Fostering Global Competence in International Business Students on a Latin American Campus

Purpose This study aims to draw researchers’ attention to the need to differentiate within the emerging market multinational companies (EMNCs) category. This study focuses on international business in Latin America to argue that the region’s specific institutional characteristics have consequences for within-firm decision-making regarding internationalization strategies. Additionally, the study suggests that to develop a more specific understanding of international business in emerging markets, it is important to consider how decision-makers define value and how they can capture such value. Design/methodology/approach The approach used in this study draws on the bathtub analogy used in micro-foundations research in international business. It proposes a multilevel analysis in which micro-level variation in within-firm decision-making is considered, while accounting for the conditioning effects of macro-level contextual factors. Findings The study identifies characteristics of the Latin American institutional context that are relevant to international business strategies and that potentially differ from other emerging market contexts. These include the pendular shifts to and from pro-market economic reform, fragmented government intervention in business, underdeveloped capital markets, low competition among firms and polarized labor markets. The study explains how these characteristics shape the definition of value and firm strategies to capture value in international markets, and provides examples from firms in different industries. Originality/value This study applies a value creation and capture perspective to international business in Latin America, allowing for the simultaneous consideration of macrolevel institutional characteristics and microlevel variation in decision-making regarding internationalization strategies. This perspective not only helps to distinguish Latin American EMNCs from companies from other emerging market contexts, but also explains the considerable variation in the internationalization strategies of firms within the region.

Download Full-text

GranuLab (C): internationalizing GranuMaS

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies ◽

10.1108/20450621211320524 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (8) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Khairul Akmaliah Adham ◽

Mohd Fuaad Said ◽

Nur Sa'adah Muhamad ◽

Saida Farhanah Sarkam ◽

Zizah Che Senik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Strategic Management ◽

Medical Device ◽

International Business ◽

Latin American ◽

High Growth ◽

Capital City ◽

Content Type ◽

Manufacturing Facility ◽

Internationalization Strategies ◽

Medical Device Company

Subject area The area of focus is on internationalization strategies, specifically on developing suitable strategies to support an internationalization initiative of a new medical device company. Study level/applicability This case is designed for final year undergraduate and MBA students. It is suitable for courses of organizational management, organization theory and design, strategic management, and international business as well as international marketing. Case overview GranuLab, a medical device company that produced the synthetic bone graft substitute GranuMaS, aspired to be a high-growth company. To achieve this aspiration the company had made plans for internationalization, which include penetrating the ASEAN, Middle East, Latin American, and African markets within the next five years. By December 2010, GranuLab had completed the construction of its new manufacturing facility in Shah Alam, about 30km from Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur. This manufacturing facility had the capability to produce high volumes to support the company's high growth plan. However, the company's internationalization processes had taken longer than expected and this has led to a low business volume. By mid-2012, the company was forced to make a quick decision as it had suffered a year and a half of operations losses. GranuLab had to formulate a strategy as to how to position GranuMaS and penetrate the targeted markets. Failure to internationalize would incur even greater losses and might hinder the achievement of its high growth aspiration by 2015. Expected learning outcomes This case is designed to stimulate case analysts' thinking into providing recommendations for the appropriate internationalization strategies to be adopted by the management team to ensure that the company could succeed in achieving its goals. The case will expose students to the concepts and theories of strategic management, international business, international entrepreneurship; and facilitate the development of students' abilities to apply those concepts in managerial situations. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

Download Full-text

Learning Styles, Motivation, and Career Choice: Insights for International Business Students From Linguistic Inquiry

Journal of Teaching in International Business ◽

10.1080/08975930.2017.1384949 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (3-4) ◽

pp. 153-167

Author(s):

Xuan Tran ◽

Janae Williams ◽

Bridget Mitre ◽

Victoria Walker ◽

Kala Carter

Keyword(s):

Learning Styles ◽

Career Choice ◽

International Business ◽

Business Students ◽

Linguistic Inquiry

Download Full-text

Dicoma Corporation: challenges for future growth

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies ◽

10.1108/eemcs-05-2019-0111 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Armando Borda ◽

Carlos Cordova ◽

Juan Carlos Leon

Keyword(s):

Learning Outcomes ◽

International Business ◽

Early Stage ◽

Business Students ◽

Multinational Enterprise ◽

International Strategy ◽

International Expansion ◽

Content Type ◽

Business Executive ◽

Academic Level

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: students will identify the reasons for a firm to internationalize and its specific internationalization entry mode; students will distinguish how to follow the client and how physic distance strategies work; students will analyze a host country’s external environment using the PESTEL framework, and they will analyze the international strategies followed by a multinational enterprise using the integration-responsiveness framework as well. Case overview/synopsis The authors explore the case of DICOMA Corporation, a Costa Rican multinational enterprise with presence in five countries. Adrian Sanchez, who is Dicoma’s president, needs to craft an international strategy to increase the international sales in the foreign markets where the firm operates. The company may follow two paths. On the one hand, Dicoma can adopt the strategy of following its major clients to expand overseas, which will lead to the opening of operations in more countries, but making the foreign sales highly dependent on these types of partnerships. This has been so far the path pursued by Dicoma in its international expansion. On the other hand, Dicoma can opt to focus on increasing commitments in the existing international markets where it already has operations by capturing new clients in those locations but scarifying the potential business opportunities to enter into other countries in partnership with its major clients. Complexity academic level Post-graduate early stage business students enrolled in programs such as Master of Business Administration, Master of Management, Master of International Business, executive education programs, among others. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available upon request for educators only. These teaching notes should be shared solely with the instructor and students should not have access to. Please contact your library to gain login or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 5: International Business.

Download Full-text