International Marketing (in English)

Course Description
This course is an introduction to international marketing. Topics include analytical
techniques used in international market research, determining prices and distribution
channels in an international context, marketing across linguistic and cultural borders.
This course will be taught both online and on-site (except for those few who will follow
this whole course online).

Course Goals and Methodology
The main objectives of the course are to enable you to understand in some depth:
1. The complexity of global marketing environment in which multinational
enterprises operate.
2. The theoretical framework of international marketing.
3. The international dimensions of marketing.
4. The importance of international marketing.
The means to attain these objectives include a thorough study of class notes, slides,
case analysis, and in-class small group discussions.

Learning Objectives
Through this course, students will:
• Develop understanding about what is involved in making international marketing
decisions, including product, price, promotion, and place decisions to create a
marketing plan.
• Evaluate different cultural, political, and legal environments influencing
international trade.
• Develop creative international market entry strategies.
• Communicate effectively about marketing issues in group discussions, oral
presentations and written reports.
• Discover sources of information for searching and evaluating international
markets

Course Requirements and Grading
Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
• Mid-term Exam 20%
• Final Project 30%
• Final Exam 25%
• Quizzes 10%
• (*) Class Participation & Articles 15%
Note: All assignments, quizzes, and examinations will be announced in class.
• Final Project: Following the International Marketing Plan hand-out given in class,
students (Groups of 3-4) will have to develop the project introducing a product
and/or service in a foreign country. After doing so they will have to present this
project in class for about 30 minutes.
• Final and Midterm Exam will consist in 5 questions. A minimum mark of 5 (on a
10-point scale) must be achieved in order to pass the exam. All questions will be
related to the material seen in class.
• There will be 5 quizzes during the course, all of them will be announced one week
in advance and will have 10 questions (true/false and multiple choices)
(*) Attendance and participation are related but, nevertheless, quite different.
Attendance is required, of course. At the same time, one's contributions to the course
your attendance. What you do when you show up is your participation: it is the measure
of your engagement in the readings/discussions/lectures of the course. "Participation" is
not just a measure of the quality and quantity of your exchanges with your instructor but
also with your peers in the class, especially those you might find who will critique,
question, or simply seek clarification about your own stances taken or interpretations
offered about the readings in our class.

Course Contents
UNIT I: UNDERSTANDING MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
• Domestic Marketing
• International Marketing
• Why International Marketing
• Core Marketing concepts
UNIT II: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
• The Cultural Environment
• The Economic Environment
• The Political and Legal Environment
UNIT III: STRATEGIC PLANNING AND ANALYZING OPPORTUNITIES
• Strategic marketing process: planning, implementation and control phases.
• International market expansion: Phases
• Strategic options for international Expansion
• Market Entry Method Options
UNIT IV: IDENTIFYING MARKET SEGMENTS AND SELECTING TARGET MARKETS
• International Marketing Research
• International Segmentation
• Differentiation and Positioning in international markets.
UNIT V: CROSS-CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
• Culture and Consumer Behaviour
• The influence of culture on certain aspects of behaviour
• The global convergence of consumption patterns
• Mixed local/global consumer behaviour
UNIT VI: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MIX
• International Product: Standardization vs Adaptation
• International Pricing
• International Promotion
• International Distribution management
Class Schedule
WEEK 1. Presentation and Overview to the course.
WEEK 2. UNIT I
Activity 1: Managing Oneself
WEEK 3. UNIT II
Final Project (Groups)
Activity 2: Economic Indicators
WEEK 4. UNIT II
Activity 3: Culture (Macroenvironment)
Case 1: McDonald’s
WEEK 5. UNIT III
Activity 4: Company Information
WEEK 6. UNIT IV
Midterm Exam
Activity 5: Segmentation
WEEK 7. UNIT IV
Activity 6: Positioning
WEEK 8. UNIT V
Activity 7: Competitors
WEEK 9. UNIT V
Activity 8: IM Strategies
WEEK 10. UNIT VI
Case 2: IKEA
WEEK 11. UNIT VI
Activity 9: Standarization vs adaptation.
WEEK 12. UNIT VI
Activity 10: SWOT Analysis.
WEEK 13. Final Presentations.
WEEK 14. Final Presentations.
WEEK 15. Final Exam.
Note: this schedule can be changed according to teacher’s criteria