon, Ian. (2016). Two roads diverged in a wood; Strategic decision making in SMEs. Case number 816-0008-1.  Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University Management School.

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.

Uzhegova M., Torkkeli L., Salojärvi H., Saarenketo S. (2018) CSR-Driven Entrepreneurial Internationalization: Evidence of Firm-Specific Advantages in International Performance of SMEs. In: Agarwal J., Wu T. (eds) Emerging Issues in Global Marketing. Springer, Cham

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.

Zalan , T., Muzychenko, O., Burshtein, S. (2009). Atlassian: Supporting the World with Legendary Service. Case reference JIBE4-0CS2. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Neilson Journals Publishing.

Additional relevant readings:

Barney, Jay (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17 (1): 99-120.

Barney, J. (1995). Looking inside for competitive advantage, in Mintzberg/​Lampe/​Quinn/​Ghoshal (2003): The Strategy Process, pp. 102-105. 

Jensen, M. & Meckling, W (1976): Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3 (4): 305-360. 

Mintzberg, H., & McHugh, A. 1985. Strategy formation in an adhocracy. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30: 160-197.

Porter, M.E. (1998). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. 

Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal 5: 171-180.

Wernerfelt, B. (1995). The resource-based view of the firm: Ten years after. Strategic Management Journal 16 (3): 171-174