Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge — Become familiar with the most significant historical stages in the development of internationalisation in business, from the pioneering efforts of wholesale merchants on the Silk Route to the three big waves of globalisation that have taken place in the world from the second half of the 19th century to the present. — Understand the most important theories that have contributed to analysing and understanding the internationalisation of business from a long-term perspective. — Identify the variety of models of internationalisation that have appeared throughout history, including those developed by large multinationals, small and medium-sized companies and business networks. — Analyse the main external determinants of success or failure affecting the internationalisation of a variety of businesses in different periods and territories of the world, with particular attention to the dynamic and changing role of the State and the financial system. — Learn how to use concepts to make sense of and generalise about the wide variety of cases of internationalisation involving businesses in a range of sectors and historical periods. — Develop the ability to apply a gender perspective to the study of international businesses, with particular attention to path dependence, institutional contexts, and driving factors that shape women’s access to business opportunities, the mechanisms through which this access occurs, and the resulting impact on their communities. — Conduct independent research and develop case studies of internationalisation—individually or collaboratively—that integrate both exogenous and endogenous factors

 

 

Teaching blocks

 

1. As old as history itself: a historical introduction to the internationalisation of business

*  The two topics in the first section present a general overview and a historical introduction to the internationalisation of business. Updated data are provided on global foreign direct investment, including current volumes, origins and destinations. The section also presents a historical overview of key theories of the internationalisation of business, beginning with S. Hymer’s contributions in the 1950s and continuing to contemporary approaches. Updated revisions of Dunning’s OLI paradigm, evolutionary models and analyses that highlight the rapid internationalisation of emerging economies.

2. Pioneering the internationalisation of business before the Industrial Revolution

*  Section 2 includes two topics that aim to present an overview of the precursors of modern international business from a longitudinal analytical perspective. Topic 3 focuses on Eastern experiences of long-distance trade across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Topic 4 focuses on Western experiences in continental long-distance trade across Europe and in the Atlantic colonial trade between Europe, Africa and America.

 

3. The Industrial Revolution and international businesses (1800–1870)

*  Section 3 focuses on the evolution of technology and science, and their role in creating new leading sectors that boosted productivity and well-being (while also generating wars and economic and social inequality), and how these developments led to new economic paradigms and fostered the rise and decline of dominant industries. The section analyses how large corporations emerged in public utilities along with long-distance transportation and trade. This led to new demands for products, processes and services provided by large, internationalised companies and groups. The technological revolutions also had an impact on social values and lowered entry barriers to entrepreneurship, starting in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Drawing on Deirdre McCloskey’s insights, new cultural values and stronger property rights were essential in guaranteeing the stability and security needed for capital investment and for generating the new intellectual ideas that gave birth to new technologies. The stronger the protection, the faster technologies spread across the world’s cities and regions. New international flows of trade, capital and people

4. International businesses in the first age of Industrialisation (1800–1870)

*  Section 4 takes a more detailed approach to the diversity of typologies that international businesses adopted during the Industrial Revolution. From small- and medium-sized enterprises, family-owned businesses and informal networks of businessmen (and a limited number of businesswomen), large-scale enterprises emerged, which laid the foundations for the modern corporation, especially in England and the Netherlands.

 

5. The first wave of globalisation and de-globalisation (1870–1945)

*  Section 5 examines international business during the first wave of globalisation and the subsequent period of de-globalisation between 1870 and 1945. One focus is on the role of both corporations and SMEs, while another explores the continuities and changes that took place during wartime in the Western world and in the emerging economies between 1914 and 1945.

 

6. Internationalisation in a new global economy (1945–2020)

*  Section 6 examines the institutional and entrepreneurial frameworks that have differentiated developed countries from late-developing economies since the 1950s. The dismantling of colonial empires in Asia and Africa, together with a global trend towards protectionism and the promotion of national champions, consolidated a model of capitalism in which the political and monetary influence of the United States remained virtually uncontested. This model, however, entered into crisis in the 1970s and further unravelled during the 1990s, when deregulation and privatisation took centre stage and financial markets underwent a worldwide process of liberalisation. The first topic analyses the global diffusion, adaptation, and responses to the expansion of American multinationals and the spread of U.S. business practices between the 1940s and the 1980s. The second examines how the deregulation wave of the 1980s and 1990s—together with the second phase of globalisation—reshaped the growth trajectories of Western corporations and created the conditions for the rise of multinationals from developing economies. This part pays particular attention to new players emerging from China, Southeast Asia, and Latin America from the late 1980s onwards.

7. Sustainability, green industries, gender and new challenges of deglobalisation in recent times

 

 

Teaching methods and general organization

 

Students are expected to attend on campus lectures regularly. They should also check their UB e-mail and the Virtual Campus on a regular basis for communications from the lecturer and to keep abreast of updates and news.   There are two 2-hour sessions per week. In most sessions, the first hour is devoted to a presentation of the major themes of the program, while the second hour comprises activities (graded or ungraded), directly related to the lecture, for which students use online resources and websites. The activities undertaken include: — Supervised work with readings, videos and activities available online via the Virtual Campus. — Supervised work based on Dynamics of International Business by Andrea Colli, published by Routledge. It can be purchased online (in hard or virtual copies). The book is part of the compulsory reading and students are specifically examined on its contents. At the beginning of the course, the lecturer outlines the work to be undertaken. — Supervised work based on Global Family Capitalism edited by Paloma Fernández, published by Routledge. Compulsory reading, students can access the ebook via the Faculty Library. Students prepare a group study paper and oral presentation based on materials from this book.

 

 

Official assessment of learning outcomes

 

Grading is based on a combination of individual and group work that students undertake periodically during the semester, under direct supervision. Specific assignments, including guidelines on what to do, how to do it, when to submit them and the weight of each assignment in the final grade are provided below. Students are required to: — Keep a "diary" or class notes reader throughout the course, documenting the activities completed in class using online materials. Regular entries in this diary (to be submitted on the last day of class) are assessed and can constitute up to 10% of the final grade. Assessment criteria include content quality, presentation, and attendance (students must not miss more than one-third of on campus activities). 10% of the final grade. — Group work. Research paper and oral presentation. In groups of 3-4, students prepare a short research essay (4-6 pages) on the history of a multinational company. The paper should include: an introduction, historical overview, conclusions and a list of references and sources (including URLs with access dates, full bibliographical details of articles, books, etc.). To be submitted on the date assigned during the first week of the semester. Assessment criteria: reliability and quality of sources; organisation; clarity; coverage of company history; oral presentation skills; effective coordination with group members. 20% of the final grade. — Three quizzes on the book Dynamics of Family Business, previously prepared during practical sessions. 30% of the final grade (10% each quiz) — A final written exam assesses students’ ability to apply concepts and resources learned from lectures, readings, videos, and practical exercises throughout the course. Students are expected to demonstrate original and creative use of these materials. 40% of the final grade. COMPULSORY READING: Colli, Andrea. Dynamics of International Business. Comparative Perspectives of Firms, Markets and Entrepreneurship. Routledge. (ebook available via UB Library resources) Fernández Pérez, Paloma, ed. Global Family Capitalism. A Business History Perspective. Routledge (ebook available via UB Library resources) Virtual Campus: All links to articles, videos and interviews in the Virtual Campus are compulsory and form part of the material covered in the exam and practical activities.   Examination-based assessment Students opting for the single mode of assessment are not required to make a formal request nor do they need the lecturer’s authorisation. They can renounce continuous assessment any time up to and including the last day of the course. Students choosing this mode sit a final written exam on the date established for this purpose in the University calendar. The exam includes questions on the compulsory course readings and on any additional materials provided by the lecturer both in class and via the Virtual Campus. The following readings are used during the course for the single assessment exam: • Colli, Andrea. Dynamics of International Business. Routledge, 2016. * Fernández Pérez, Paloma, ed. Global Family Capitalism. A Business History Perspective. Routledge, 2025. * URLs to videos and PDF files posted in the course’s Virtual Campus are also compulsory material for the single assessment exam.

Reading and study resources

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Book

Fernández Pérez, Paloma, editor (2024), Global family capitalism. A business history perspective. Routledge

Catàleg UB  

Andrea COLLI, Dynamics of International Business: Comparative Perspectives of Firms, Markets and Entrepreneurship. Routledge, 2015. E-book o paper

Compulsory reading

Catàleg UB  

YEAGER, Mary A. (ed). Women in business. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar, 1999. (3 vols.)

Catàleg UB  

Journal

Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business [en línia]