06220617 - Strategic Intelligence & International Business

This course focuses on becoming familiar with the overall process of doing international business in real business life: why you do it, how you prepare yourself to do it well. Then choose the right strategy based on market intelligence and marketing data. Finally find the optimal way for market’s entry on short and long run. It uses already known and new concepts/tools applied on concrete examples and case-studies. It brings extra operational tools, which have not been studied before.

DIMENSION OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

All along the course both teachers emphasize on how to develop sustainable business for all, especially when business is international.
This is reviewed on the upstream and downstream of operations in international business and in its strategic dimension. 
Upstream when doing Strategic intelligence and looking at CSR signals, then, when a business chooses its international commercial strategy with a CSR vision. Finally, it drives in decisions, which are going to influence the overall commercial policy: the way companies are going to distribute and internationally develop will take into consideration a sustainable development.

TARGETED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS 

2 Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) are going to be evaluated:

Strategy: develop strategies in the key areas of a company/organization as a part of its’ overall international strategy in this way: 
- choose and drive the best suited export strategy for an international business, keeping in mind the ethical international codes. 

Action plan: develop and deploy an action plan for/of a specific area in order to succeed in an international environment    : 
- Practice how to use appropriate commercial tools up/down -streams operational sales development tools
- Implement coherent adapted commercial policy in terms of distribution and pricing.
- Become agile using Incoterms in focusing on the strategic use of incoterms.

This course is an excellent bridge between Theoretical concepts and practice on real case allowing to see how to handle daily business operations as a manager.

COURSE OUTLINE

1. Upstream 
a. Strategic intelligence tools 
i. quantitative and qualitative
ii. Competition analysis and other assessment tools
iii. Key success factors in going international

b. Assessing export potential:
i. Resuming the 4 Cs
ii. Positioning the internationalisation
iii. Addressing the commercial policy with a TOWS             

2. Choose your International commercial Strategy 

3. Define the Go-to-Market strategy according to the chosen market = Commercial Ways
a. omnichannel policy 
b. coherent pricing policy
c. commercial planning: from lead generation to customer services
d. special part on international logistics and INCOTERMS

Conclusion – How to consolidate and Expand Your Business   

PRESCRIBED TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS

MAYRHOFER, U. (2021), Marketing International, 2nd ed., Economica.
USUNIER, J.-C. and LEE, J. (2009), Marketing Across Cultures, 5th ed., Prentice Hall.
The Exporter 25e edition, Foucher.
International Business, Meyer K and Peng M (2016), Paperback
HBR reviews on international business and marketing

Individual grade
Business game on incoterms and written exam
Online knowledge quiz / online business game, 20 questions

Weight: 30%

Other grade(s)
Written report and oral presentation in a group
20 p. report / 20’ oral presentation

Weight: 40% written - 30% oral

TEACHING METHODS

This course will be mixing commercial techniques and tools to real practice
It aims to be interactive and students will participate actively. It will be mixing concepts and practices based on real cases. It will alternate theory, debate, practice on case studies. it aims to be highly interactive. 
- They use the case of an existing organisation to work concretely in developing its business abroad.
- On the use of incoterms, a virtual business game will be used

NATURE OF MATERIALS

- Lectures, debates, real case-studies and commercial tools practice in situ
- Online business game

TEACHING INNOVATIONS AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Digital business game on Incoterms, real business case live, online evaluation tool, collaborative intelligence tools to evaluate and boost knowledge (world café, Codev works).


PRE-REQUISITES IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
ADVISED PRIOR READING

All previous studies in marketing, strategic thinking, international environment, … will help them perform and become more coherent on this course.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE

The real case scenario of a business with presentation from the company / the online business game