General Information
Instructor(s)
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- Global Management (c)
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship (c)
Target Audience
Students wanting to lead entrepreneurial ventures into foreign markets and those who wanting to provide resources (e.g. investment capital or consulting advice) to such firms. This course is part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship major and the Global Management major.
Format
The course will be offered online using BB Collaborate for five successive mornings (8 a.m. to 12 p.m.) starting on Monday, 13 July 2020 and ending on Friday, 17 July 2020. There will be a final class during the morning of Tuesday, 28 July 2020 for teams to present their company international plan.
Course Mission
The learning objectives of the course are to sharpen students’ ability to:
- Understand and assess the opportunities and challenges of internationalization for young firms;
- Recognize how these may vary by firm, industry and geographic location;
- Recognize how managers can mitigate the challenges; and
- Work collaboratively in a team to apply the concepts of the course to the development of an internationalization plan for a young company.
Course Scope
Pursuing international opportunities is essential to the growth of entrepreneurial ventures, particularly in Canada and other countries with a small domestic market. However, internationalization is often challenging for the leaders of young high-growth firms because of financial and managerial resource constraints. This course highlights the challenges such firms face in entering foreign markets and the mechanisms they use to overcome them. It differs from a traditional international business course because it focuses on the early internationalization issues of young firms, rather than the issues of managing established multinational corporations. Topics include global business models, global scaling, the tension between localization and standardization, location selection, foreign market entry sequencing, and overcoming the liability of outsidership in a foreign market. We will pay particular attention to the role of digital processes and products in overcoming — and creating — hurdles to internationalization.
By the end of the intensive first week, students will have a framework for understanding and assessing the internationalization challenges faced by young entrepreneurial firms and how they may be mitigated. The final activity that week is a hand-in case analysis. The course then goes on hiatus for 10 days so that students, in teams, can apply this framework and develop an internationalization plan for a young company of their choosing. We will reconvene for a last class on Tuesday, 28 July 2020 for the teams to present their plans.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Case Analysis | 40% |
| Company Internationalization Plan and Presentation | 40% |
| Class Contribution | 20% |
Required Resources
We will use a combination of case studies, discussions, in-class exercises, readings, lectures, and student presentations to learn about international entrepreneurship. Cases span a variety of industries and countries. I will post links to the material available through the internet and the university library, and a course packet will need to be purchased.
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