Time and place: Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, LUT Business School, November 1-4, 2027
Learning goal and objectives: The course gives an advanced overview of principal theories, conceptual foundations, and research traditions in the field of international business (IB). Students will engage with key studies, the historical development of the field, its current state, and emerging directions in areas such as internationalisation processes and international entrepreneurship, international strategy, headquarters-subsidiary relationships, and multinational corporation (MNC) management, including cross-border M&As. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the core assumptions, analytical logics, and the evolution of major streams of IB research.
Through the reading, analysis, and discussion of relevant scholarship, participants will strengthen their ability to engage in scientific argumentation and academic writing. In doing so, the course is intended to support doctoral students in refining research ideas, formulating rigorous and relevant research problems, and advancing the design and writing of a doctoral thesis in international business.
Students who successfully complete this course unit are expected to be able to:
- Knowledge and understanding: Develop and refine research problems in the field of International Business that address contemporary issues, and contribute both to academic knowledge and to broader societal impact and relevance. Critically evaluate IB research in terms of its contributions, limitations, and implications.
- Intellectual skills: Contribute to debates around the boundaries of IB as a field and critically assess IB research with regards to its underlying assumptions, theoretical logic and limitations.
- Transferrable skills and personal qualities: Communicate and write scholarly contributions in a clear and persuasive manner, position their work within existing literature, and engage constructively with academic peers and collaborators.
Instruction and examination:
Credits: 6 ECTS
Grading: The course includes 1) pre-course work with reading a package of research articles, 2) 4-day intensive instruction with lecturing, and discussion and active participation and 3) writing of a final research paper. The course examination is based on active participation during the course and a written report on a chosen IB topic.
Prerequisites: PhD student
Admittance: 25 students are admitted to the course. To apply, send the application to the course coordinator by email by the 3rd of September 2027. The acceptance will be informed within a few days after the registration deadline. Please note that as the number of participants is limited, the application (when accepted) is binding. In case you would have to cancel, please inform us immediately.
The application is a maximum 1-page motivation letter including a short description of the applicant’s PhD research, stage of the doctoral studies, motives for attending the course. The following template should be used:
Name:
Degree:
Address:
Tel.:
E-mail:
University, faculty and department:
Major:
Officially accepted as Ph.D. student (when and where?):
Research field:
Subject or title of dissertation:
Phase of doctoral studies:
Motives for participating in the course:
Instructors: Ulf Andersson, Rudolf Sinkovics, Desislava Dikova, and Olli Kuivalainen
Ulf Andersson, Professor, Mälardalen University Sweden, Adjunct Professor at BI Norwegian Business School, Senior Editor of Journal of World Business, research focus: strategy and management of the MNE, subsidiary development, knowledge governance and transfer, and network theory
Rudolf R. Sinkovics (Dr.rer.soc.oec, WU-Vienna, Austria) is Professor of Strategy and International Business at Durham University, United Kingdom, and Visiting Professor at LUT University, Finland. His research covers issues of inter-organizational governance, the role of advanced technologies, and responsible business. He is Editor-in-Chief of Critical Perspectives on International Business and serves on several editorial boards.
Olli Kuivalainen, Professor of International Marketing and Entrepreneurship at LUT Business School. His expertise covers broad areas of international business, marketing, entrepreneurship and technology management and their interfaces. Recent research covers areas such as decision-making in internationalisation, early and rapid internationalisation, digitalisation, sustainability, and their effect on value chain, and governance among internationalising SME. He is Associate editor of International Marketing Review.
Desislava Dikova is Professor of International Business at WU Vienna (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and Professor of Strategy at Kozminski University Warsaw, Poland. Prof. Dikova is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of East-West Business, Senior Associate Editor of European Management Review, Senior Editor of the Journal of International Management and Co-Editor of AIB Insights. Her research focuses on multinational firms’ internationalization strategies, particularly foreign market entry and divestment, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, SMEs’ internationalization and pro-environmental strategies.
Course coordinator and contact information: Olli Kuivalainen, olli.kuivalainen@lut.fi