International Commerce

This fully revised and updated fourth edition of International Business offers an action- focused, practical approach to the topic, helping students understand the global business environment and its repercussions for executives. The book provides thorough coverage, delving into fundamental concepts and theory; the cultural, political, and economic environment; international business strategies; and even functional management areas. More comprehensive than competing books, this new edition of International Business includes: A new chapter on the digitalization of the global economy and its implications for firm strategy and organizations. New examinations of the forces of de- globalization, implications of rising trade protectionism, challenges of geopolitical conflicts, and a friction framework for understanding the effects of cultural differences. Enriched and expanded discussions about potential reconfigurations of global value chains following the COVID- 19 pandemic, changing perspectives on the role of the government with renewed attention to industrial policy, shifts in regional integration with the emergence of such new trade blocks as CPTPP and RCEP, and fresh insights on factors influencing a country’s balance of payments. Strengthened, expanded global cases, examples, and “industry” and “country” mini- cases that give students practical insight into the ways companies actually behave within a competitive, global environment. Also featuring a companion website with a test bank, PowerPoint slides, and instructor’s manual, this book is ideal for students and instructors of any international business course at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

The vast majority of international trade is supported by some form of trade financing: a specialized, sometimes complex form of financing that is poorly understood even by bankers and seasoned finance and treasury experts. Financing Trade and International Supply Chains takes the mystery out of trade and supply chain finance, providing a practical, straightforward overview of a discipline that is fundamental to the successful conduct of trade: trade that contributes to the creation of economic value, poverty reduction and international development, while increasing prosperity across the globe. The book suggests that every trade or supply chain finance solution, no matter how elaborate, addresses some combination of four elements: facilitation of secure and timely payment, effective mitigation of risk, provision of financing and liquidity, and facilitation of transactional and financial information flow. The book includes observations on the effective use of traditional mechanisms such as Documentary Letters of Credit, as well as an overview of emerging supply chain finance solutions and programs, critical to the financing of strategic suppliers and other members of complex supply chain ecosystems. The important role of export credit agencies and international financial institutions is explored, and innovations such as the Bank Payment Obligation are addressed in detail. Financing Trade and International Supply Chains is a valuable resource for practitioners, business executives, entrepreneurs and others involved in international commerce and trade. This book balances concept with practical insight, and can help protect the financial interests of companies pursuing opportunity in international markets.

Why do institutions emerge, operate, evolve and persist? Institutional Choice and Global Commerce elaborates a theory of boundedly rational institutional choice that explains when states USE available institutions, SELECT among alternative forums, CHANGE existing rules, or CREATE new arrangements (USCC). The authors reveal the striking staying power of the institutional status quo and test their innovative theory against evidence on institutional choice in global commerce from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Cases range from the establishment in 1876 of the first truly international system of commercial dispute resolution, the Mixed Courts of Egypt, to the founding and operation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the World Trade Organization, and the International Accounting Standards Board. Analysts of institutional choice henceforth must take seriously not only the distinct demands of specific cooperation dilemmas, but also the wide array of available institutional choices.

Acting in a socially-responsible manner has become a crucial success factor for many international firms due to the highly complex, competitive, and volatile global environment in which they operate. This book will contribute new ideas, contemporary knowledge, and original research to the area of socially-responsible international business, and offers challenging directions for future research. Topic covered range from global environmental influences on acting in a socially-responsible way; foreign buyer reactions to responsible business and international market targeting to development of socially-responsible international business strategies.