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International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace: 2025 Release
Market-defining since it was introduced International Competing in the Global Marketplace by Charles W.L. Hill (University of Washington) sets the standard and is the proven choice for International Business at the undergraduate and graduate level. The 14th edition provides a complete solution that is relevant (timely comprehensive) practical (focus on applications of concepts) integrated (integrated progression of topics) and the most up-to-date on the market.
736 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
130 people are currently reading
2018 people want to read
About the author
Charles W.L. Hill
63 books20 followersCharles W. L. Hill is a British-born academic. As of 2016, he is the Hughes M. and Katherine G. Blake Endowed Professor in Business Administration and Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business in Seattle, where he has been teaching since 1988. Previously he taught at Michigan State University (1986–88), and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (now Manchester Metropolitan University; 1983–86). He was also a visiting professor at Texas A&M University (1985–86).[1] His books include Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach (2004), co-authored with G. R. Jones, and International Business: Competing in the Global Market Place (2005).
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 25, 2012
A brilliant international business textbook - it covers such topic areas as economic theories, government policies, business strategies, organizational structures, etc. - all the usual stuff you'd expect to find in any business text.... but what Hill does is that he seems to go a little further than all of his contemporaries.... he challenges not only their explanations, but debunks them as impracticable, worthless and infantile [in some cases]... it's an amusing spectacle when you consider the seniority of those writers that he roughs-up.
The book is very easy to use and can be taken in individual chapters or as a whole. It is not a difficult read and has ample examples that apply to the modern business world.
The book is further enhanced by coming with an interactive cd-rom that expands upon the books contents.
The book is very easy to use and can be taken in individual chapters or as a whole. It is not a difficult read and has ample examples that apply to the modern business world.
The book is further enhanced by coming with an interactive cd-rom that expands upon the books contents.
August 5, 2016
I rented this textbook for Kindle via Amazon for an International Business MBA course I taught this semester. I found the text easily accessible by students and most of the case studies well-written.
Given my various forays into finding a career overseas, I found the chapter on human resources perhaps most intriguing. The book presents various strategies for staffing overseas, which I'll not get into. But Hill presents results of various surveys on results and job satisfaction of people who took overseas assignments on behalf of a company in their home country. Overall, it's not a pretty picture. While American companies increasingly seek and profit from overseas opportunities, the expatriates who help achieve that success seemingly get the short end of the stick.
Some stats which stand out:
"(B)etween 16 and 40 percent of all American employees sent abroad to developed nations return from their assignments early, and almost 70 percent of employees sent to developing nations return home early."
Sending an employee overseas is a big risk for a company because most don't seem equipped to determine whether the employee can handle it-- and has almost no legal way of evaluating whether spouse and children can.
"Tung’s research, for example, showed that only 5 percent of the firms in her sample used formal procedures and psychological tests to assess the personality traits and relational abilities of potential expatriates...90 percent of the time employees were selected on the basis of their technical expertise, not their cross-cultural fluency."
"'inability of spouse to adjust' was the top reason for expatriate failure among U.S. and European multinationals but only the number five reason among Japanese multinationals."
"Managers of European firms gave only one reason consistently to explain expatriate failure: the inability of the manager’s spouse to adjust to a new environment."
Spouse's lack of personal career fulfillment appears to be a factor:
"(Of) spouses, 49 percent were employed before an assignment and only 11 percent were employed during an assignment."
What type of people are successful overseas? (bold mine)
"Mendenhall and Oddou identified four dimensions that seem to predict success in a foreign posting:
self-orientation, others-orientation, perceptual ability, and cultural toughness...Self-orientation: The attributes of this dimension strengthen the expatriate’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and mental well-being. Others-orientation: The attributes of this dimension enhance the expatriate’s ability to interact effectively with host-country nationals. Perceptual ability. This is the ability to understand why people of other countries behave the way they do; that is, the ability to empathize. Cultural toughness. This dimension refers to the relationship between the country of assignment and how well an expatriate adjusts to a particular posting. "
Perhaps worse than not evaluating and training an employee in areas of cross-cultural competency before sending him overseas is not validating that employee after he returns. This is the sad part.
"Often when they return home after a stint abroad—where they have typically been autonomous, well-compensated, and celebrated as a big fish in a little pond—they face an organization that doesn’t know what they have done for the last few years, doesn’t know how to use their new knowledge, and doesn’t particularly care."
"77 percent of those surveyed took jobs at a lower level in their home organization than in their international assignments."
"15 percent of returning expatriates leave their firms within a year of arriving home, and 40 percent leave within three years."
"56 percent of the managers surveyed stated that a foreign assignment is either detrimental or immaterial to one’s career."
"many expatriate managers believe that headquarters management evaluates them unfairly and does not fully appreciate the value of their skills and experience."
It seems employees take overseas assignments primarily for the increase in pay, and perhaps other personal reasons-- like wanting to see the world. But in most cases, it hurts their long-term career aspects with the parent company. Even if they get deep personal fulfillment from their experience overseas, the return hoe robs them of the benefit. I would have expected the opposite.
There are a few happy stories. Large multinationals with a diverse workforce criss-crossing the globe have figured out it's worth investing in their employees' lives overseas and celebrating their success upon return. Shell built and staffed elementary schools on-site for company employees. Monstanto has a complete re-repatriation program where returning expats share with their colleagues their experiences, and the company makes an effort to learn from the employee's debriefing. Ericsson is another listed as managing an overseas workforce well, particularly learning cross-culturally.
I've experienced life overseas as a single, married without children, and married with child. I can definitely relate to the issues of the importance of spouse fulfillment. I tried to point out to my students that HR issues involving overseas staff was just one more item companies tend to underthink and overlook before moving into an overseas market.
Given my various forays into finding a career overseas, I found the chapter on human resources perhaps most intriguing. The book presents various strategies for staffing overseas, which I'll not get into. But Hill presents results of various surveys on results and job satisfaction of people who took overseas assignments on behalf of a company in their home country. Overall, it's not a pretty picture. While American companies increasingly seek and profit from overseas opportunities, the expatriates who help achieve that success seemingly get the short end of the stick.
Some stats which stand out:
"(B)etween 16 and 40 percent of all American employees sent abroad to developed nations return from their assignments early, and almost 70 percent of employees sent to developing nations return home early."
Sending an employee overseas is a big risk for a company because most don't seem equipped to determine whether the employee can handle it-- and has almost no legal way of evaluating whether spouse and children can.
"Tung’s research, for example, showed that only 5 percent of the firms in her sample used formal procedures and psychological tests to assess the personality traits and relational abilities of potential expatriates...90 percent of the time employees were selected on the basis of their technical expertise, not their cross-cultural fluency."
"'inability of spouse to adjust' was the top reason for expatriate failure among U.S. and European multinationals but only the number five reason among Japanese multinationals."
"Managers of European firms gave only one reason consistently to explain expatriate failure: the inability of the manager’s spouse to adjust to a new environment."
Spouse's lack of personal career fulfillment appears to be a factor:
"(Of) spouses, 49 percent were employed before an assignment and only 11 percent were employed during an assignment."
What type of people are successful overseas? (bold mine)
"Mendenhall and Oddou identified four dimensions that seem to predict success in a foreign posting:
self-orientation, others-orientation, perceptual ability, and cultural toughness...Self-orientation: The attributes of this dimension strengthen the expatriate’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and mental well-being. Others-orientation: The attributes of this dimension enhance the expatriate’s ability to interact effectively with host-country nationals. Perceptual ability. This is the ability to understand why people of other countries behave the way they do; that is, the ability to empathize. Cultural toughness. This dimension refers to the relationship between the country of assignment and how well an expatriate adjusts to a particular posting. "
Perhaps worse than not evaluating and training an employee in areas of cross-cultural competency before sending him overseas is not validating that employee after he returns. This is the sad part.
"Often when they return home after a stint abroad—where they have typically been autonomous, well-compensated, and celebrated as a big fish in a little pond—they face an organization that doesn’t know what they have done for the last few years, doesn’t know how to use their new knowledge, and doesn’t particularly care."
"77 percent of those surveyed took jobs at a lower level in their home organization than in their international assignments."
"15 percent of returning expatriates leave their firms within a year of arriving home, and 40 percent leave within three years."
"56 percent of the managers surveyed stated that a foreign assignment is either detrimental or immaterial to one’s career."
"many expatriate managers believe that headquarters management evaluates them unfairly and does not fully appreciate the value of their skills and experience."
It seems employees take overseas assignments primarily for the increase in pay, and perhaps other personal reasons-- like wanting to see the world. But in most cases, it hurts their long-term career aspects with the parent company. Even if they get deep personal fulfillment from their experience overseas, the return hoe robs them of the benefit. I would have expected the opposite.
There are a few happy stories. Large multinationals with a diverse workforce criss-crossing the globe have figured out it's worth investing in their employees' lives overseas and celebrating their success upon return. Shell built and staffed elementary schools on-site for company employees. Monstanto has a complete re-repatriation program where returning expats share with their colleagues their experiences, and the company makes an effort to learn from the employee's debriefing. Ericsson is another listed as managing an overseas workforce well, particularly learning cross-culturally.
I've experienced life overseas as a single, married without children, and married with child. I can definitely relate to the issues of the importance of spouse fulfillment. I tried to point out to my students that HR issues involving overseas staff was just one more item companies tend to underthink and overlook before moving into an overseas market.
May 13, 2021
I read this as an assigned textbook for my International Business university module. The textbook was very thorough and it did cover all the topics needed for this class. Most of the teachings and content that I was taught in lectures came from this book or another textbook, so it included everything needed to catch up on international business topics. This book could be interchangeable with International Business: The New Realities by Cavusgil, the books are extremely similar and cover the same content.
May 27, 2020
Standard international business book. Read as required reading for graduate-level business school.
There are good case study examples in the book which help to explain fairly complex concepts, but I think where the book lacks is that it doesn't "steel man" both sides of an issue (in other words, the authors don't always present the best versions of counter-arguments or differing points of view). This is especially evident in the arguments which are pro-trade agreements.
For example, when explaining the purpose and function of the World Bank and the IMF, the book presents some counter-arguments to the premise that these are inherently good organizations, but it falls far short of explaining the many negative impacts and unknowns that these organizations—along with various free trade agreements—can harm many nations (primarily developing countries, but certainly including the US) while increasingly shifting investments from labor to capital, exploiting labor across the globe wherever it is cheapest and most profitable at the moment, and saddling the poorest and neediest countries with multi-generational debt lasting decades or more.
There are good case study examples in the book which help to explain fairly complex concepts, but I think where the book lacks is that it doesn't "steel man" both sides of an issue (in other words, the authors don't always present the best versions of counter-arguments or differing points of view). This is especially evident in the arguments which are pro-trade agreements.
For example, when explaining the purpose and function of the World Bank and the IMF, the book presents some counter-arguments to the premise that these are inherently good organizations, but it falls far short of explaining the many negative impacts and unknowns that these organizations—along with various free trade agreements—can harm many nations (primarily developing countries, but certainly including the US) while increasingly shifting investments from labor to capital, exploiting labor across the globe wherever it is cheapest and most profitable at the moment, and saddling the poorest and neediest countries with multi-generational debt lasting decades or more.
January 15, 2025
International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace by Charles W. L. Hill, and it served its purpose well for my studies. The book is comprehensive, providing in-depth insights into the complexities of global business operations, from market entry strategies to cultural and ethical considerations.
What I appreciated most was the practical application of theories through case studies and examples, which made the material more relatable and engaging. It was interesting to see how global trends and strategies intersect with real-world scenarios, making the content relevant to modern business challenges.
That said, while the book was effective for my class, some sections felt dense, requiring additional effort to fully grasp the concepts. However, this level of detail reflects the complexity of the subject and highlights the book’s academic rigor.
Overall, International Business was a valuable resource that supported my learning objectives and expanded my understanding of the global marketplace. If you're studying international business or simply looking to broaden your perspective on global commerce, this book is a solid choice.
What I appreciated most was the practical application of theories through case studies and examples, which made the material more relatable and engaging. It was interesting to see how global trends and strategies intersect with real-world scenarios, making the content relevant to modern business challenges.
That said, while the book was effective for my class, some sections felt dense, requiring additional effort to fully grasp the concepts. However, this level of detail reflects the complexity of the subject and highlights the book’s academic rigor.
Overall, International Business was a valuable resource that supported my learning objectives and expanded my understanding of the global marketplace. If you're studying international business or simply looking to broaden your perspective on global commerce, this book is a solid choice.
November 19, 2022
This was my first introduction to business, domestic or international. It is well written and quite thorough. There were some concepts near the end of the book that I felt were not fully explained, but I may have not understood them because I have no business experience.
June 29, 2023
I truly believe this book could have been the best introduction I have ever had to the international business. I can confirm that there can be some occidental biases in the text, but overall, it is clear and well structured on its contents.
July 9, 2020
I read a much higher percentage of this textbook than probably any others I have ever read, so I would say it was pretty good, especially considering it is a textbook.
September 27, 2022
unexceptional!
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October 8, 2025Shoutout to this book, it was quite literally my lifeline during my introduction to international business course🙏
January 23, 2024
I definitely didn’t read this entire book as this was a textbook for one of my classes in grad school.
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February 18, 2015Explained all international trade theories and all other aspects of doing business, including entry strategies, different cultural and ethical aspects that one must consider before entering into global market. Good theories on international monetary system. Best thing of the book is how it relate all theories with past examples using case studies.
Must read for those who want to understand business from global perspective.
Must read for those who want to understand business from global perspective.
August 11, 2016
Very thorough, addressing so many of the aspects of global interactions, events, theories etc. which influence international businesses. Gives good guidance for effective decision-making processes. However, this textbook is quite obviously biased in it's tone. It paints one particular economic philosophy as the best, despite it's major failings.
Worth reading, but not without also exploring alternative philosophies and looking into research with real life, detailed, up to date findings.
Worth reading, but not without also exploring alternative philosophies and looking into research with real life, detailed, up to date findings.
December 29, 2015
One of the best books I read recently on this subject. I bought it for my course and it is really a clear and enjoyable book.
The cases and data are updated and packed with a plenty of scientific references on each chapter. Some chapters goes to around 50 references which reflect the effort of the writer to make such a concise book.
The cases and data are updated and packed with a plenty of scientific references on each chapter. Some chapters goes to around 50 references which reflect the effort of the writer to make such a concise book.
August 10, 2009
This was a text book for the International Business class I took as part of my MBA program. All in all a good, mostly-current textbook that uses several relevant examples and cases. It works well as an overview of general concepts related to International Business.
December 8, 2011
This is considered the premiere text on the subject, so I was surprised at how many typos it has! I found this text extremely dry and boring.
October 26, 2013
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July 17, 2014a great book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2015
This book is very useful for business class.
I recommend it to my classmate.
I recommend it to my classmate.
Read
March 24, 2016good book
May 21, 2014
uluslararası is ile ilgili herşey bu kitapta
April 20, 2017
It has some interesting information for those interested in International Trade and International Business across borders. The book is very helpful
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October 18, 2017-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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March 5, 2018yes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews