Background  

You work as a senior analyst for a leading market consultancy company in London. At a recent meeting with a large British company, the Business Development Director asked you a number of questions about how strategic decisions are made in international business. You proceed to mention the strongly established approaches to strategy which are known to guide strategic decision-making all over the world. Because of time pressures on the meeting, the Director then asked you to put together a written report that clearly and informatively explains the principles and implications of an strategic approach to international business.

Objective of written report

Select from one of the following theoretical viewpoints on international strategy. Explain and critically discuss the history, principles and relevance of the chosen theory for international strategic decision-making.

    • Industry Structure (M-Porter)
    • Resource Based View
    • Institutional theory

Word count is 4,000 words. You have the option of having 10% less or plus words.

 Structure of Report

The report should follow this structure:

  • Introduction (200 words max)
  • Background to theory. Briefly explain the context and background to the theory’s development, including the major view (s) of strategy preceding the theory, why it emerged, and a brief insight into the scholars which developed and promoting the theory.  Include any other relevant points that captures why and how this theory emerged.
  • Central rules, principles/assumptions of the theory. The theory’s rules and guidance on how the international firm will design strategy (use recent industry and/or corporate examples to illustrate).
  • The relationship between the theory’s assumptions (and/or central constructs) and the following:
  • Integration-Responsiveness Framework (see Lecture 6)
  • Foreign entry Mode selection (see Lectures 10 and 11)
  • International market selection (see Lecture 7)
  • Critical analysis of the theory’s usefulness for contemporary international strategy. Specifically, comment on the advantages (if any) and disadvantages (if any) of theory for contemporary international corporate decision-makers. Provide a comparative analysis of the chosen theory with the other two theories from the list above.
  • Summary (200 words max)

Further requirements and tips

  • The information and analysis of the report must be sufficiently grounded in academic literature. This is really important. There must be a significant volume of academic citations and studies coming through the report.
  • Draw on relevant contemporary industry and/or corporate examples to illustrate your arguments. This is really important. For example, if explaining institutional theory, you should have examples of international strategy being affected by formal and informal institutions.
  • It is essential that the principle assumptions of the theory remain consistent throughout the report.
  • Proof read your work. Ensure you or somebody else carefully examines the work for typos or grammatical errors.  Do not undermine your work with sloppy presentation.
  • Do not deviate from the structure outlined above.