Responsible International Business and Strategic Risk Management

Module code: MK7056

International businesses now operate in an environment where global interdependence, persistent crises, and rapid technological transformation are the norm. The boundaries between the economy, society, environment, and geopolitics are increasingly fluid, requiring firms to navigate complexity with foresight, responsibility, and resilience. Responsible International Business and Strategic Risk Management examines how organisations can act responsibly, sustainably, and profitably while managing the strategic risks that define the operating environment.

This module challenges you to rethink conventional business logics and equips you with the conceptual frameworks and practical tools to make and anticipate ethical, sustainable, and strategic decisions in a dynamic and uncertain global context. It is not only concerned with what businesses should do, but with what they can do to shape a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient world. You will be encouraged to think critically, debate ethically, and analyse strategically. The module creates a collaborative learning space where diverse histories, cultures, politics, and experiences can be shared to deepen your understanding, empathy, and respect for multiple perspectives. Whether your career aspirations lie in multinational corporations, global entrepreneurship, or international policymaking, integrating responsibility and risk thinking will be essential for future leadership.

Unit 1: Responsible Business

Unit 1 explores the changing landscape of responsible international business, focusing on how global firms navigate ethical, cultural, and strategic challenges in an increasingly unstable and interdependent world. Key themes include the evolving role of business in society, the integration of ethics into global strategy, and the transition from profit maximisation to stakeholder-oriented and inclusive capitalism. We investigate how international businesses shape and are shaped by civil society, and how global marketing practices influence cultural norms, identities, and aspirations. You will use critical frameworks such as post-growth ethics to assess whether international businesses can reconcile profitability with sustainability, equity, and long-term legitimacy in the face of climate crisis, widening inequality, and systemic disruption.

Unit 2: Sustainable International Business

This unit focuses on how ethics and responsibility are embedded into international business practice. It begins by unpacking the role of ethical decision-making not just as a protective mechanism for business, but as a proactive commitment to fairness, transparency, and global accountability. You will explore the potential of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks, particularly when combined with a sincere commitment to compliance and transformation, to move businesses beyond performative gestures and towards meaningful systemic change. This includes critical analysis skills of how responsible strategy drives ethical value creation across global markets. You will examine how businesses engage with climate change and ecological challenges to explore the principles of sustainable marketing and grapple with the challenges of embedding transparency and accountability into brand narratives. We will pay particular attention to the risks of greenwashing and woke-washing, analysing ethical communication as a core strategic practice for building trust, avoiding performative activism, and fostering genuine stakeholder engagement.

Unit 3: Strategic Risk Management

In today’s global business environment, risk is an inherent part of strategic decision-making. You will explore how international organisations perceive, assess, and respond to complex risks, including market volatility, political instability, reputational threats, and rising demands for ethical and sustainable business conduct. Through real-world case studies and collaborative discussions that link strategy with responsibility, you will develop practical skills to lead with awareness and confidence in uncertain environments. Whether preparing for the unexpected or managing a crisis, you will develop the confidence to think clearly and act responsibly. The unit introduces the foundational principles of strategic risk management, including the critical analysis of perceived versus actual risks, environmental vulnerabilities, and how risk is understood and communicated across different organisational and cultural contexts. We will explore how practical tools such as risk registers, heat maps, and scenario planning can be used to build organisational and managerial capacity for anticipating and mitigating environmental and non-environmental risks. Our goal is to apply sustainable thinking to risk assessment in a world that is continuously evolving.