Course Manual 2023-2024

International Marketing for IB

Version: version 1 date: 31 January 2024 (newer versions always prevail and will be uploaded
on Brightspace)
Semester: 2.1 (February 2024 - April 2024)
Progress Code: EBP661C05
Course format: Lectures & Tutorials
Target group: This course is compulsory for first-year students in IB. Psychology and CIW students can
follow this course on an extensive basis (i.e., without tutorials).
Study load: 5 ECTS
Lecturers: for a full overview of the tutorial teachers and their email addresses, see Brightspace.
Coordinator: Dr. Siria Xiyueyao Luo and Prof. Dr. Eda Shehu ([email protected] and [email protected] or
contact your tutorial teacher)

1. Introduction and objectives

Products (and services) for both consumers and businesses are increasingly originating and competing in
international or global markets. This poses a significant challenge, as marketing internationally or globally can be
fundamentally different from marketing in a company’s domestic market.
This course aims to develop an understanding of basic marketing, consumer behavior, the international marketing
environment, international marketing strategy, and the international marketing mix. As a manager you will need
these fundamentals, for instance, to create a successful marketing plan for your product and/or to launch your
product globally.
Specific topics include the (international) marketing orientation, marketing issues related to (international) macro-
and micro-environments, (international) segmentation, targeting and positioning (including the entry mode), the
marketing mix (product, place, price, and promotion) and subsequent standardization or adaptation issues when
going international. So, this course deals with both the fundamentals of marketing and the issues marketers
encounter when competing in an international business environment. The primary objective of this class is to
introduce the concepts, theories, and strategies in (international) marketing.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Describe the terms and concepts used in marketing and the steps in the marketing process and explain how this is different
(or not) in international marketing.
2. Assess the impact of the global marketing environment (macro and micro) on marketing decision-making.
3. Assess consumer behavior, relate this to marketing decision making and indicate how culture affects consumer behavior.
4. Describe and apply the steps in creating a marketing strategy (segmentation, targeting, and positioning) and explain how
this is different (or not) in international marketing.
5. Discuss which marketing mix objectives and decisions lead to value creation, given the marketing strategy chosen by the
company.
6. Explain which issues arise for the marketing mix in international marketing, including the rationale for standardization/
adaptation.
7. Use theories in the book and articles plus other relevant information to solve real-life cases.
8. Communicate the solutions for real-life cases in writing (a clear and concise report) and orally (a presentation).
The course is designed as follows: Within the lectures, fundamental theories of marketing will be
explained. Within the tutorials, you will practice applying these fundamentals to practice. You are
expected to have read the chapters and/or academic papers assigned for each week and should be
able to apply your knowledge in practice. The course includes two group assignments in which you will
discuss theories as well as practical applications of these theories in real-world settings.

2. Material for the exam and literature

Material for the exam:
● Lectures, tutorials, short knowledge videos, and slides, including the guest lecture.
● Literature as mentioned in the schedule (see table 1), based on
o Textbook: Principles of Marketing 19th Ed., Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, and Sridhar Balasubramanian, ISBN
9781292449364 (The exam will be based on this edition, the risk to use another edition is completely your
own.)
o Scientific articles (download from the electronic databases of the university library; EBSCO, Business Source
Premier, find the article, push "get it", a new tab opens, push "go" OR use google scholar):
1. K.P. Zeugner-Roth, V. Zabkar and A. Diamantopoulos, 2015, “Consumer Ethnocentrism, National Identity,
and Consumer Cosmopolitanism as Drivers of Consumer Behavior: A Social Identity Perspective”, Journal
of International Marketing, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 25-54.
2. Nam, Hyoryung, and P. K. Kannan, 2020, "Digital environment in global markets: cross-cultural
implications for evolving customer journeys," Journal of International Marketing 28, no. 1, 28-47.

3. Course Schedule
The lectures are on Tuesdays, 17:00-19:00. These are on-campus lectures (check schedules). Some of the
important highlights of the lectures (one video per lecture) will be uploaded as short knowledge videos (3-5
minutes) on Brightspace. Please note that these videos do not substitute the content of the lecture but highlight
1 or 2 important concepts covered in that particular week. The essential slides of the lectures will be provided on
Brightspace, but no integral slide deck will be posted. For the material covered in the specific lectures, see Table
1.
Table 1 Schedule lectures and exams
Week Lecture Topic(s) + chapter(s) in book
6 (1) Feb 6 Intro International Marketing (Ch. 1,2 + Ch19 p.574- figure 19.1 on p. 575)
7 (2) Feb 13 The (international) marketing environment (Ch. 3, 5 + Ch. 19 576-587)
8(3) Feb 20 The consumer and marketing strategy (Ch. 7, 18 + Ch. 19 pp. 587-603 + article 1)
Discussion of some Intermediate exam questions
Feb 27, 09:00-11:00 Intermediate Exam (do check schedules)
9 (4) Feb 27 Marketing mix: Branding and P of Product (Ch. 8, 9 + Ch. 19 pp. 592-595 top)
10 (5) Mar 5 Marketing mix: P of Pricing (Ch. 10, 11 + Ch. 19 p. 597)
11 (6) Mar 12 Marketing mix: P of Place (Ch. 12 + Ch. 19 p. 597 bottom - 598 + article 2 (p.
28-36) )
TBD Guest Lecture by DVJ representatives (tbd)
12 (7) Mar 19 Marketing mix: P of Promotion (Ch. 14, 15, 16 pp. 502 middle-509 top, Ch. 19 pp. 595
bottom-597 top)
Discussion of some Final exam questions
Mar 28, 08:30-10:30 Final Test (do check schedules)
Jun 20, 15:00-17:00 Resit (do check schedules in block 2b)
 4. Plan of assessment1
In this section, you can find information on the assessment of the course for current IB & Exchange students,
current (and repeating) Psychology (and elective) students, and for repeaters IB.
This plan of assessment is compliant with the https://www.rug.nl/feb/education/handbooks/docs/2022-2023-
studiegids.pdf written by the Exam Committee.

4a. Assessment IB students from cohort 2023-2024 (IB1-28)

The final grade should be at least 5.5, and is based on two parts:
1) Joint grade for assignments (40% of the final grade, should be over 5) (GA);
2) Examination grade (60% of the final grade, should be over a 5) (EX).

𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒 = 0.4 ∗ 𝐺𝐴 + 0.6 ∗ 𝐸𝑋 (𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 5.5 𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑟)

● If you have participated in one or more graded part(s) of the course, even if you do not have completed the
course, a final grade will be administered after the resit.
● In case the final grade is lower than 5.5, and/or GA and/or EX are lower than 5, the final grade will be
determined as the minimum of the weighted average for the final grade and a 5. So, if the minimum
requirements for either the final grade, GA or EX are not met, the final grade is a 5 or less.
● If both GA and EX are over 5, you do comply with the minimum requirements set for these specific grades.
Yet, if one or both of these grades is/are lower than 5.5, the final grade might still fall below the minimum
requirement of 5.5. Depending on the actual level of EX and GA, you might have to do a repair, a resit or both.
Contact the course coordinator if you are not sure.

Grade Assignments (GA, should be 5.0 or higher)

Part 1 of the final grade is the overall grade for the assignments (GA), which consists of five components (the
content of these will be explained in later sections of this brochure):
1) Assignment 1 (60% of the grade for the assignments (A1);
2) Assignment 2 (40% of the grade for the assignments (A2);
3) A penalty when one of the deadlines is missed (penalty of 0.5 per deadline) (DA);
4) Peer assessment (individual adjustment of max +/- 0.5 based on individual effort in team work) (PA);
5) A participation factor (PF) which runs from 1 to 0, depending on the number of tutorials you were present
AND actively participating in (see table 2), which serves as a multiplier.
Table 2 Participation factor and number of tutorials missed
Tutorial: Number of tutorials missed/ no participation 0 1 2 3 >3
Participation factor (PF) 1 1 0.8 0.5 0

Thus, the overall grade for the assignments (GA) is based on a weighted summation of A1, A2, DA and PA, multiplied
by PF:

𝐺𝐴 = 𝑃𝐹 ∗ (0.6 ∗ 𝐴1 + 0.4 ∗ 𝐴2 − 𝐷𝐴 + 𝑃𝐴) (Should be 5.0 or higher)

Repair (if GA < 5)

If GA is below 5, a reparation assignment shall be offered once within the block of the course, enabling the student
to repair the insufficient grade into a maximum grade of 5.5 (in compliance with the Rules & Regulations of the
Exam Committee). In case of a repair, the student is still admitted to the examinations.
Depending on the scores on the components of GA, the following types of repair will be offered:

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If you are not an IB-student and have permission to follow this course, please check the information on Brightspace.
 ● Participation factor (PF) = lower than 1, which causes the student to fail: the repair is meant to make up for
the missed tutorials by writing an essay based on scientific articles. The length of the essay and the number
of articles to be used depends on the number of tutorials missed.
● The grade for the group assignments (i.e., 0.6*A1 + 0.4*A2 – DA + PA) is < 5.0: The assignment with the lowest
grade needs to be repaired/ completed. When handing in the repair, a copy of both the original version of the
assignment, the evaluation form for this assignment and the repair should be emailed to your tutorial teacher.
● One of the group assignment grades is missing (a grade “0” is administered for this missing case): The student
needs to sufficiently complete a new case.
● If GA < 5.0 due to a combination of factors, the repair will consist of a combination of the above as well.

Grade Exam (EX, should be 5.0 or higher)

Part 2 of the final grade is the grade for the exams (EX) which consists of either the intermediate test (IT for 45%
and) and the final test (FT for 55%), or the resit (100%)

Grade exam = 0.45* IT + 0.55* FT, or (Should be 5.0 or higher)

𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚= 1∗ 𝑅𝐸 (Should be 5.0 or higher)

Students can always take the resit for a higher exam grade (the highest grade remains valid). Yet, if the grade for
the exam is below 5.0 students HAVE to do a resit to be able to pass the course.

4b. Assessment repeaters IB from cohort 2023-2024 (or earlier), who already have assignment grades
(Students from cohort 2022-2023 who did NOT participate in the course before, so if you do not have any grades for
assignments, please contact your program coordinator [email protected] a.s.a.p. to be placed in a tutorial group)
The assessment for repeaters will be based on:
- Group assignment grade (40%, according to last year’s rules) (last year’s grades are still valid);
- Examination grade (60%, according to last year’s rules)
o Regular exam period: intermediate test (45%) and final test (55%)
o Resit Period - resit exam (100%)
Besides, the following rules apply:
- The group assignment grade should be over 5.0.
- The examination grade should be over 5.0.
- The final grade should be over 5.5.

5. Tutorials for IB1- IB282

5a. Time, place & teacher of tutorials
The schedule for the tutorials can be found on schedules, and an overview of the tutorial teachers and their email
addresses can be found on Brightspace. You are already assigned to a tutorial group by your program director
(i.e., Ms. Liane Voerman, for questions please contact her at [email protected]).
There is NO separate tutorial group for repeaters. If you do NOT have grades for the two group assignments,
contact your program director [email protected] a.s.a.p. to be placed in one of the regular tutorial groups. If
you already have grades for the assignments, you will NOT be placed in a tutorial group.

5b. Content tutorials

Each week, a two-hour tutorial is scheduled (please check “Tutorial slides and information” on Brightspace and
schedules), where we expect active participation.

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This information is only relevant for IB-students
During most tutorials, we will work on (real-life) marketing cases. The goal is to better understand and to be able to
apply the theory from the textbook, lectures, and articles. These cases are comparable to the open questions during
the exam. We expect you to have read the material (book chapters and/ or scientific articles) before coming to class.
Else, active participation is questioned which will impact your participation factor.
o During the 4th tutorial, all groups critically assess another group’s full draft of Assignment 1 and provide the
other group with feedback. By evaluating another group’s draft, you might also look at your own draft from a
new perspective and find ways to improve your own report.
o During the 7th tutorial, all groups present the 2nd group assignment and act as a referent for another group.

5c. Participation tutorials

Attendance and active participation are expected during the tutorials. Besides, if you are NOT present during the
first tutorial, we assume you DO NOT want to participate in the course anymore. Also, be aware that you cannot
miss the last tutorial in which you have to present; else, your grade on the second assignment will be a zero as
you did not comply with the prerequisites of this assignment. If you miss no or only one tutorial, the participation
factor will be 1 but will drop to 0.8 or 0.5, or even 0 when you are absent during more tutorials (or present but
not actively participating) (see section 5). Only in severe personal circumstances, exceptions might be made.

5d. Group Assignments

Each group makes two group assignments that will be graded and count toward your grade. During the 1st tutorial,
your tutorial teacher will make teams of four persons (three or five is an exception depending on the size of the
tutorial group) in which you will make the group assignments and work on the in-class cases and discussions during
the tutorials.

Content group assignments

● Assignment 1: Marketing Report

Each company should regularly assess the current status of their company / SBU’s /brands, including the macro-
and micro-environment in which the company / SBU /brand is operating. From this, one can both derive the
strengths and weaknesses of the company and brand, and the opportunities and threats coming from the
environment, where the competitors and the consumers are the most important outside actors for the company.
The goal of this marketing report is to thoroughly assess the current situation for a company and its brand, leading
to a thorough assessment of the S,W,O, and Ts followed by strategic advice and choice of the country.
For one of eight brands (see Brightspace which brand is assigned to your group), you need to come up with a
thorough situation analysis (or: SWOT analysis), followed by the most important strategic issues and subsequent
(international) strategy. The first draft of this report needs to be emailed to your tutorial teacher before the
deadline. The final report needs to be uploaded on Brightspace. More specifics on the case and the format of the
report including the evaluation form can be found on Brightspace. Please refer to the following format for this
assignment-

format: 8-10 pages (excluding appendices, cover page, references), single-spaced, Calibri 12 points
Deadline: first draft Friday, February 23, 17:00 (email tutorial teacher)
Deadline: final report Friday, March 8, 09:00 (upload on Brightspace)

● Assignment 2: Marketing Strategy Pitch.

Based on the brand used for assignment 1, your group needs to come up with an innovative brand extension, for
which you provide your audience with (1) a complete marketing strategy including the reasoning for the proposed
extension, and (2) a marketing mix. You pitch your idea in a management team presentation for 10 minutes and
8 slides (excluding references and the title slide), (time will be checked and overtime might be penalized). Each
 team member presents part of the case. This presentation will be graded, both on content and format. Individual
adjustment is possible if somebody performs really well or less than expected. More information on the specifics
of the case and the format of the presentation can be found on Brightspace.
Deadline: presentation slides Tuesday, March 19, 09:00 (upload on Brightspace and bring HARDCOPY of the
presentation to the tutorial)

Handing in assignments on Brightspace

All assignments have to be uploaded on Brightspace. Start the title of every assignment with your study tutorial
group number and team number. Therefore, if you are in tutorial 1 in team 1, the title of your assignment to be
uploaded in Brightspace starts with “Group01_01”.

Plagiarism
All assignments will be checked for plagiarism. In case of serious plagiarism, the Board of Examiners will be
informed. The consequences of plagiarism can be exclusion from the course for up to 1 year. For more information
on the procedure when plagiarism is detected, please see this page on the intranet. Our faculty defines plagiarism
as follows: “Plagiarism means using ideas and formulations conceived by others without stating the source.
Examples of plagiarism include copying an assignment from a fellow student or senior student, cutting and pasting
text from the internet without stating the source of the text, submitting the same assignment more than once,
copying a thesis from a student at another university or copying part of a book or article. As previously mentioned,
plagiarism is forbidden. Using source material is allowed, as long as the source is stated in the acknowledgment of
sources.”33

ChatGPT

● You cannot cite ChatGPT as a valid reference for your assignments. Don’t trust anything it says. If it gives you
a fact assume it’s wrong unless you check in with another source.
● AI is a tool, but one that you need to acknowledge using. Please include a paragraph at the end of any
assignment that uses AI. You must explain how you used ChatGPT and must reflect on the process (and
specifically on how ChatGPT was deployed and how that made a difference, and how they in turn improved
the output of ChatGPT).
● You will be responsible for any errors or omissions provided by the tool.
● Please check this page for more detailed guidance of how you should and should not use AI:
https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/organization/quality-assurance/education/artificial-intelligence-ai/

Group problems
In case there is a group problem, such as free-riding behavior, first try to solve this internally. Be open in your
expectations and set strict deadlines. Hold each other to these deadlines. But communicate politely and respect
each other’s differences. If this does not work, you must send an email to get your tutorial teacher involved.

Peer assessment
At the end of the course, you will be asked to evaluate both yourself and your fellow team members for their
relative contribution to the overall success of the team’s assignments. This goes beyond how many letters a
person typed on paper, as the thinking process and management of the process also contribute greatly to a final
report or presentation. You will be asked to score each team member, including yourself, on a scale from -3 (i.e.
“contributed much less than the average in the group”) to +3 (i.e. “contributed much more than the average in
the group”), with 0 being the average contribution in the group. Only if you perceive the contribution of
individual team members to be (highly) unbalanced, you can send in the form that can be found on Brightspace.

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Source: https://student.portal.rug.nl/infonet/studenten/feb/study/exams/fraudeenplagiaat, viewed 18-01-2023
 Using an algorithm based on deviations of the average group contribution, the group assignment grade might be
individually adjusted with max +/- 0.5.
Deadline: before March 23rd before 17:00

Overview deadlines
1.First draft of assignment 1: Friday, February 23, before 17:00, by email to your tutorial teacher.
2.Assignment 1: Friday, March 8, 09:00 (upload on Brightspace)
3.Assignment 2: Tuesday, March 19, before 09:00, on Brightspace

If you do not comply with the above deadlines, 0.5 will be detracted from your GA (see section 5).
4.Peer assessment (only if applicable): March 23rd before 17:00.

Exams
● The intermediate test is scheduled for Tuesday, February 27th, from 09:00-11:00 (check schedules for
the exam venue).
Material: the materials (chapters + article + slides + tutorial content) of lecture week 1-3
● The final test is scheduled for Thursday, March 28th, 08:30-10:30 (check schedules for the exam venue).
Material: the materials (chapters + article + slides + tutorial content) of lecture week 4-7 + guest
lecture.
● The resit is scheduled for Thursday, June 20th, 15:00-17:00 (check schedules for the exam
venue). Material: all, including articles and guest lecture.