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HA.E80 - Foreign Direct Investment and the Multinational Corporation*

Faculty
HA Almen
Course Coordinator
Marina Papanastassiou
Prerequisite/progression of the course
None
Course content, structure and teaching
Objectives
· The aim of the course is to provide an in-depth understanding of the evolution of Foreign Direct Investment and the Multinational Corporation (MNC)
· To analyse the crucial role MNCs play in the global economy
· Special emphasis is placed on the way the modern MNC organizes its activities and how this determines their relations with other firms as
· To assess the impact of MNCs on the economies they operate.
The syllabus includes topics such as:
· Historical review of the evolution of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the multinational corporation (MNC). Terminology and methods of internationalization.
· Overview and analysis of main international business and economics theories and how they allow us to understand FDI (e.g. product cycle, transaction costs, the Hymer approach, Dunning’s OLI, new trade theories and economic geography) and assess the impact of FDI and MNCs on home and host economies
  • Understanding the MNC; from economics to strategy. We will try to get into the “black box” of the modern MNC by discussing the strategic expansion of MNCs, the role of subsidiaries and the role of technology in shaping the contemporary MNC network.
  • Analysis of contemporary topics related to the impact of MNCs in world economy. Emphasis on Greece.
The course's development of personal competences
Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
  • Identify the current topics in the understanding of the modern MNCs
  • Define the required theoretical\background that will support the analysis of the contemporary MNC and review critically the existing literature
  • Develop these hypotheses or research questions that will address future developments in the study of the MNC
  • Understand the strategic evolution of MNCs
Learning Objectives
Through the take-home project the knowledge students have accumulated during the course will be analytically assessed. In order to achieve grade 12 in the take home project students should integrate, critically analyse and synthesise all the main blocks of the curriculum (as presented in the previous points) and will require the students to exhibit the skills that have been trained in class both in terms of theoretical analysis as well as methodology and case presentation.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
Individual Take home 15 A4 page project. , no oral examination. Access to all library sources and to individual computer.
Recommended literature
The main text book for the course is:
1. Grazia Ietto-Gillies, (2005), Transnational Corporations and International Production. Concepts, Theories and Effects, Cheltenham: E. Elgar.
2. See course outline for additional literature.

Last updated by Asma Belhaj 15/01/2010