Strategic Management of Multinational Corporations

國際策略管理 — An EMI Capstone Course at NCNU

Author

Prof. Shihmin Lo, Ph.D.

Published

January 1, 2026

Welcome

Welcome to the course textbook for Strategic Management of Multinational Corporations (SMMC-EMI), a capstone, English-as-a-Medium-of-Instruction (EMI) course offered by the Department of International Business Studies (國際企業學系) at National Chi Nan University (國立暨南國際大學, NCNU).

This textbook is designed around a single overarching question:

How does a firm achieve, sustain, and renew superior performance in a globalized, technology-driven world?

To answer this question, the textbook integrates three perspectives — Entrepreneurship (ENT), Corporate Strategy (CS), and Business Strategy (BS) — and weaves them together with hands-on Term Project (TP) practice, digital tools (including Generative AI), and real-world multinational case studies.

Course Positioning

This course is a capstone for International Business majors, typically taken by upper-year undergraduates who have completed foundational courses in economics, management, marketing, and finance. The course adopts a Flipped Classroom + Problem-Based Learning (PBL) + Self-Directed Learning (SDL) approach, supported by:

MOOCs on Coursera (UPenn Wharton — Entrepreneurship; UIUC — Corporate Strategy)
Prof. Lo’s Lecture Notes (LN) — the core conceptual chapters in this book
Coggle mindmaps for collaborative knowledge construction
Generative AI tools (ChatGPT / Gemini / Claude / NotebookLM / D-ID) for research, synthesis, and presentation

Upon completion, students should be equipped with the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSA) required to serve as a competent Product Manager (PM) in a multinational corporation (MNC) — which is the course’s signature learning outcome:

成為一位在國際企業裡稱職的產品經理 Become a competent Product Manager in MNCs.

How This Book Is Organized

This textbook has two parts plus an appendix, totaling 18 chapters:

Part I — Concepts & Frameworks (12 chapters)

The conceptual spine of the course, built around the V-P-C framework (Value, Price, Cost) and the inside-out / outside-in perspective of strategic analysis:

Ch 1–2 establish the foundation: What is strategy? How do firms create, deliver, appropriate, and sustain value?
Ch 3–4 look outward: external environment, industry, competitors, complementors
Ch 5–8 look inward: resources, capabilities, competitive advantages, innovation
Ch 9–12 scale up to corporate strategy: vertical integration, diversification, globalization, alliances and M&A

Part II — Term Project Guide (6 chapters)

A hands-on manual for the semester-long Term Project (TP), in which student teams analyze a real multinational corporation and present their findings in an end-of-semester Single-Page Application (SPA) contest:

Ch 13–14: Company selection and TP0 company overview
Ch 15–16: TP1 external analysis and TP2 internal analysis
Ch 17: TP3 growth strategy and future challenges
Ch 18: TP Final SPA preparation, contest, and evaluation

Appendix

Grading policies, digital tools reference, and bibliography.

The V-P-C Framework — Our North Star

Throughout this book you will see one framework referenced again and again:

flowchart LR
    A[Cost<br/>C] --> B[Price<br/>P]
    B --> C[Value<br/>V]
    C --> D{"Consumer Surplus<br/>(V − P)"}
    B --> E{"Firm Profit<br/>(P − C)"}
    C --> F{"Economic Value Created<br/>(V − C)"}
    
    style A fill:#D8C3A5,stroke:#004030,color:#2C2C2C
    style B fill:#EFE4D2,stroke:#004030,color:#2C2C2C
    style C fill:#004030,stroke:#004030,color:#FFFFFF
    style D fill:#FAF6F0,stroke:#6B6B6B
    style E fill:#FAF6F0,stroke:#6B6B6B
    style F fill:#FAF6F0,stroke:#6B6B6B

The V-P-C framework is the lens through which we examine every strategic decision — from why TSMC redefined the semiconductor industry through the foundry model, to why Southwest Airlines can fly the same routes as American Airlines while earning higher margins, to why Costco maintains 14% Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) year after year. Every chapter in Part I ties back to at least one of the four V-P-C questions:

Value Proposition (V): What problem are we solving, and for whom?
Value Creation (V−C): How do we produce value efficiently?
Value Appropriation (P−C): How do we capture a fair share of the value?
Value Sustaining: How do we defend our advantage over time?

Evaluation Criteria

Your semester grade is composed of five components, summing to 100% plus up to 10 bonus points:

Component	Weight	Basis
Group Presentation	15%	Per group, including Coggle mindmaps and Brief Interactive Tasks (BITs)
Term Project (TP)	40%	Per group — TP0/TP1/TP2/TP3 each 5%, TP Final 20%
Peer Review	30%	Per person, conducted at midterm and end-of-semester
Participation	15%	Per person — class attendance + Moodle engagement
Bonus Assignment	+10% (max)	Per person — optional enrichment submissions

For the full attendance and Moodle participation policy, see Appendix A — Grading Structure.

Digital Tools You Will Use

This course treats digital fluency as a core professional skill. You will gain hands-on experience with:

GenAI & Knowledge Tools

ChatGPT / Gemini / Claude for analysis and drafting · NotebookLM / Poe for source-grounded Q&A · Coggle for collaborative mindmapping

Content Production

D-ID / ElevenLabs for AI video and voice · Gamma / Napkin for rapid visual design · Otter / NaturalReader for transcription and read-aloud

Information Sources

Public Information Observation Post (公開資訊觀測站, mops.twse.com.tw) — annual reports, financial statements · Industry Value Chain Platform (產業價值鏈資訊平台, ic.tpex.org.tw) · Government Open Data (政府資料開放平台, data.gov.tw)

See Appendix B — Digital Tools Reference for sign-up guides, AI Use Disclosure Policy, and CRF (Context–Role–Format) prompting templates.

How to Use This Book

For students

Read the assigned chapter before class (Flipped Classroom). Use the Coggle mindmap to summarize what you read with your study group. Come to class with one question you couldn’t resolve from the reading alone — that is where real learning begins.

For group leaders

Each week’s presenting groups should use this textbook alongside the assigned Coursera videos. The chapters here are not a replacement for the Coursera lectures — they are a structured complement, especially for students whose first language is not English.

For TAs

Tina Wang (s112212015) and Tina Lin (s113212016) — the TP chapters (Ch 13–18) are your primary reference when advising student teams. The rubrics and deliverable specifications there are authoritative.

About the Instructor

Prof. Shihmin Lo (駱世民教授) teaches strategy, entrepreneurship, and international business at the Department of International Business Studies, National Chi Nan University. His research and teaching integrate corporate strategy, technology management, and the use of emerging digital tools in higher education.

Office: MGMT 5059
Email (course): smlo@ncnu.edu.tw
Email (Coggle / NotebookLM group access): jimmylo.ntu@gmail.com
Office hours: 3ze, by appointment
YouTube: Prof. Lolo’s Channel

Acknowledgments

This textbook was developed as an open educational resource for NCNU students and is made freely available on GitHub Pages. It draws on two decades of teaching international business strategy at NCNU, along with reference frameworks from Grant (2016), Dess et al. (2014), Barney & Hesterly (2012), Rothaermel (2013), Peng (2009), and the Coursera specializations from UPenn Wharton and UIUC Gies College of Business.

The 2026 edition integrates Generative AI workflows developed in collaboration with the SMMC Executive Hub project and the interactive-learning-spa and note-to-kb skill pipelines.

兵者，國之大事，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。 — 孫子，〈計篇〉

Strategy is the great work of the organization. In situations of life or death, it is the Tao of survival or extinction. Its study cannot be neglected. — Sun Tzu, The Art of War (circa 500 BC)

Let’s begin.