INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY
Master of Science in Management
GSEM - University of Geneva
Session 2014
SYLLABUS
Faculty: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Raisch
Email: Sebastian.Raisch@unige.ch
Phone: 022 379 8801
Course Overview:
This course is designed to address the creation of competitive advantage in large,
complex organizations that span national boundaries. Multinational corporations
account today for about half the productive wealth in the industrialized world. Operating
in a global rather than domestic arena presents the manager with many new
opportunities. However, with these new opportunities come the challenges of managing
strategy, organizations, and operations that are innately more complex, diverse, and
uncertain. Unlike purely domestic competitors, companies that compete across borders
have to make choices about which product to offer around the globe; where to compete
within the world; where to locate the various activities of the firm; and how to organize to
effectively coordinate its worldwide activities. Our objective is to explore the challenges
of global competition and provide you with a framework for dealing with them.
We will address the following main topics:
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International Expansion: Benefits and Challenges
Entry Decisions: Where, When, and How to Enter Country Markets
Global Strategies: Global Integration vs. Local Adaptiveness
Global Economic Crises: Causes and Consequences
As an outcome of this course, participants are expected to acquire knowledge, skills,
and sensitivities that will help them manage effectively in an international business
environment. Since virtually all organizations have to deal with global competition in one
form or another, this course is intended for students interested in pursuing general
management positions in almost any type of organization.
Course Schedule:
The course is structured along international strategy’s core themes. Each core theme is
discussed in a theory-based lecture and a case-based practical exercise. Prior reading
of the case studies and texts is indispensable for following this course.
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Introduction
April 9
16.15 – 18.00
Lecture
International Expansion
April 16
Lecture
16.15 – 20.00
Case Wal-Mart
Course Preparation:
Case: “Wal-Mart”
Text: “Distance Still Matters”
Entry Decisions
April 30
Lecture
16.15 – 20.00
Course Preparation:
Case: “Starbucks”
Text: “Managing Global
Expansion”
Case Starbucks
Global Strategies
May 7
Lecture
16.15 – 20.00
Course Preparation:
Case: “Unilever”
Text: “Do You Really Have a
Global Strategy?”
Case Unilever
Global Economic Crises
May 14
Lecture
16.15 – 20.00
Course Preparation:
Case: “Singapore Airlines”
Text: “Moving Upward in a
Downturn”
Guest Lecture
Group Projects & Wrap-up
May 21
Group Projects
16.15 – 20.00
Wrap-up
Course Preparation:
Bring your individual assignment
papers.
Course Preparation:
Participants in the course are expected to have a basic understanding of strategic
management core topics and tools. It is recommended that students complete the
“Strategic Management” course before participating in the International Strategy course.
For students with limited prior expertise of strategic management, we provide two texts
(“What is strategy?” by M. Porter and “Managing Strategy and Strategic Planning” by R.
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W. Griffin) on DOKEOS that should be helpful for understanding the fundamental issues
and concepts of strategic management.
Course Readings:
International Strategy is an interactive, case-based class. Active participation in case
discussion is absolutely necessary if learning is to take place. Class participation helps
to develop an understanding of the actual situation faced by decision makers and to
develop insights, alternative courses of action, and analyses that are not inherently
obvious. Case discussions also present an opportunity to apply course frameworks to
business situations. Class participation includes class attendance, frequency of
participation, and quality of participation. Effective participation requires a thorough
reading of the cases and a good deal of thought about the case situation before coming
to class. To be clear, I expect the students to both attend class and participate actively
in the theory and case discussions.
The following cases and texts are mandatory material to be studied prior to the course
(all provided on DOKEOS):
April 16, 2014

P. Ghemawat, “Distance Still Matters: The Hard Reality of Global Expansion,”
Harvard Business Review, September 2001, pp. 137-147.

S. Raisch and J. Neumann, “Wal-Mart: Striving for Worldwide Dominance,” Case
Study, University of St. Gallen, 2009.
April 30, 2014

K. Gupta and V. Govindarajan, “Managing Global Expansion: A Conceptual
Framework,” Business Horizons, March-April, 2000, pp. 45-54.
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M. Moffett and K. Ramaswamy, “Planet Starbucks (B): Caffeinating the World,”
Thunderbird Case Study, A07-03-0013, 2003.
May 7, 2014

G. Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, “Do You Really Have a Global Strategy,” Harvard
Business Review, July-August 1985, pp. 139-148.
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J. Zobel and C. Christensen, “Unilever’s Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global
Diversity,” HBS Case Study, No. 9-698-017, 1998.
May 14, 2014
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Rigby, D. “Moving Upward in a Downturn,” Harvard Business Review, June 2001,
pp. 98-105.
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Course Evaluation:
The final grade will be based on an individual take-home assignment (2/3 of final grade)
and an in-class group assignment (1/3 of final grade).
The individual assignment requires students to prepare a comprehensive analysis of a
specific company’s international strategy. The company names and more detailed
information will be made available during the first session of the course. Every student
is expected to prepare a maximum 4-page (12pt, 1.5-space) summary of his or her
analysis. The deadline for submission is May 19, 2014. Please send your summary
to Jonathan.Schad@unige.ch. The analysis covers four questions related to the key
topics of the course (international expansion, entry decisions, global strategy, and
global economic crises). The questions will be made available on a weekly basis at the
end of the respective sessions. Students are guided by these questions in their analysis
of the specific company assigned to them. The design of the individual assignment
allows students to work on their summary in parallel to the course and to terminate their
analysis in time for the final course session.
The group assignment is done in class during the last course session. The group
composition and the specific assignment questions will be made available in the
beginning of the last session. Subsequently, the groups work on their assignments. The
group work will build upon the results of the team members’ individual assignments. The
main challenge will be to collectively review and integrate these findings, while drawing
general conclusions that are applicable above and beyond the context of the individual
companies analyzed in the individual assignments.
Both assignments have to be conducted in English. You are supposed to respond to the
assignment questions in a concise and structured manner. A good response will identify
the main issues, outline key analytical points, identify options, and if necessary, make
recommendations. For both assignments, we rely primarily upon three criteria for
evaluation: (1) the quality and completeness of your answer; (2) the ability to apply
theoretical concepts and tools to practical cases; and (3) the structure and clearness of
your answer. All elements of course evaluation will be presented in greater detail during
the first course session and students will have the opportunity to ask questions on any
aspects that remain unclear.
Further non-mandatory (but potentially helpful) readings:
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C. Bartlett and S. Ghoshal, “Tap Your Subsidiaries for Global Reach,” Harvard
Business Review, November-December, 1986, pp. 87-94.
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A. Bartmess and K. Cerny, “Building Competitive Advantage Through Global
Networks of Capabilities,” California Management Review, 35(2), 1993, pp. 78-103.
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J. Birkinshaw and N. Hood, “Unleash Innovation in Foreign Subsidiaries,” Harvard
Business Review, March, 2001, pp. 131-137.
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N. Checa, J. Maguire, and J. Barney, “The New World Disorder,” Harvard Business
Review, August, 2003, pp. 71-79.
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R. Grant, “Contemporary Strategic Analysis,” Oxford: Blackwell (7th ed.), 2010.
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G. Hamel and C. K. Prahalad, “Do You Really Have a Global Strategy,” Harvard
Business Review, July-August, 1985, pp. 139-148.
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M. A. Hitt, R. D. Ireland, and R. E. Hoskisson, “Strategic Management:
Competitiveness and Globalization,” Mason: Thomson (9th ed.), 2010.
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T. M. Hout, M. E. Porter, and E. Rudden, “How Global Companies Win Out,”
Harvard Business Review, September-October, 1982, pp. 98-105.
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A. C. Inkpen and K. Ramaswamy, “Global Strategy: Creating and Sustaining
Advantage across Borders,” New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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G. Johnson, K. Scholes, and R. Whittington, “Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text
and Cases,” New York: Prentice Hall (8th ed.), 2008.
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J. Kurtzman, G. Yago, and T. Phumiwasana, “The Global Costs of Opacity,” MIT
Sloan Management Review, Fall 2004, pp. 38-44.
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M. E. Porter, “The Competitive Advantage of Nations,” Harvard Business Review,
March-April, 1990, 73-93.
Course Faculty:
Sebastian Raisch is Professor of Strategy and acts as Associate Dean and Director of
the MBA program at GSEM. He earned a PhD from the University of Geneva and a
Habilitation from the University of St. Gallen. Previously, he held faculty positions at the
University of St. Gallen and the Harvard Business School. Prior to life in academia, he
was a strategy consultant, working in different European countries.
Sebastian’s current research interests concern the areas of corporate growth,
innovation, organization design, and leadership within multinational firms. His research
has been published in leading journals such as the Academy of Management Journal,
Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies,
and Organization Science. He has won the Academy of Management Executive Best
Paper Award 2005, the Strategic Management Society (SMS) Best Paper Award for
Practice Implications 2010, the SMS Best PhD Paper Prize 2012, the Emerald Citations
of Excellence Award 2012, the Journal of Management Scholarly Impact Award 2013,
and other awards for excellence in research and teaching. Sebastian has conducted
research or consulted top managers in companies such as BMW, Deutsche Bank,
General Electric, Nestlé, Siemens, VW, and UBS.
Jonathan Schad is a PhD student and a teaching assistant at GSEM, under the
supervision of Professor Raisch, since 2011. In addition, he is a research associate at
the Center for Organizational Excellence (CORE). Before joining the team he has been
working and studying in various countries in Europe and Asia.
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Jonathan’s current research concerns corporate growth, organization theory, and
organization design, within multinational firms.
Contact:
Jonathan Schad
Email: Jonathan.Schad@unige.ch
Phone: 022 379 9920
Office: 3228
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