MMD005: Strategy and International Business

Module code: MMD005

Module provider: International Business and Strategy; Henley Business School

Credits: 10

Level: NA

When you’ll be taught: Summer (vacation) semester

Module convenor: Professor Alain Verbeke, email: alain.verbeke@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 14 July 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This course is intended for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. This is an advanced course focused on the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE), and its implications for international strategic management. 

The course has three main goals:  

First, it provides a critical overview of influential international business strategy literature with a focus on both conceptual and practical managerial insights. This overview should help PhD students to gain a better understanding of the complexity and the challenges associated with managing a large multinational network.  

Second, it aims to prepare PhD students for a professional career, doing work in academia that is relevant to the practice of management, by focusing primarily on the dynamic components of international business strategy and the change processes associated with such strategy. 

Third, the course aims to develop some practical skills, namely through preparing and making presentations, and being actively involved in class discussion. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that the student will be able to: 

1. Have identified and evaluated major international business and strategy frameworks and explore their strengths and limitations.  
2. Have developed a working knowledge of fundamental principles of advanced international business strategy.  
3. Have identified and discussed real-world, managerial examples and applied (international) strategic management principles to issues facing large multinationals to recommend solutions.  

Module content

The course consists of 5 sessions. During each session there will be a lecture with class discussion. Each class participant will also have the opportunity to present his/ her own PhD research outline and should prepare 10-15 minutes, max. 10 slide presentation for this purpose.  

The course will address the following topics: 

• Theories of the MNE  
• MNE Governance  
• Location and the MNE  
• The Management of a Federation  
• Global versus Regional Strategies and Competitiveness  
• Cooperative Arrangements in International Business  
• MNEs and Environmental Strategy  
• Dynamics of international business strategy 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

During the sessions there will be a mix of presentations by the course instructor (this should cover approximately 70% of the time in class) and presentations by participants.  

Study hours

At least 14 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The following penalties for work submitted late will normally apply:  

Assessments with numerical marks 

• where the piece of work is submitted up to 30 calendar days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark; 
• where the piece of work is submitted more than 30 calendar days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.  

Assessments marked Pass/Fail  

• where the piece of work is submitted within 30 calendar days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;  
• where the piece of work is submitted more than 30 calendar days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.  

Groupwork  

Where the work submitted late is a piece of groupwork submitted on behalf of the whole group, the penalty will apply to all members of the group. Individual contributions to groupwork submitted separately by each member will be subject to a late penalty only for the individual contributions that are late 

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission for Postgraduate Flexible programmes can be found at:  

https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmissionpgflexible.pdf?la=en&hash=8A89870FCA07250F482BFA8CD308588F

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work. 

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs