International Sales Environment (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

The course provides a theoretically grounded overview of key issues, opportunities and challenges in international sales environment.

We shall assess globalization and the consequent changes in firms operating environment and analyze the needs to adjust firms strategies and sales operations due to these changes. Theoretically, the course utilizes especially dynamic capabilities framework in the context of international growth of SMEs.

The course covers key principles of conducting business in the international dimension. The role of politics and regulation are covered. Moreover, selected markets are analyzed from the perspective of international growth and sales. Also, ethical issues as well as social and environmental responsibility are addressed.

The purpose of the course is to present the most important forces affecting international sales environment today.

The key objectives of the course are:

1. To introduce the dynamic capabilities framework to analyze international business environment
2. To introduce various modes of conducting sales operations across borders
3. Familiarize students with the planning, implementation and management of sales activities in international business environments.

The learning outcomes include:

1. The enhanced awareness of differences in global business environment (including political, regulation and cultural aspects)

2. Understanding the dynamics affecting sales operations conducted in different global business environments

3. Understanding the related ethical and social responsibility issues

Objective

After completing the course, the student is able to:
-Understand special requirements connected to working in international surroundings and remote sales management
-Identify differences between different cultures of interest of the group
-Develop techniques to cope with cultural ways of behaving in sales
-Familiarize himself with chosen cultural areas

Content

-Requirements of international sales and sales management
-Different cultural groupings
-Knowledge about cultural characteristics and differences between Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, America
-Ethics in sales

Materials

Kuuluvainen, Arto (2011): Dynamic capabilities in the international growth of small and medium-sized firms.
Availabe f.ex. in:
https://www.utupub.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/113653/Ae4_2011.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Teaching methods

Learning cases
Learning diaries
Analysis of selected export markets (project work)

International connections

Team learning

Student workload

Lectures, group works during lectures, project work (analysis of selected export markets), independent work

Totally 135 hours

Further information

ItsLearning-platform