Developing an International and Technology-Driven Business School Program

Abstract

Academics and practitioners alike have voiced their concerns about how to continuously improve the quality of education in the business school. Two central issues that have received recent attention are (1) how to address a rapidly changing and increasingly global economy, and (2) how to infuse technology into the business school curriculum. Both of these issues are changing at break-neck speed, whereas the academic environment, by its very nature and structure, is struggling to meet these demands ata much slower pace. We attempt to offer solutions to these major issues by developing an action plan for international business and technology. One key factor in developing global and technological programs in business schools is the input of its stakeholders-the international and technological business community. In this study, we report the results of an investigation of the international business and technological community's perceptions of the skills they require of recent business school graduates. A total of 126 business organizations provide insights for business schools to develop action plans to address international and technological needs. A discussion and implications of our findings provides an initial avenue for schools to follow in their strategic planning for the future.     

The increasing internationalization of the international business classroom: Cultural and generational considerations

This article reviews the dynamic demographics of the international business classroom across five Anglo countries: the U.S.A., the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Figures indicate that business education is becoming increasingly international, and that the countries of origin of international business students are changing. Cultural impacts of this increasing internationalization upon international business pedagogy—as well as issues of generational expectations of the classroom experience—are considered, benefits and challenges of the increased cultural diversity in the classroom are discussed, and practical suggestions for instructors teaching in future international business classrooms are detailed.     

Deans’ Forum on the Globalization of Business Education and Development: Reflections and Directions for the Future

In this special issue of the Journal of Teaching in International Business, a number of deans reflect on the growth and development in global business education and development. The objective of the special issue is to provide insight into where the field originated and where it needs to move to continue advancement. Seven articles, written by current and former business school deans and their colleagues, are presented from a strategic perspective that cover the curricular, research, and business community outreach issues as they relate to international business academic and professional development programs. Through the presentation and discussion of these related issues, a dialogue will be started to set the agenda for continued advancement and sustainability of international business education across the globe.     

Business Teaching in the Era of Perestroika

The reform of economy has brought the problem of training personnel quickly for the requirements of market economy in the Soviet Union. Because marketing, especially international marketink education has been a neglected, or occasionally even prohibited side of economic education it has a real demand. But this should not lead to the overemphasis of this area at the expense of other sides of business education. Against this background, I shall try to describe some basic issues of developing higher business teaching in the Soviet Union. Because of the shortages in eeneral business education and its importance even from the viewpoint of teaching in international business, I start with the general issues and deal with international business teaching later. Most arguments raised concern analogously the smaller Eastern European countries, too.     

Variables Affecting Student Interest in International Business Studies

To more effectively internationalize programs, schools of business must better understand the background and international interest of incoming students. The authors designed a study to determine the level of interest in international business studies and to identify variables that may have an effect on that interest. Students enrolled at two-year colleges in the state of Kansas were asked to complete a questionnaire. Over 4,000 completed forms were received from urban, suburban, and rural institutions. The results indicate that environmental factors affect respondents' attitudes and interests more than do demographic variables. Dominant factors influencing the level of interest in international business are: (1) discussions at home relating to international issues, (2) personal knowledge of firms and individuals involved in international business, (3) reading international material outside of required studies, and (4) the respondent's perceived ability to speak a second language. The paper closes with a series of recommendations to educators.     

Place,space, and foreign direct investment into peripheral cities

Perspectives drawn from the economic geography literature are increasingly used to generate insights into locational issues in international business. In this paper, we seek to integrate these literatures further by investigating the locational determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) into peripheral cities within an emerging economy. Peripheral cities in emerging economies are attracting a growing proportion of global FDI flows, but the international business literature lacks a framework for understanding subnational determinants of FDI, particularly into non-core locations. We draw on the core-periphery model to build and test theory on how spatial interdependencies between subnational locations impact on the distribution of FDI inflows into a large and heterogeneous country China. Our results show that whilst peripheral cities tend to have a negative effect on FDI, this effect is positively moderated by proximity to core cities. The results highlight the importance of considering interactions between place and space when investigating locational issues in international business.     

Emergence and Development of a University Curriculum for Corporate Environmental Responsibility

American firms are increasingly under demands, made by government and the public, to be more socially responsible with respect to environmental issues. As environmental and safety concerns have increased, a greater need for individuals with training in environmental responsibility has emerged. This need must be filled by educational institutions. The report concludes with a discussion of issues faced by business school curricula, in particular international business and marketing courses, to foster environmental concern among future graduates.     

The Worldwide Academic Field of Business Ethics: Scholars’ Perceptions of the Most Important Issues

We conducted an international survey of 211 scholars with expertise in business ethics. Each respondent was asked to identify the three most important issues that business ethics academia will face in the coming decade. Using content analytic procedures, responses were categorized and analyzed for commonalities. The results suggest that the most important issues facing business ethics academia in the future will be the following: (1) issues relating to business ethics education such as curriculum, pedagogy, faculty, and accreditation (2) the credibility of the business ethics field, (3) environmental issues, (4) issues relating to business ethics research such as research tools and quality of business ethics research (5) the decline of ethical behavior in society and organizations, (6) corporate social responsibility (CSR), (7) globalization, and (8) the institutionalization of ethics into business. We maintain that these issues have important teaching and research implications for the future sustainability of the business ethics discipline.     

Globalization of Business Curriculum and International Marketing

Most educators, supported by the AACSB, agree that education for business should be internationalized. The approaches to its achievement are varied. This article argues that there is only a single strategy that is preferred, namely the integration of international issues into all business courses rather than being treated in isolation.     

Determination of Export Channel Strategies–The Experience of New Zealand Firms

ABSTRACT

There are many issues which need to be considered when businesses decide to internationalise their operations. One of the issues is the choice of export channels. The choice of export channels has a decisive impact on a firm's international marketing program. Export channel decisions are well researched in many countries However little attention has been made to investigate the choice of export channels by New Zealand international marketers This study examines the factors influencing the choice of export channels of 115 New Zealand firms conducting business with Taiwan. The results suggest that marketer's choice of export channels is influenced by the host market's business system, market size of the industry in the host market, and the degree of produce differentiation. The host market's business system is revealed for the first time to be a factor influencing the choice of export channels.     

Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives

We argue that many MNCs continue to underestimate the complexities involved in global staffing and that organisations and academics must take a more strategic view of staffing arrangements in an international context. We suggest that the context for the management and handling of the international assignment has altered significantly, leading in some quarters to a fundamental reassessment of the contribution of, and prospects for, the international assignment as conventionally understood. We explore a variety of supply side issues, cost issues, demand side issues and career issues as triggers to this reassessment. Alongside the conventional expatriate assignment, we point to the emergence of a portfolio of alternatives to the traditional international assignment including short-term assignments, commuter assignments, international business travel and virtual assignments. In the context of these developments, we argue that a standardised approach to international assignments is untenable and that it is essential to develop HR policies and procedures that reflect differences in the various forms of emerging alternative international assignments and their associated complexities. Here recruitment and selection, training, reward, and occupational health and safety issues and implications are all explored.     

Lessons learned from international expansion failures and successes

Many retail and restaurant companies adopt international expansion as a strategy to take advantage of business opportunities presented by target markets. Common objectives include increasing revenue, escaping a hypercompetitive or saturated home market, entering an emerging or lucrative market, and leveraging domestic capabilities in a bordering country. Success in international expansion is not guaranteed, however; the business world is littered with failures. In this article, we examine the international expansion failures of five service companies that opened physical facilities in a foreign country: Target, Tim Hortons, Best Buy, Tesco, and Walmart. While a variety of factors led to these failures, some common causes have been identified. These include a lack of understanding of the purchasing characteristics of consumers, underestimation of the local competition, supply chain issues, and poor strategic decisions regarding facility location and the rate of expansion. Not all international expansions are failures, though, and herein we also present the success stories of Aldo, Carrefour, and Nordstrom. These companies understood customer preferences and focused on location issues and their supply chains. Based on the aforementioned failures and successes, we offer guidance for companies looking to expand their business operations via a physical presence in a foreign country.     

The Ukraine/Russia conflict: Geopolitical and international business strategies

The Ukraine and Russian conflict is one of the most pressing current global business issues. It has become a political and social issue that is influencing business practices around the world. While the topic is popular in the mainstream business press, there has been relatively little academic work on the topic. To address this gap, this article discusses the impact of the conflict on international business in terms of the perception by society about Ukrainian or Russian business activities. This means highlighting how a conflict can involve direct military intervention but also social interaction. This article reveals that there are many effects on global business stemming from the Ukraine–Russian conflict many of which are currently known, but others will be known in the future. Managerial implications are stated in the article that highlights the cultural and social impact of the crisis as well as future research suggestions for international business researchers that stress the importance of the conflict.     

International business,innovation and ambidexterity: A micro-foundational perspective

Research on international business and innovation has accumulated a vast body of knowledge which has assisted in comprehending complex international management issues in diverse international settings. Yet, the existing studies have not paid sufficient attention to the multifaceted aspects of innovation and ambidexterity. We join the conversation with international business and innovation by suggesting that investigating the micro-foundations from a multidisciplinary perspective situated in varying international contexts can advance our collective understandings of the phenomena in important ways. This paper has three general objectives. First, we show that innovation and ambidexterity has been a long-standing issue in international management and business studies and provide an overview of the puzzles that underpin and trigger this special issue. Second, we highlight the key insights and contributions of the papers included in this special issue by reviewing their theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches and findings. Finally, we outline a future research agenda that can help advance on international business and innovation research.     

A Worldwide Survey of Business Ethics in the 1990s

This unique collection of reports encompasses a wide range of challenges and activities of business ethics in most parts of the world. In the introduction, after a brief explanation of the sixfold questionnaire and its assumptions, I try to highlight a number of striking features contained in these reports, which may help to delineate the state-of-the-art of business ethics at national and regional levels. As a result of this international comparison, the following features deserve particular attention: the relevance of semantics, corruption, leadership, corporate responsibilities, the need for case studies, business ethics as a social institution, and the question as to how important international issues really are.     

International Business Negotiations A Turn-Key Project

The article describes and analyses the negotiation process between a Swedish supplier and an African customer. Although the literature on international business negotiations is very poor, it is reviewed; a model for international business negotiations is developed and then utilised to describe and analyse a case-study. The factors influencing the negotiation process are identified and conclusions are drawn; the process took a very long time, more than two years, and a number of unexpected issues caused interference in the process. The differences in cultural background and the atmosphere between the parties strongly affected their chances of reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement.     

Market entry into Africa: Acquisitions and international joint ventures. Studies of foreign firms' market entry strategies,challenges, and performance in Africa

While the interest in investing in Africa is rising, the know‐how of business on the continent is very limited. There have been only recently few special issues focusing on sub‐Saharan Africa in the top international business journals: “Sub‐Saharan Africa at a key inflection point” (Thunderbird International Business Review 2009); “Contemporary developments in the management of human resources in Africa” (Journal of World Business 2011); “Contemporary challenges and opportunities of doing business in Africa” (Journal of Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2016); “Critical perspectives on international business in Africa (Critical Perspectives on International Business 2016); “Strategic Management in Africa (Global Strategy Journal, 2017); and “The internationalization of African firms (Thunderbird International Business Review 2016). The aim of this special issue is to advance understanding of international business in Africa and specifically focus on how foreign firms enter African markets via acquisitions and international joint ventures and extend knowledge of these market entry strategies and performance in Africa for research and for foreign firms intending to, or currently doing business in Africa. This guest editorial provides a summary of the five articles and one book review in this special issue categorized into three broad thematic issues: International joint ventures and acquisitions as market entry strategies in Africa; cross‐border investments of African firms; and theoretical underpinnings.     

Natural resources,multinational enterprises and sustainable development

The natural resources sectors have not been prominent in the recent international business (IB) or management literature. We argue that the natural resources sectors, if not unique, are certainly characterized by a set of features that make them different, and raise issues that are central to international business. We identify two broad areas: the theory of FDI and the MNE, and the link between MNEs and sustainable development. We survey the relevant literature, much of it from outside IB, and identify a rich menu of research opportunities for IB scholars, many of which are addressed in the papers in this Special Issue.     

Integrating Cross-Cultural Marketing Research Training in International Business Education Programs: It's Time,and Here's Why and How

International business necessitates that its international business educators prepare today's workforce with skills necessary to take on cross-cultural research tasks and challenges. Yet, global business finds these skills in short supply. Perhaps this is the case because empirical evidence shows U.S. academic coverage of cross-cultural research complexities are severely limited as measured by text coverage. Slightly lagging behind international business and marketing programs located outside the United States in recognizing and acting on this this need, many U.S. programs now seek to enhance cross-cultural coverage. However, empirical evidences show that U.S.-based programs and the textbooks they use are lagging behind in their treatment of cross-cultural marketing research. Coverage in these texts is typically limited to a single chapter that repeats basic research concepts usually covered in principles of marketing courses. This article discusses a customized international marketing research course integrated with training that includes cross-cultural research issues and complexities and provides a framework of criteria useful in selecting an appropriate text.