International Strategic Partnerships

The course will introduce students to main theories and approaches on market networks from the perspective of a B2B company in an international context. Different approaches to  theories on and tools for the analysis of relationships and networks will be explored, explained, discussed and applied. 

The course is composed of three major parts

• Different theoretical perspectives constituting the relationship and network perspective on B2B markets 
• The consequences of a relationship and network perspective for the understanding of various core issues in business markets e.g. make-or-buy decisions, modes of and capabilities for international sourcing, collaboration with suppliers and customers, strategic roles and positions of firms in the global value chain, and customer relationship management (CRM) 
• The application of a relationship and network approach to real life cases  

Focus is for the student to become able to implement a relationship and network perspective in the development and implementation of business strategy, where customer satisfaction and loyalty are prime performance measures. 

• The overall purpose is to enable students to describe, analyze and evaluate a firm from a network perspective.  
• The course provides the students with the ability to evaluate and make suggestions for improving the position of a firm in the wider network(s) in which it is embedded.  
• The course offers a managerial decision-making viewpoint on networks as seen through the eyes of marketing management in (primarily) B2B firms. 

On successful completion of the course, the student is able to:  
• analyze a company in its environment, by applying approaches, concepts, and theories from the course,   
• analyze a dyad and a network, by applying approaches, concepts and theories from the course,   
• identify and evaluate problematic aspects of a firm's networks activities by applying approaches, concepts and theories from the course   
• develop suggestions for changing a firm’s position in networks by applying approaches, concepts, and theories from the course  
• manage the transactions and relationships between various firms in a network by applying concepts and theories from the course  
• assess global contextual factors impacting on the sourcing phenomenon  and account for various forms of network enterprise and link these to the growth in global sourcing activities. 

The student meeting the learning goals can:  
• demonstrate an overview of, and in-depth knowledge on of the different concepts, models and theories covered by the course   
• demonstrate a general understanding of the assumptions on which the different approaches, concepts, models and theories have been built   
• demonstrate a good understanding of the consequences of choosing a particular theoretical approach to the problems at hand  
• understand and reflect on firm's current networks and its relations to customers and suppliers  
• analyze and reflect on the dyadic relationships and networks that the firm is part of   
• reflect on the necessity of initiating and implementing changes in the firms' marketing and sourcing strategies   
• reflect on the necessity of initiating and implementing changes in the firms' network position and business model.  

Lectures, student presentations, and class discussions. It is expected that the students take an active part in the discussions, presentations, and feed-back in the class through group work and a ‘flipped classroom’ structure.  

Within the first two weeks, students are organized in teams, which form the back-bone students' learning and exam activities.    

For the exam, students must prepare a report. To support the students in reaching the learning goals before the final exam, all teams is offered to present their report to their peers. The report is based on a case study. Case studies are handed out by the course instructors and focuses on selected parts of the literature.   

Each group should be present at and undertake a peer-to-peer discussion of the work presented by the other groups. This discussion could take place in blogs on black-board. Based on the peer-to-peer discussion the group may revise their presentation and composes the final report. 

The report creates the foundation for the exam, but the teams are expected continuously to develop and refine their case study and select and prepare further relevant theoretical perspectives from the course to be applied for the presentation of the report at the exam. Thus, the work on the portfolio report is an ongoing process, throughout the entire semester. 

Scheduled classes:

4 hours weekly in 11 weeks. The teaching starts at the beginning of September.

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These teaching activities result in an estimated distribution of the work effort of an average student as follows:

Lectures and other activities in the class: 44 hours. 
Preparation: 190 hours.
Preparation for exam: 36 hours.
In total: 270 hours.