Time and place: 11-14.01.2021 (week 2)
Due to numerous uncertainties related to COVID-19 outbreak, the course will be held on-line
Learning goal and objectives
Entrepreneurship is recognized as an important driving force behind economic growth, social development, and individual and regional wealth. Nowadays, more and more young and small firms, especially from SMOPEC countries like Finland, seek for opportunities abroad and internationalize at the very early stages of their development. In addition, big and established corporations are constantly looking for more entrepreneurial ways of organizing their operations and innovating across national borders. Therefore, the course takes a broad perspective on international entrepreneurship (IE) meaning that neither the type, age nor size of the activities or organization matter.
Hence, this course will provide an in-depth theoretical perspective on dimensions and challenges of global venture creation and growth. The course offers a framework for understanding the entrepreneurial process in global contexts and exposes students to key issues and problems specific to international ventures. Being a doctoral-level course, it intends to deepen students’ knowledge on IE theoretical foundations in relation to broader International Business and Entrepreneurship domains. The course is targeted for those doctoral students, whose dissertations are related to the topic of IE.
Content:
The course will cover the following themes:
- the field of international entrepreneurship;
- concept of an international opportunity;
- international entrepreneurial culture;
- definitions and types of international new venture (INVs);
- foreign market entry and growth of INVs;
- international entrepreneurial marketing
- network relations and social capital during entrepreneurial internationalization
Intended learning outcomes:
On successful completion of the course, the students will:
- be able to describe the foundations and different pathways to international entrepreneurship;
- be able to describe, compare, criticize and apply the most important theories and explanatory frameworks from international entrepreneurship;
- understand how established big firms can seek for more entrepreneurial international operations
Instruction and examination
To complete the course, students have to write an essay reflecting on how their dissertation relates to IE field and how it intends to advance it (it may further become a basis for the parts of dissertation devoted to positioning of the thesis and intended contributions).
Credits: 6 ECTS
Grading: the final essay will be assessed against set up criteria and based on a five-level grading (sufficient, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent) or passed/failed) Prerequisites: participants are to have appropriate knowledge (equivalent to Master-level) in at least one of the areas: 1) international business, 2) international marketing, and 3) entrepreneurship.
Admittance: 25 students are admitted to the course. The application to the course should include no more than one page text including a) max 250 word description of the dissertation project and b) motivation/reasons an applicant needs to participate in the course. This information should be sent as an attachment to the course coordinator Tamara Galkina ( tamara.galkina@uva.fi) by Sunday 29.11.2020 at 23:59. Participants will be notified about their admittance by Friday 4.12.2020.
Instructors:
Pavlos Dimitratos (Core themes covered during the course: International entrepreneurial culture and growth of INV firms): Professor of International Business, University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business, Scotland, UK. His research interests are in international entrepreneurship, international management and international strategy. He has supervised more than 15 PhD students to completion. He has also been coordinator and investigator in several international business research projects collaborating with colleagues across the world; while served as a consultant to organizations such as the European Union, Scottish Enterprise and UNCTAD. His publications include more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 6 edited books, and more than 30 book chapters. His publications appear in a number of prestigious journals, including British Journal of Management; Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice; International Business Review; International Small Business Journal; Journal of International Business Studies; Journal of Management Studies; Journal of Small Business Management; Journal of World Business; Management International Review; and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
Antonella Zucchella (Core themes covered during the course: Drivers of early internationalization, INV types, international opportunities and business models): Professor in Marketing, University of Pavia, Italy: She took her PhD in management at Bocconi University, Milan. She’s been Associate Professor at Insubria University, Varese, Italy and then Full Professor at Pavia University since 2001. Her areas of research interest include International business, International Entrepreneurship, International marketing, Sustainable firms and internationalization, Small firms internationalization strategies, Local clusters and internationalization of local systems. Antonella has published in top academic journals such as International Business Review, Journal of World Business, Management International Review, International Marketing Review.
Peter Gabrielsson (Core themes covered during the course: International entrepreneurial marketing): Professor in International Marketing, University of Vaasa, Finland: His research interests include the globalization process of firms, born globals, international entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial marketing and global marketing strategies. He has also successfully supervised doctoral students. He has led several large research projects (“Born Globals: Growth Stages and Survival Project” and “International New Ventures in the Health Sector” financed by TEKES) and published in journals including the Journal of International Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, International Business Review, Management International Review, and International Marketing Review. He has extensive experience in senior management positions at Nokia and other global ICT firms.
Tamara Galkina (Core themes covered during the course: Networking in international entrepreneurship): Associate Professor in International Marketing, University of Vaasa, Finland: She has a PhD in Entrepreneurship and management from Hanken School of Economics. Her research has focused on international entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurship and networking. She has published in several journals, e.g. Management International Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Small Enterprise Research, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, International Business Review and been very active on several conferences. She got a best paper award at Academy of International Business (AIB) conference in 2014.
Course coordinator and contact information: Tamara Galkina, Associate Professor in International Marketing, University of Vaasa ( tamara.galkina@uva.fi)