This course focuses on the managerial and strategic aspects of doing business in China and Asia-Pacific (APAC), both from an individual manager/entrepreneur and a firm level point-of-view, in the context of varied ethnic, cultural, and eco-political complexity in Southeast Asia (SEA). Based on models and frameworks developed for business in the APAC region, we cover the most important APAC-wide themes and focus on key countries along the way. China will be given the most attention, as well as Japan and Korea as the two other major economies in the region. We will highlight other SEA countries through groupwork and guest lectures. The course takes three perspectives:

• Outside-in view: How do we do business in those countries? – What are strategies and experiences of foreign firms entering these countries, and what are typical challenges and solutions? What is unique and what is different about China and APAC? How does China & APAC fit into global strategy and global operations of Western MNCs?

• Inside-in view: How to the locals do business / what is happening here? – How do local firms operate and compete? How are they being supported by their local governments? What is the local cultural, ethnic and historic backdrop that shapes local business? How do local entrepreneurs transform China and APAC economies? What are their sources of competitive advantage and future success?

• Inside-out view: How do these countries internationalize their business? – As local firms develop, how do they internationalize beyond their borders into neighboring APAC countries and to Europe, America, and the rest of the world? What local institutional and policy instruments support this internationalization? How do these APAC firms compete abroad, and what is their impact on their overseas host countries and economies?