Bachelor's Studies

Learning Outcomes:
An understanding of the ‘costs of distance’, how formal and informal institutional differences between countries can be measured, and in what ways does this impact on the strategies of firms. An appreciation of the economic and non-economic roles of multinational enterprises and their impact on the home and host economies.

Contents of the course:
The origins and impact of the economic, social and institutional differences between countries, and their implications for firm strategy. The political and social role of multinational enterprises in their home and host countries.

Seminar
ECTS: 6

Learning outcomes: 
At the end of the semester, students who have successfully participated in this course should be able to:
•  demonstrate an understanding of the principles underlying the design and analysis of empirical data;
•  identify appropriate descriptive methods for particular research questions;
•  interpret the meaning of the most important descriptive methods in quantitative analysis.

Contents of course:
This seminar aims to introduce students to different sources of empirical data and appropriate descriptive research methods in the field of international business. Basic knowledge of how to use empirical data is critical to designing and conducting empirical research projects.

Seminar
ECTS: 6

Learning outcomes:
Students will develop a framework that enables them to analyze crossborder private-public cooperation from both a corporate and public policy perspective. Specifically, the course focuses on the relationship between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the European Union. Several concrete cases will be analyzed and discussed, sharpening student’s discussion and presentation skills. By the end of the course, students have a solid understanding of
1) the management of global and regional value chains,
2) an ecosystem view on innovative clusters,
3) European initiatives and cluster policies on the supranational, national and local level.

Contents of course:
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are pictured as global giants, even though International Business scholars are long aware that much of their economic activity is directed towards their home region, sometimes their home country, and most often concentrated in local clusters. One reason for this is found in the structure of public policy initiatives that support the innovative operations of MNEs on a regional level. Under the institutional framework of the European Union (EU), these governance initiatives are becoming gradually more encompassing and their relevance increases in the context of global challenges such as climate change, digitalization and, most recently, Covid-19.
This course builds on the theoretical perspective of ecosystems to analyze public-private governance in the European aerospace and renewable energy industries. We will discuss the basic framework of EU institutions and how particular initiatives support MNEs in their operations. This latter perspective includes a look at the concrete mechanisms that facilitate international business on the local or city level.

Seminar
ECTS: 9

Learning outcomes:
Development of research skills, analytical problem solving as well as the skills required for team work. Practical application and deepening of the knowledge acquired on prior courses.

Contents of the course:
Research topics or case-based projects on international management that are grounded in practice.

Projectplenum
ECTS: 12

Contents of the seminar:
• general explanations of the scientific requirements for the Bachelor thesis (learning objective: scientific work),
• details on the scientific characteristics of the subject concerned (e.g. methods, theories, most important journals, subject areas),
• exchange between students on their respective work results

Seminar
ECTS: 3