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Colombia Conundrum: Internationalization of a U.S. Business School

Rebecca B. Geffner, Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), Annette E. Craven, University of the Incarnate Word
August 5, 2020
SKU:
BUS-006889
Region: 
North America
Topic: 
Strategy & General Management
Length: 
13 pages
Keywords: 
Internationalization, strategic alliances, emerging markets, sustainable business models
Copyrighted by: 
Society for Case Research
Student Price: 
$4.00 (€3.75)
Average rating: 
0

The Colombia Conundrum case recounts the evolution of a US business school’s internationalization strategy. It begins with a new university policy, which forces the business school dean to critically evaluate the school’s portfolio of programs and decide which programs are profitable, identify the best opportunities, and which should be terminated. The program is breaking even financially. The university has forced the dean to a critical decision point, the business school must decide what to do with the program in order to drive profitability. The questions become how long does a school need to wait for such programs to become profitable, and how long is too long? When is the appropriate time to shut it down if it is not working? How can a school export a high-quality product at an affordable price point for an emerging market consumer? Are there localization or differentiation strategies that can help?

Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Demonstrate internationalization strategies and the business potential of emerging markets for educational institutions and for business more generally.
  2. Evaluate the conundrum of entrepreneurism and risk taking in global markets while managing the bottom line. 
  3. Analyze the challenges and opportunities of strategic alliances for higher education institutions.