Creating Successful International Marketing Strategies (2235.YR.015135.1)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	3,4	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	5 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 3	Ferran Blanch Colino	Marketing	ENG

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 4	Ferran Blanch Colino	Marketing	ENG

The world is increasingly connected at individual, business, and institutional levels. The phenomenon is not a simple effect of technological advancements and proliferation of multinational corporate activities. More recently and more importantly it has become a cause of them. The connections among us accelerate the pace of technological obsolescence, obfuscate or even diminish national and cultural boundaries, and emboldens businesses to go beyond their comfort zone. These effects in turn further facilitate the connectedness, and the cycle repeats. The reciprocal causation has already gained momentum, whether we like it or not, and it will not stall in the foreseeable future. Internationalization and globalization of people and businesses should, therefore, be considered in the context of connectedness. Are we (or can we be) prepared for the increasing level of complexity, dynamism, and uncertainty that the accelerating internationalization and globalization continue to bring?

This course investigates marketing techniques and programs as developed and implemented on multinational scale. It evaluates marketing strategy formulation and execution, decision-making processes in multiple countries and regions simultaneously. Then, students are required to have a minimum Marketing knowledge to be able to follow the International Marketing Strategies.

Session 1: Introduction
1.0: Course Introduction.
- Ascertaining the participants' marketing knowledge level.
- Introduction to International Marketing.
1.1: International Marketing Parameters
- Identifying the parameters of international marketing strategy.
Readings:
- Syllabus

Session 2: International Research. Where to sell. Environmental factors.
2.1: International Research.
- Hands-on group exercise in international market research.? - Challenges in marketing research in international markets.
2.2: Where to sell.
- Identify target markets to develop your international business.

2.3: Cultural and Social Forces I
- The influence of cultural and social forces in international marketing

2.4: Political, Economic and Legal Forces.
- The influence of political, economic, and legal forces in international marketing.

Readings:
- Case study.

Session 3: Entry Strategies
3.1: Entry Strategies.
- Exporting. Foreign production. Joint ventures and strategic alliances. Entry analysis. Exit strategies.
3.2: Experience based business case: Guest Speaker.

Session 4: When to sell?. International Market Development Strategy.
4.1: International Market Development Strategy - Entry and Early Stage.
- Alternative entry strategies in foreign markets.?
- When it is appropriate to use one entry strategy or another.
- Early stage market opportunity evaluation in international marketing.?
- Assessing the market opportunity, and positioning decision and its economic implications.
4.2: International Market Development Strategy - Growth & Maturity Stage.
- Growth stage market opportunity evaluation in international marketing.?
- Assessing the market opportunity, and positioning decision and its economic implications.
- Growth strategy in international marketing.?
- Strategic product portfolio management for growth.
Readings:
- Case study.
4.3: International Market Development Strategy - Maturity.
- Growth imperatives given the mature and limited domestic market.?
- International market growth strategy under inhospitable economic and political home market conditions.

Session 5: Brand & Product Strategy.
5.1: Branding in International Market
- International brand building strategies - Product design in an international environment.
- International and global branding decisions.
- Strategic alternatives in international product management
Readings:
- Case study

Session 6: Internationalization in Digital Business
- How digital business should implement internationalization strategy.

Session 7: Distributions decisions
7.1: Distribution in International Market
- Factors influencing the design and selection of distribution partners.
Alignment of organizational practices and cultures in the context of starkly divergent national cultures

Session 8: Price Strategies & Communication and promotional decisions
7.1: Pricing in International Market
- Factors affecting multinational, regional, and global pricing strategies.
- Bases of different pricing alternatives and their international marketing implications.
7.2: Communications in International Market
- The controllables and uncontrollables in brand communications.
- Implications of positive/negative effects on brand perception in home country market to host country market.
Readings:
- Case study.

Session 9.
9.1: Wrap-up.
9.2: Individual Exercise.
This is not an exam, this is an individual exercise based on a case. The exercise will ask several essay questions regarding the concepts and materials that we will have covered in this course. It will be a case that you should read at home previously. During the exercise we will propose you some questions to answer individually.

The course puts particular emphasis in developing an open mindset to examine global/multinational/local opportunities and develop business and marketing strategies that leverage investments, knowledge and experience across different countries. This view become essential for International Managers.

You will be exposed to a broad range of decision-making issues in international marketing strategy formulation and execution. The target audience of this course is the advanced level graduate students who seek a career in management/marketing consulting and global marketing management. Thus, our goals for this course are:
- to gain deeper understanding of the issues in global and international marketing strategy,
- to develop skills to define and solve strategic marketing issues in the context of global and international business challenges and opportunities, and
- to become able to ask right strategic questions and provide sound strategic alternatives.
To achieve these goals, we pay particular attention to:
- Providing the students with the foundation of and advanced thoughts in global and international marketing management,
- Developing an understanding of the scope, nature and role of global and international marketing strategy as a means to achieve corporate, business, and brand-level strategy execution, and
- Exposing the students to widely used conceptual and analytical tools to understand and analyze global and international marketing decision situations from a senior manager's perspective.

1. International Marketing Identifying the parameters of international marketing strategy.

2. International Decision Process

3. International Research - Hands-on group exercise in international market research.¿ - Challenges in marketing research in international markets.

4. Where to Sell - Identify target markets to develop your international business. - Factors that affect this target decision. - International Segmentation.

5. When to sell? International Market Development Strategy: Early, Growth & Maturity Stage.

6. Entry Strategies

7. International Branding decisions

8. Distribution Decisions in the Internationalization process

9. Price decisions in international markets.

10. International Marketing Communication

11. Wrap-up & Individual Exercise

Course Structure
Typically for each session, one case or exercises are going to be discussed. For some sessions, a group report assignment is given.
For each of the group report assignment cases, you are required to: 1) read individually the case studies assigned first, 2) then discuss them in group, and 3) prepare and upload a 3-page report (in PDF format) as a group responding to the assigned questions in Moodle. Estimated time required for a group report assignment case all together is 2-4 hours, depending on case study complexity.

Ground Rules
As already communicated, your active participation is not only encouraged but also expected. Sharing your perspective and experience with your peers will enrich our learning experience and make the sessions dynamic. Your mature and professional conduct is always expected.
Your instructors will be available for group or individual consultations and tutorials during the course. If needed, please feel free to contact them by email to schedule an appointment.
A learning area will be available in the Intranet. There, you would find instructions for the sessions, communications, bibliography, etc. The students are responsible to be familiar with the content and updates of the learning site.

Attendance Policy
Class attendance is mandatory

Punctuality
ESADE requires both faculty and students to be punctual in attending classes. The professor may oblige students arriving more than 5 minutes late to wait until after the break before being admitted to class, or not allow them to enter the class at all.

Use of electronic equipment in class
As a general policy, the use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops is not permitted in class. The use of laptops will only be permitted if the professor deems fit for the purposes of the class.

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

As this course is not about absorbing the facts or generic theories, there is no standard "textbook? for this course. For those who are interested in the issues presented in a structured manner, any of the following books may be used for reference purposes:?
- Cateora, Philip R and John L. Graham. "International Marketing" McGraw-Hill/Irwin (15th edition, 2011).?
- Czinkota, Michael R and Ilkka A. Ronkainen. "International Marketing", Cengage Learning (10th edition, 2013).
- Kotabe, Masaaki and Kristiaan Helsen. "Global Marketing Management", John Wiley & Sons (5th edition, 2010).?

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 3	Ferran Blanch Colino	Marketing

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 4	Ferran Blanch Colino	Marketing