The core courses in the INB major provides you with knowledge about the global environment and how multinational firms create business opportunities and meet threats and challenges in the global marketplace. The electives add opportunities to specialise in various directions and/or to secure a broader set of skills and insights of relevance for internationally oriented firms and organisations.

Global firms transcend national boundaries in the labour market as well as in product and factor markets.

Global firms hire from an international pool of talents and must meet the challenge of managing a nationally and culturally diverse work force.

Global firms also source their input from suppliers around the globe and must deal with the cultural, logistic and institutional challenges involved in managing a global supply chain.

The INB major provides you with insights into and understandings of all of these issues that are core areas for managers in global firms.

Understanding the global business environment is equally important. International organisations such as the WTO, and global and regional trade and integration agreements, such as the EU, shape the global market place and the business models and strategies of internationally oriented firms. Furthermore, international financial markets play a key role for such firms. The INB profile gives you thorough insights into and understanding of the global business environment facing any firm or organisation operating internationally.

To an increasing extent, firms are held responsible for their policies toward employees, the environment and consumers across national boundaries. Managers in global firms need to know how to identify and deal with the challenges, and to ensure that the firm as well as its complete supply chain acts responsibly and in accordance with high international standards.

The INB major gives you a solid foundation for responsible leadership in an international context.

Upon completion of the Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration with a major in International Business, the following learning outcomes apply:

Knowledge

The candidates

K1: Have advanced professional insights into the global environment and the strategic and managerial challenges facing global firms.

K2: Have up-to-date knowledge of relevant theories and a profound understanding of the multi-disciplinary nature of international business.

K3: Have solid competencies in empirical methods applicable to international business as well as of ethics in an international business context.

Skills

The candidates

S1: Can apply methodological and interdisciplinary skills to identify challenges and opportunities arising in international organisations.

S2: Can use information and theoretical insights to propose and evaluate solutions to international challenges.

S3: Can use the insights and theoretical foundation in international business as basis for acquiring new information and knowledge needed to handle international challenges.

General competencies

The candidates

G1: Can communicate with both specialists and non-specialists about challenges and opportunities in international business.

G2: Can reflect upon and take into consideration ethical issues and social responsibility, being aware of the added challenges that may arise in an international setting.

G3: Can contribute with new insights and perspectives that further business development from an international perspective.

The INB major is well suited to combine with the CEMS Master in International Management.

CEMS students can replace the core course INB400 Global Strategy and Management in INB with the mandatory CEMS course INB422C International Strategy.

Students can combine the core courses in the INB major with many different elective courses to create their own specialisation within international business. Three broad categories are suggested: international management, operations management and global business environment and policies. 

International management

Combine the core courses INB400 Global Strategy and Management and INB427 Globalisation and Integration with elective course that provide specific insight into the challenges of creating strategic opportunities and manage an international workforce.

We recommend the following electives:

• INB423 International Marketing
• BUS469 Corporate liability and sustainable regulation
• NBD 406 Innovation and Strategic Entrepreneurship
• NBD407 Business Model Innovation

Operations management

Focus on the actual operations of international firms and global value chains. The methodology course BAN402 Decision Modelling in Business is particularly relevant for this specialisation. The core courses INB400 Global Strategy and Management and INB427 Globalisation and Integration discuss global value chains in a general context, while a number of the electives help understand the operational issues:

• BUS400E Management control
• BUS 403 Supply Chain Management
• INB 423 International Marketing
• BUS 460 Operational Risk management.
• BUS 429 Pricing analytics and revenue management.
• BUS 446 Sustainable Business Models
• BAN424 Applications of Business Analytics (2.5 ECTS)

Global business environment and policies

Broad insights into the political and market environment for international business can be gained by combining the core courses INB427 Globalisation and Integration and FIE433 International Finance with electives like:

• FIE441 Taxes and Business Strategy
• FIE403 Business Cycle Analysis
• ENE430 Commodity trading and transport
• FIE454 Business and Finance in China
•  BUS469 Corporate liability and sustainable regulation
• Any of the three ethics courses in INB

These are only suggestions. Depending on your own interests, any combination of courses would give you a solid basis for a career in international business.

• ECN402 Econometrics
• BAN402 Decision Modelling in Business
• BAN430 Forecasting
• FIE401 Financial Econometrics
• STR402 Methodology for Master Thesis

Are you curious about taking a PhD or interested in more research-oriented work both at NHH and later in your career, find out more about the Research Distinction track within the master's programme.

Read more about Research distinction

Ethics courses available in the International Business major:

• BUS446 Sustainable Business Models 
• BUS452 Corruption - Incentives,  Disclosure and Liability
• ETI450 Corporate Social Responsibility

Remember that the ethics course can also be a part of your elective courses.

See list of all ethics courses

The INB major can easily be combined with international opportunities offered to NHH students, like exchange, CEMS and double degrees. In particular, it is well suited to combine with the CEMS Master in International Management.

Read more about international opportunities at NHH

The International Business (INB) major is highly relevant to students who consider a career in multinational companies, international organisations or smaller firms whose activities involve a substantial degree of international business.

Read more about career opportunities for NHH graduates