Table of contents

The course is connected to the following study programs

Teaching language

English

Prerequisites

PhD candidates. Applicants with relevant scientific background can be considered if the resources are available.

Recommended previous knowledge

Students who have not had a master’s level course in international business or international management are expected to develop knowledge in this area based on individual reading (MBA textbooks are ok for giving an overview of these areas).

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course/programme, the candidate should be able to

  • Learn the main streams of research and theories of international business and assess these in relation to their own research
  • Provide a critique of the IB literature through reading, reviewing, synthesizing, and writing
  • Review and analyse an academic article in international business for a refereed journal

  • Design a course paper focusing on

    • Introduction, make your contribution clear beyond the research gap
    • Review the literature on the dependent variables
    • Identify the appropriate theory or model or combination thereof
    • Justify your test or extension
    • Develop 2 to 3 related hypotheses
    • Write the methods section, including data collection plans
    • If available, present preliminary results

Contents

This is the main course for candidates taking the specialization in International Business. It is a very demanding course aiming to rapidly bring candidates up to speed on the international business literature. International business is a multidisciplinary subject covering all the functions of business across borders and embedding multiple-theoretical foundations from several social sciences, including sociology, economics, political science, psychology, etc. The international business literature also has multiple levels of analysis, including individual, group, company, agents, stakeholders, business groups, industries, countries, country blocks, and global forces. The course will provide both a broad overview of the international business field as well as a deep dive into selected areas. Major theories of international business will be reviewed, analysed and discussed in class to demonstrate the breadth of international business research, and different disciplinary approaches will be emphasized to provide depth in selected areas.

The majority of the readings are from the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) and other leading IB journals. We will focus our readings on JIBS decade award winners and articles https://aib.msu.edu/awards/jibsdecade.asp

Students are expected to do readings PRIOR to class and evaluate relevant and specific know-how.or-Resources.aspx

Course Preparation

  • Students are required to read all the required articles before class and be ready to discuss them in detail in a Q&A investigative fashion.
  • Suggested readings: Author resources papers in: http://aom.org/Publications/AMJ/Author-Resources.aspx

Teaching and learning methods

The course combines various forms of pedagogy, including lectures, discussions, presentations, reviewing and writing assignments. Main faculty is professor Ilan Alon, but also other internal and external professors may be invited to provide additional lectures in the course.

Examination requirements

Attendance of all and active and informed participation in all lectures

Completion of all assigned tasks for each class

Review of an academic article

All these must be passed before the candidate can hand in the exam.

Examinations

Writing of an academic paper (front part).

Grading: Pass/Fail - where Pass must be equivalent to the letter grade B or better.

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 9:27:32 AM