Does international management education (IME) need to be re-invented? This was the question we pondered in the Academy of Management session in Montreal, 2010. The end of the conference, however, represented a new beginning for us.We took the lead of the Commissioning Editor Terry Clague in Routledge and worked on this volume. In addition, we also invited some of the most well-known academics to broaden our horizon for the Routledge Companion to International Management Education.
The purpose of this volume is to summarize the current state of research and practice in IME, and to present to general and specialist readers different lenses of IME, using a critical approach, institutional approach, cultural approach and industry approach. Perhaps we could consider the notion of IME at this point. What is international management education really? Indeed, there is no general consensus regarding the boundary of international management education. Some might argue that its fundamental components could be found in the teaching of international business in US high schools. The purpose of this volume, however, is to confine our discussion within the domain of higher education institutions, which provide programmes such as MSc in International Management. In fact, Reading University is the birthplace of this unique type of degree; a group of visionaries including Simon Booth, Mark Casson, Geoffrey Jones and Matthias Kipping identified the need of international management education and successfully launched and grew it, helping it to become a global phenomenon. It should, however, be noted that IME is also embedded in other programmes such as MBA or BA Business and Management. Even though a university might not offer business- or management-related programmes, IME could be found at the module level such as International Marketing.
The fundamental of IME is open for debate, but generally speaking the subject disciplines of International Business, International Management and International Strategy are seen as the core elements. Disciplines such as marketing, entrepreneurship, finance and ethics could be incorporated under the three aforementioned disciplines. However, the role of international marketing, international entrepreneurship and international ethics and corporate social responsibility has been increasingly addressed independently within the broad discussion of international management education. Hence, this volume will provide a snapshot view of the three disciplines along the core elements of International Business, International Management and International Strategy. This volume is organized into five parts. The first part aims to provide an overview of the key challenges facing IME within the academic, the industry and the global setting. It then ends with the important chapter by Eden et al., which looks at the widely discussed domain of international management. This chapter is based on the article published in the International Studies of Management and Organization, Winter 2010–11.We are indebted to ME Sharpe's kind permission for the reprint.
The second part titled ‘What is international management education?’ provides a clear and succinct overview of the disciplines fundamental for international management education, covering the historical and emerging themes. Key questions asked here include what the current state of our knowledge about the research underling IME is and what approach has been adopted to pursue the knowledge. As International Business provides the solid intellectual foundation for IME, the chapters in Part II have direct and indirect reference to International Business. To a certain extent, it highlights the overall and important contribution of International Business towards IME. This International Business centric version of IME corresponds with the early creation of IM Master's degrees and the theoretical development of International Business theories in Reading.
Though the origin of IME could be traced to Anglo-American universities, its diffusion in other socio-economic settings deserves attention. Part III therefore considers the global development of IME. After examining the theoretical and practical development of IME in the Brazilian context, we confine our focus to its implementation in terms of the subject disciplines (ethics and marketing) and national/regional context (UAE, Russia, China and SE Asia). China and SE Asia are selected as they represent important geographical segments of IME, both in terms of indigenous upstarts of institutions dedicating towards IME in recent years, as well as the outflow of students pursuing international management education in historical institutions abroad. The country selection was balanced with the discussion of evolution and legacy of the former Soviet system and the less well-covered Islamic context. This part then looks at IME in Africa, using a case example of the University of Botswana.
The technological impact on modern education has been profound. Part IV investigates some interesting issues revolving around technology, beginning with the possible technological fix for Polish IME. This part will also look at the application of technology such as mobile learning and the use of films in teaching.Then, we will continue to explore the practical aspects of IT towards international management. Part V, ‘Rethinking international management education’, covers some thought-provoking and controversial subjects, ending with a vision of IME not simply for established MNEs but also for entrepreneurial ventures.
Many people helped with the successful completion of this distinctive volume. The most important ones are our contributors, who have generously committed themselves to this volume despite their involvement in other international projects. Some of them went beyond their line of duty and participated in the review process in an efficient and effective manner. In addition, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the great reviewers from Harvard Business School, Copenhagen Business School, Zhejiang University and University of Reading. Finally, I would like to thank Routledge London, Canada SMEs Consulting and Derya Butik Cyprus who spon-sored the competitions and prizes during the writing process. As this volume begins with the Montreal Conference, it is appropriate that it ends with a Reading conference. Indeed, we had a great time during the Rethinking IME virtual conference in Spring 2012.
Denise Tsang