This module aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the key aspects of operations and management of international business placed within organizational, environmental and managerial context. The underlying concepts of international business will be discovered through the study of real-world examples. The knowledge that students will have acquired by the end of the module will serve as a solid foundation on which further studies can be applied. The module can be broadly divided into two major parts: the Nature of International Business & its External Environment; and the International Strategic Management. We will review and challenge key theories and evidence underlying current trends in International Business development using examples from the most recent research.

The first part of the module will broadly introduce students to the concept of International Business (IB) and how it has evolved over the past few decades. We will discuss the key theories explaining the internationalisation of firms, and recent trends underlying international business developments. Next we will consider the external environment of International Business, in particular focusing on how a variety of institutional contexts affect the functioning and decision-making of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Specific attention will be devoted to the discussion of the importance of MNEs for host economies, and their interaction with the Government, largely drawing on the bargaining theory and illustration of the application of the game theory to explaining such interaction.

The second part of the module will be devoted to the issues of strategic business management, starting with the discussion of foreign entry modes; international competitive dynamism and the way its shapes the formation of global corporate strategy; the choice of an organisational structure;production, human resources and marketing strategies; financial strategic management; and corporate social responsibility.

Additionally, the module will also introduce students to the aspects of international business operation and strategic management in the context of emerging economies, with emphasis on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the BRICs economies.