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This article explores the potential impact of short-term global business immersion courses designed for undergraduate students at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. As part of the Global Foundations Core curriculum, the school offers students a unique opportunity to study a country or region in depth in the classroom and then participate in an accompanying short-term study program abroad. In this article, multiple Kelley faculty who teach global immersion courses offer context-specific strategies and insights into classroom teaching and observed outcomes for student learning. Research shows that short-term study-abroad programs can offer transformative opportunities for students when intentionally designed as part of curriculum, affecting attitudes toward environmental citizenship and shaping global careers. The Chronicle of Education reports that even short study-abroad programs can have a lasting effect. To date, the Kelley School has not measured for standardized learning outcomes across its 14 existing global immersion courses, so this article does not offer commentary on program-wide student learning. However, through analyses of their on-campus course design and respective overseas program activities, Global Business Immersion program faculty share insights into student learning as observed in their individual programs. Our intent is to capture the impact of the courses through the lens of faculty program directors and student participants in three programs across three continents. In addition, we contribute to future research on similar global academic initiatives and add to the expanding body of knowledge on the impacts of short-term study abroad.

In the context of business education, International Service Learning (ISL) programs introduce students to social responsibility and help them develop a sense of solidarity with individuals living in a different context from their own. But even ISL programs that strive for reciprocity and co-create projects with community partners still reinforce a microcosm of the power asymmetries present in the global economy. As an alternative to traditional ISL models involving direct service, I propose a model of ISL that eliminates the direct service component and instead emphasizes listening and learning abroad. In this model, local knowledge is the expert, allowing students to develop a sense of solidarity with those from a context different from their own and then engage in advocacy in their home country. In this article, I present a current course-Marketing for Social Change: The Uganda Project-as an example of the alternative ISL model designed to address the structural inequalities and wealth disparities brought by globalization.

In 2017, the French film producer and distributor EuropaCorp S.A. (EuropaCorp) announced a historical record loss of €119.9 million. The company had almost doubled its revenues between 2001 and 2010 by using an integrated studio model, but the recent losses had been substantial. After entering into a number of international joint production and marketing ventures, the company reported its highest revenues to date in 2015, only to announce in July 2016 that the company had incurred significant losses and that its revenues were the lowest since 2008. Once again, the company tried to turn itself around, strengthening its position by focusing on the founder’s core business and making some financial adjustments. A capital increase resulted in a positive shift in EuropaCorp’s shareholding structure; however, the company was still experiencing losses and was anticipating a continuing loss into the next year. Was there anything more EuropaCorp could do to change its position?

In June 2015, Vasant Farm Fresh (VFF) was creating a supply chain in Ahmedabad, India, to integrate farmers with retailers and provide fresh produce to customers. Fruits and vegetables have a short shelf life, harvesting operations tend to be labour intensive, and produce quantity is unlikely to grow substantially. To increase the shelf life of fresh produce, farmers need storage facilities, such as refrigerators or cold-water vessels, to store freshly harvested produce. VFF established a collection centre to aid farmers in selling their produce and in receiving higher returns. The collection centre was close to the farms so that the produce could be distributed to the agricultural produce market committee market and to VFF’s new retail venture, Vasant Veggies. However, wastage was still considerable even after the centre was established. The founder of Vasant Veggies must identify the optimal procurement quantity for fresh produce.

By May 2018, the owner of 30 FiLLi Café outlets across the United Arab Emirates had come a long way from helping out in his father’s a small cafeteria in the Mamzar area of Dubai in 2004. With his innovative FiLLi tea and FiLLi Zafran tea, he had successfully created a tea brand in the United Arab Emirates. After the company’s success there, he aspired to take the brand global using the franchising model. The path ahead, however, had to be navigated carefully. New entrants had emerged and were competing for market share. In the changing market scenario, how would FiLLi Café manage to retain customer loyalty locally and successfully manage global expansion? Was this plan too aspirational? Was it the right time to expand the company? Was franchising the best method for global expansion?

In late 2016, the board chair of T-Systems South Africa (TSSA), an information technology outsourcing company, faced a new challenge. As the previous chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, the board chair had moved the company from declining revenue toward growth and increased profitability. She accomplished the company’s culture transformation and remarkable turnaround, in part, by capturing the interest of people with a vision about creating a company with soul. She now needed to assist the new CEO in sustaining TSSA’s culture change in a manner that would not intrude on his own ideas, leadership, and style.

In 2012, Fastjet acquired Fly540, a low-cost airline with operations in Tanzania, Kenya, Angola, and Ghana, and began operating as a low-cost carrier with the goal to become the most successful pan-African low-cost airline. Since starting operations, Fastjet had grown tremendously, achieving strong market acceptance and a reputation for reliability and punctuality. Although yield per passenger had increased over its first two years, Fastjet had continued to report operating losses due to its poorly performing operations in Kenya, Angola, and Ghana. In September 2014, Fastjet had the opportunity to expand into other African regions, and the company’s chief executive officer needed to consider his options to successfully grow the company’s operations.

In mid-2015, the managing director of Feed Green Ethiopia Exports PLC (FGE), one of Ethiopia's leading export companies, faced a pivotal decision. FGE specialized in herbs and spices, and the price of one of FGE's major products, paprika, had skyrocketed in the past six months. As a result, FGE had sustained a massive loss. This problem had taken a toll on FGE's profitability, and the company's future was on the line. The managing director needed to mitigate this problem and prevent it from occurring again. He saw three alternatives: FGE could maintain the status quo, operate its own farm in one of two locations, or purchase its spices directly from local farmers. Maintaining the price and quality of the products and providing excellent customer service were the company's main priorities, regardless of which option it chose.

In April 2017, the Indian government announced the country would be free of fossil fuel cars by 2030. Maruti Suzuki was the market leader in India’s conventional passenger car segment, and did not agree that electric cars should be forced on the average consumer. Electric cars were very expensive and had limited mileage, making them a poor fit for Indian consumers, who were generally budget-conscious and mileage-obsessed. It would be very difficult to replace fossil fuel cars quickly, especially with largely non-existent infrastructure for the operation of electric cars. Maruti Suzuki wondered if it should wait for the uncertainty in the country to clear, while other car manufacturers took their chances on India’s electric car market, or if it should expedite the process of building electric cars and keep its market leadership position intact.

On November 20, 2015, the chief financial officer of Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) was preparing to make a recommendation about whether to proceed with or stop merger talks between Pfizer and Allergan plc (Allergan), a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in New Jersey but tax residence in Ireland. Informal talks had been going on for almost a month, but both sides were rapidly approaching the pre-arranged deadline. The two teams had less than a week to either formally agree to proceed with a merger or walk away. Formalizing the agreement meant activating a US$400 million breakup clause that would make it costlier to call the deal off at a later date. Allergan’s Irish tax residency made this merger both attractive and concerning. While it provided the opportunity to lower Pfizer’s worldwide tax rate, the U.S. Treasury Department had recently announced regulatory changes targeting mergers that relocated a company’s tax residence to a low-tax country (called “tax inversions”). Pfizer’s legal team members were confident that the announced changes would not affect the proposed merger with Allergan. However, they were less certain about if—and when—the U.S. Treasury Department might make changes again.

Japan's number-one apparel brand and retailer, Uniqlo Co. Ltd. (Uniqlo), built its business by delivering high-quality basic casual clothing at low prices. Uniqlo's founder and chief executive officer of Uniqlo's parent company, Fast Retailing, stated that his goal was to become the world's number-one apparel retailer. He argued that success in the U.S. market was crucial to meeting this goal; yet, Uniqlo USA was not doing well. In mid-2017, after more than a decade of efforts, Uniqlo USA had relatively few stores and continued to lose money. As the gap between its goals and performance continued to diverge, the company needed to re-examine its U.S.-based business and potentially its globalization strategy altogether.

In early April 2018, Spotify Technology SA (Spotify) had planned a rare direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Unlike typical initial public offerings (IPOs), which used investment banks as underwriters to help set an IPO price, Spotify’s direct listing would allow market participants to determine the initial price. In a typical IPO, investment banks shopped the potential offer to various clients and, in the process of book building, determined a range for the offer when it started trading. They also often provided support for the issue on the day it started to trade, limiting the downside for shareholders if demand was low. In Spotify’s case, the investment banks were only being paid a nominal fee, and Spotify was not raising capital in the offering. The stock simply started trading on the prescribed day. A portfolio manager with a hedge fund that focused on growing technology companies was considering investing in the firm, but faced a challenge: how could she estimate Spotify’s value when it started to trade?

In 2016, the Japanese company Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) acquired the remaining shares of the French trading company Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale (CFAO), which was operating in Africa. That same year, TTC registered its first financial loss in 16 years. Several years earlier, in 2012, TTC had participated in CFAO’s equity as its majority shareholder. These strategic moves were all part of TTC’s corporate campaign Vision 2015, "Lead the Next", which aimed specifically to reduce its dependence on its parent group by diversifying to increase earnings from non-automotive businesses, rather than targeting African markets as a long-term sustainability plan. What were the motivations of TTC and CFAO in pursuing these transactions? Was the positive performance that followed the acquisition a result of synergies or just a simple sum of the consolidation and an industry trend? Why did TTC move from preserving CFAO’s operational autonomy in 2012 to delisting and fully internalizing it in 2016? Was there a link between poor performance in 2016 and the acquisition of CFAO? How should CFAO solve the conflict between its existing automotive customers and the Toyota Group as its main rival? How could CFAO defend its leader position from the entry of major competitors from South Korea, India, and China? Although the Vision 2015 campaign was validated, should TTC revise its global vision strategy and 10-year plan in the future, given its bad year in 2016?

How many companies in Africa earn annual revenues of $1 billion or more? Most global executives guess there are fewer than a hundred; many answer "zero." The reality? Four hundred such companies exist--and they are, on average, faster growing and more profitable than their global peers. There's an unexpected side effect of this growth burst: Africa has become a test lab for global innovation. If your offering is cost-effective and robust enough to succeed on the continent, chances are it will be competitive elsewhere. The authors offer a taxonomy of six innovation types: moves to build financial inclusion; partnerships for infrastructure development; smart approaches to industrialization; new models of food production; consumer products aimed at the low end of the market; and future-focused capability building, from job-readiness boot camps to world-class universities. Technology is the golden thread running throughout: Africa has become a proving ground for digitally enabled breakthroughs that can leapfrog entrenched barriers and unlock exponential progress.

This case illustrates how exchange rate shocks affect international businesses. The focus is on one recent stark example: the effect on Swatch Group of the Swiss National Bank's January 2015 decision to end its policy of putting a ceiling on the euro/Swiss franc exchange rate. It is useful for an introductory class that defines different exchange rate concepts, illustrates why managers should care about exchange rates, and motivates/previews the study of the macroeconomics of exchange rates, capital flows, and monetary policy. This case is appropriate for use in a first-year MBA course that deals with international economics or finance, though it is written to be standalone and thus could also be employed in an advanced undergraduate or master's level course on international macroeconomics or finance.

In April 2017, an entrepreneur in the tour operator industry faced a potential investment decision. Her company, Extraordinary Journeys (EJ), created custom luxury African safaris for a US-based clientele. While EJ had enjoyed dramatic growth since its founding in 2009, the entrepreneur worried that competitive pressures were increasing, as resource-rich companies had entered the market, drawn by the industry's rapid growth. In response to this growing competition, Gordon considered taking on one of three possible strategic opportunities: a public relations campaign, a direct marketing campaign, or a firm-optimization campaign that would use custom-built software to enhance employee productivity.

In May 2018, a China-born entrepreneur living in Canada was at a seaside market in Qingdao, China, inspecting inexpensive pearls. She wondered whether pearls presented a good market opportunity in the West. At markets in China, she consistently found cultured pearls that would cost far more in Canada. This experience led her to wonder whether or not it was feasible to sell pearls on a wholesale basis in Canada, or perhaps through one of many retail options. Or was there a reason why pearls—such a timeless product—did not present more of a dynamic market opportunity in the West?

In 2014, Australia’s national airline Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) faced one of the most difficult years in its history. Following a loss of AU$2.8 billion, the airline’s chief executive officer asserted that government intervention was necessary. He wanted the government to publicly guarantee the airline’s debt, which would secure its credit rating and provide relief in challenging circumstances. His efforts were unsuccessful. Qantas instead embarked on a structural review and company transformation, seeking to repair its balance sheet and improve free cash flow. On August 23, 2016, having completed one of Australia’s largest and most public corporate turnarounds, Qantas announced AU$1.53 billion in underlying profit. Inevitably, questions arose as to how Qantas would reward long-suffering shareholders. Having overcome trying financial problems, Qantas was facing a different challenge: whether, and how, to return cash to shareholders, having not paid a dividend for seven years.

Naked Retreats, a hotel management company that adhered to a localized brand positioning strategy, made its debut in the Chinese hotel market in 2007. To allow customers to experience the restorative effects of closeness to nature, it launched Naked Stables, the first resort in China to have obtained a Leadership in Environmental Energy Design (LEED) Platinum certification. The founder of Naked Retreats, Grant Horsfield, was a South African who felt deeply connected to nature. Horsfield subsequently launched a series of explorative projects related to holistic living, including catering, education, and a co-working space. While the brand had success in some areas of its brand extension, it experienced failures in others. In 2018, Naked Retreats must decide whether to continue its horizontal extension or to focus on its most successful projects.

Wanda Cultural was one of the four pillars of the Dalian Wanda Group ("Wanda Group"), which had been China's giant of commercial properties. From 2005 to 2018, Wanda Cultural had gone through a number of strategic transformations and developed four major business sectors: films, sports, travel innovation, as well as children's entertainment & education. Through domestic and cross-border acquisitions and diversifications, Wanda Cultural had emerged from a domestic Chinese family-owned enterprise to become a world-class multinational corporation ("MNC"). As a pioneer in film industry investment in China, Wanda Cultural had succeeded in building a vertically integrated business model that spanned across different developed countries and secured leading market position in the world. When Wanda Cultural entered into other foreign developed markets and diversified into different industry sectors, both opportunities and threats for competing in the global environment exemplified. This case explores opportunities facing firms as they seek to develop and exploit core competencies by diversifying into global markets. In addition, it explores different problems, complexities and threats that might affect a MNC's international strategy and rationale for retrenchment. The case also explores business innovation strategies and its impact on global competitiveness and growth.