CAS Leading Change in International Business

The CAS is aimed at specialists and executives from companies who coordinate international partners, locations, or multicultural teams, are involved in the development of new or existing markets, and manage collaboration across organizational and cultural boundaries. These include in particular engineers and project managers with responsibility for international projects and cooperations, after-sales managers, team leaders in R&D with interfaces to international locations, as well as specialists in the areas of operations, supply chain, business development, and quality management with a global focus.

• Participants are able to contextualize international business developments in a dynamic global environment and analyze relevant technological, economic, and societal frameworks with regard to concrete organizational and market developments.
• Participants are able to implement international strategies through cross-organizational partnerships, such as alliances, joint ventures, international M&A initiatives, and global value creation networks.
• Participants are able to effectively lead cross-organizational adaptation and integration processes for the development of new and existing markets by purposefully applying organizational psychology and cultural dynamics as well as digital leadership tools.
   

The focus of this CAS lies on the development of new and existing markets through  international partnerships, cross-organizational collaboration, and the integration of locations. Through the integration of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in cooperation with chambers of commerce and Swissnex, participants gain direct cooperation experience with partners in target markets such as Brazil, China, India, Japan, Eastern Europe, and the USA. These practical experiences are complemented by AI-supported tools in self-study and form the foundation for developing international business relationships and entering new markets.

• Fundamentals of geocultural intelligence in a multipolar world (techno-nationalism) 
• Culturally adapted internationalization strategies 
• Building strategic partnerships, including mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures 
• Digital transformation in international management 
• Global supply chains and resilience strategies 
• International marketing

• Leading cross-organizational change and integration processes 
• Multicultural team leadership in a fragmented business environment 
• Headquarters and subsidiaries: roles, CEO, and top management teams 
• Leadership approaches for top management teams in decision-making and change processes 
• Intercultural communication and negotiation strategies

The CAS Leading Change in International Business combines theory and practice through real case studies, interactive digital tools, and the reflection of current advances in international management. Participants develop and test internationalization scenarios for multinational partnerships, benefiting from the modern infrastructure of ZHAW. Experts from internationally active companies, facilitated discussions, group work, and simulations promote the transfer of knowledge to practice.

A Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) group project additionally enables virtual exchange with partners in target markets and offers practice-oriented insights into specific regional business contexts.

The assessment for Module 1 and Module 2 is to be completed in the form of a written group assignment and presentation. Language: German or English.

On-site and in person

• Prof. Dr. Christopher Hartwell

• Dr. Evangelos Syrigos

• Swissnex (www.swissnex.org)

• European M&A Institute (https://www.european-ma-institute.org)

Graduates of universities of applied sciences or universities with at least two years of professional experience are eligible for admission. Professionals without a university degree may be admitted provided they have at least five years of professional experience and the relevant further education qualifications (higher vocational school or higher professional examination with a federal certificate of proficiency / diploma). The final admission decision rests with the program director.