COURSE NUMBER: MBA 270.1

COURSE TITLE: Business Strategy in the Global Political Economy

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3

INSTRUCTOR: Vinod Aggarwal

EMAIL: vinod@berkeley.edu

PREREQUISITES: none

CLASS FORMAT: Mixture of case and lecture.

REQUIRED READINGS: Book and cases, and current readings posted to website.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Mixture of paper, class participation, and group presentation.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE’S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

How should one formulate and integrate market and nonmarket strategies in a global economy marked by growing antiglobalization? Most business strategy courses focus on the organization of the firm and analysis of the market environment within which companies operate. But to succeed in today’s complex global political economy, managers need to know how to influence the nonmarket business environment—the rules, regulations, domestic institutions, and international regimes regimes that define the context of the market in which they operate. This course focuses on the development of tools to analyze the political and social (nonmarket) environment of business in the United States, Europe, China, India, and Japan, among others. Topics include domestic policy-making, corporate political strategies, government regulation and deregulation, industrial policy, trade policy, and international institutions. Upon completing the course, students will know how to design and implement complementary market and nonmarket strategies that will allow them to compete globally. As of 2019, the course is cross-listed with the law school, allowing for interaction among MBAs and law students, enriching class discussion.

CAREER FIELD: International political economy and business strategy

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Vinod (Vinnie) Aggarwal is Travers Family Senior Faculty Fellow and Professor in the Department of Political Science, Affiliated Professor of Business and Public Policy in the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Berkeley Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the Editor and founder of the journal Business and Politics, published by Cambridge University Press. Prof. Aggarwal received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He also regularly teaches in the MBA program as a Visiting Professor at INSEAD. In the public sector, Prof. Aggarwal has advised the Mexican Government, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the World Bank, OECD, and the World Trade Organization, among others. He has also consulted on the design and implementation of market and nonmarket strategies with major multinational corporations. He has authored or edited 21 books and published over 120 articles. He has edited a three-book series entitled Winning in Asia: Market and Nonmarket Strategies for Success and he has also published books on European, Latin American, and Asian trade strategies as well as a book on responses to the rise of China. In 1997, he won the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at the Haas School of Business for Ph.D. teaching; in 2003 he was first runner up for the Cheit Award for MBA teaching and he won first place for the MBA program in 2005.