Introduction
Please note that this is a preliminary course description. The final version will be published in June 2027.
Maximum number of students: 60
China is one of the two largest economies in the world in terms of both GDP and population, and is also one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. As such, developing an understanding of how to do business in or with China is no longer an option for many firms but a necessity. Developing knowledge about China is especially useful for firms based in smaller countries like Norway, which naturally tend to look beyond Norway’s borders to gain ample economies of scale. As such, China is clearly a very important market for managers to understand. However, China is also a country that is quite different from Norway and other Western countries more broadly and has proven perplexing and hard for many managers to understand. Even if your firm does not do business in China, many firms will decide to buy products from China as part of their supply chain, hire a Chinese employee who has moved to your home country, or need to compete with a Chinese firm. Thus, dealing with China in some way is nearly unavoidable for most firms today.
While this course focuses on China, the lessons learned here are transferable and relevant to navigating any international market, making the course a good choice for students focused on broader international business topics. We address universal themes such as cultural adaptation, economic and political regulation, globalization strategies, and innovation, through the specific lens of the Chinese context.
This course seeks to help participants develop an understanding of how to do business in and with China effectively and efficiently, and provides participants with a comparative advantage as a result. The course will also discuss how to deal with the fact that China is quite diverse and rapidly changing, and especially the role of the state and the institutional structures in implementing policies related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and globalization, and their impact. For example, the course will discuss the Chinese government’s push to change from being the factory of the world, just focusing on producing products to also having much innovation done in China, and the implications of this for companies in China and beyond.
The importance of considering the context and specifics of any situation will be stressed in the course--a one-size-fits-all approach is not possible to doing business with China. The course aims to move beyond simply teaching content to helping students understand how they can apply the content they have learned.
By the end of this course, participants will gain not only a nuanced understanding of the unique aspects of doing business in China, including an understanding of which management practices and strategies work best in China, but participants will also enhance their global managerial perspective, which is essential in today's interconnected economic environment. This is invaluable whether one is considering a career in China, in multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, or any entity engaging in international trade and cross-border operations.