International Business

International Business focuses on the management challenges that face companies whose operations extend across national boundaries. The challenges facing a manager of a multinational enterprise (MNE) differ from those in a purely domestic organization in a variety of ways. MNEs have operations in multiple sovereign nation states, complete with a greater range of social and cultural differences. Coupled with the varying economic and political systems, is the need for a more complex competitive strategy.

Global Strategy is typically divided into three parts. The Strategic Imperative considers: Expanding Abroad, Understanding the International Context, and Developing Transnational Strategies. The Organizational Challenges includes: Developing a Transnational Organization, Creating Worldwide Innovation and Learning, and Engaging in Cross-Border Collaboration. The Managerial Implications focus on Implementing the Strategy, and The Future of the Transnational.

Additional topics covered in the I.B. area in more specialized courses include: International Joint Ventures and Alliances; The Legal Environment of the MNE; Internationalization; The Ivey Global Lab; and Doing Business in… Seminars.

Area Groups