Report 2002: Department of International Economics and Management (INT)
Howitzvej 60,1
DK-2000 Frederiksberg
Head of Department: Torben Pedersen
Telefon: +45 3815 2515
Fax: +45 3815 2500
E-mail: hb.int@cbs.dk
DK-2000 Frederiksberg
Head of Department: Torben Pedersen
Telefon: +45 3815 2515
Fax: +45 3815 2500
E-mail: hb.int@cbs.dk
You may ask yourselves why it is necessary to have a Department of International Economics and Management. What is the difference between running a business in Denmark and in other countries? Surely, the principles of running a business are the same everywhere. Many principles of business economics are indeed universal and context-independent, but a large part of business economics does depend on context. For example, awareness of contextual differences is important to understand how to manage processes in connection with strategy, branding, HRM and knowledge creation, etc. There is a great difference between managing these processes in a familiar Danish context and in a foreign, unfamiliar context.
The raison d'être of the Department is to study the interaction between the international activities of enterprises and the international markets/business environments where they operate. This highly interdisciplinary field of research comprises everything from studies of national differences with regard to regulation and culture to strategic positioning in international markets and control and management of international organisations.
Highlights of 2002
- In 2002, Department publications included several important publications in top journals such as Research Policy and Journal of Business Research.
- Several members of the Department staff held key posts as editors, etc., to some of the best journals in our field (i.a. JIBS and Journal of World Business).
- Several research projects were conducted in cooperation with Danish enterprises and organisations (e.g. with the Confederation of Danish Industries on the internationalisation of Danish enterprises).
- Jørgen Ørstrøm Møller, Ambassador to Singapore, was appointed Assistant Professor attached to the Asia Research Centre (ARC).
- The CEES and ARC research centres each hosted an international conference ("Transition and Enterprise Restructuring in Eastern Europe" and "Bringing the Party Back", respectively), both highly successful.
Academic profile
The Department of International Economics and Management covers all aspects of cross-border business activities, including international activities concerning goods, capital, human resources and knowledge. This includes not only management issues in connection with the organisation, management and strategic orientation of the international firm, but also economic, political and cultural differences which influence and are influenced by such enterprises. The research activities are of a highly interdisciplinary nature, drawing on many different theoretical perspectives and disciplines in the study of the international firm.
Department research includes five main areas providing the framework for various groups of Department researchers. The "Emerging Markets" main area focuses on the transformation from plan to market in "transition economies" and the consequences at company level. Recent research includes studies on corporate governance in the Baltic states as well as business negotiations in Asia. This research is conducted primarily at the Asia Research Centre (ARC) and the Centre for East European Studies (CEES) which are affiliated to the Department.
Two of the main areas of the Department focus on management aspects of international enterprises, i.e. "Organisation and Management of the International Firm" comprising the control of the internationalisation process, relationship management and management of relations between the parent company and foreign subsidiaries, and "Innovation and Knowledge Processes in the International Firm" covering the ability of multinational companies to tap into international knowledge environments and use this knowledge by disseminating it in the global organisation.
The last two main areas focus on the external relations of enterprises. "International Strategy" concerns the positioning of enterprises on foreign markets, e.g. in connection with their choice of market operation and involvement in strategic alliances. "International Corporate Governance" focuses on various aspects of corporate control such as structures of ownership and executive boards and international variations in such structures.
Research strategy
The unifying principle of the Department across research areas and theoretical aspects is the study of the international firm. This means that Department researchers apply many different approaches and perspectives but have their study object in common. Thus, the Department core area will always be to study the problems of the international firm operating abroad, and both research and teaching priorities are based on this concern.
The unifying principle of the Department across research areas and theoretical aspects is the study of the international firm. This means that Department researchers apply many different approaches and perspectives but have their study object in common. Thus, the Department core area will always be to study the problems of the international firm operating abroad, and both research and teaching priorities are based on this concern.
In order to link research and teaching more closely together, the Department has taken active ownership of and responsibility for developing two study programmes (the BIB and IBS programmes) centred around the international firm.
he Department's research strategy is first of all to disseminate research results more widely. Today, the Department produces significant and interesting research and it is its goal to reach a wider audience and to acquire more significance by disseminating research results more widely. This will be accomplished through a dialogue with the Danish business community and the international research community. The dialogue with the Danish business community will be strengthened through various joint research projects and partnership programmes (à la ReMaiN, Asia Business Forum and the Corporate Governance network) offering partners access to Department activities. The dialogue with the international research community will be enhanced through increased publication in the top journals and participation in major conferences, and not least by hosting the EIBA conference in 2003. The central position of several members of the Department staff as editors to important journals constitutes another major Department asset in the dialogue with other researchers.
Research results
An important Department production goal is the number of publications, especially in English-language journals, as these journals are the primary international discussion forums of leading researchers all over the world. In order to enter into a dialogue with leading researchers and to acquire significance in a particular field, researchers must strive to have their articles published in the best journals. The Department objective is for as many members of its staff as possible to fulfil this ambition.
An important Department production goal is the number of publications, especially in English-language journals, as these journals are the primary international discussion forums of leading researchers all over the world. In order to enter into a dialogue with leading researchers and to acquire significance in a particular field, researchers must strive to have their articles published in the best journals. The Department objective is for as many members of its staff as possible to fulfil this ambition.
Therefore, a particularly important Department goal has been to increase its number of foreign-language publications, and over the last five years, this has been increasingly successful as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Number of Department publications from 1998-2002
In 2002, each member of the Department staff had more than two foreign-language articles published in international journals. This is a highly satisfactory level of publication on a par with the best research environments in Europe. In coming years, efforts will therefore be increasingly aimed at quality (better journals) rather than quantity.
There is a high degree of analogy between the graphs representing working papers and foreign-language publications which indicates that the majority of research results initially published as working papers are later published in journals. The Department will continue its efforts to ensure that young researchers in particular get their results published in international journals (i.a. by collaborating with senior researchers).
Research relations to practice
The Department's strong focus on the problems of the international firm formed the basis of a substantial affiliation to the Danish business community. Over the years, many working relationships have developed in the areas of education (the HD programme in Marketing/Foreign Trade, the BSc programme in International Business and the Internship programme) as well as research (Asia Business Forum, Relationship Management in Networks (ReMaiN) and the Corporate Governance network).
The Department's strong focus on the problems of the international firm formed the basis of a substantial affiliation to the Danish business community. Over the years, many working relationships have developed in the areas of education (the HD programme in Marketing/Foreign Trade, the BSc programme in International Business and the Internship programme) as well as research (Asia Business Forum, Relationship Management in Networks (ReMaiN) and the Corporate Governance network).
Furthermore, several research projects have been conducted in cooperation with Danish enterprises (e.g. Sculpturing Organisational Dynamics in a Context (SODIAC) and Managing the Dynamic Interfaces between Culture and Knowledge (MANDI)) and with the Confederation of Danish Industries (concerning e-business and internationalisation and the Establishment Study 2002). Partnerships with the business community are high on the Department list of priorities, and we therefore expect to launch several significant partnership activities in the course of 2003.
Figure 2: Department research funds from 1998-2002
Figure 2 shows that the Department was unsuccessful in attracting external research funds to any great extent over the entire 5-year period. However, more external funds from Research Councils (and the European Union) were acquired in 2002 than in previous years. The Department is hopeful of the initiatives launched to establish partnership relations with Danish enterprises in the form of academic dialogue and as a means to attract more external funds to the Department. The partnership activities are given high priority in terms of Department development and visibility to the Danish public.
Last updated by Anders Krag 09/02/2005
