Doing Business in Latin America

Join us in the course Doing Business in Latin America. In this course, you will learn about the characteristics of the biggest multilatinas, how they have built their domestic and international competitive advantage, and you will identify which are the challenges and innovations to achieve the sustainability of their superior economic performance. The course includes videos presenting and explaining the topics, learning and evaluation activities, interviews, reviews, reports, and additional bibliography. Assessment activities are designed so that you get feedback, which is saved in the platform, so that you can pick up where you left off when you go online again. Our educational focus enables meaningful and practical learning, in which students build knowledge through their own reflection, their own experience, and genuine cooperation with others. All the learning activities on the course were designed with these principles as a basis. We will guide you through a series of videos and practical assignments that will allow you to reflect on and understand the economic, social, and environmental challenges and opportunities that have allowed multilatinas to build their leadership in and from the Latin American region. This course is for those who want to expand their knowledge about Latin American companies’ businesses. In particular, it is designed for those who want to understand how international success stories are built in the region and how many challenges have turned into opportunities for the business sector. This course does not require any previous knowledge and therefore it is especially relevant for people in academic training, who want to complement their studies or to have a space for reflection and interaction with others who are interested and experienced in this field. Finally, this course can be useful for professors in the field of international business and strategy, who want to gain in-depth knowledge about multilatinas and companies in Latin America. At the end of this course, you will understand thoroughly the most important concepts regarding internationalization topics. You will understand the opportunities offered by the Latin American context that has forced multilatinas to become resilient, to create new value propositions in their activities, and often to rethink the role they play in the territories where they operate. In the final assignment, you will record a video in which you will make a summary of the advantages of doing business in the Latin American region, based on what you have reflected on and learned. This way you will demonstrate your capacity of giving a precise, informed and revealing opinion about the topic. The course is designed to last 4 weeks with a workload of 6-7 hours per week, but you can take as long as you need. All the information about your participation and progress will always be available and updated on Coursera. You can pick up in the activities you left off. For example, you can watch a video as many times as you want, pause it to take notes or put it off while you consult some of the additional bibliography that we provide you with. Finally, this course is part of the specialization Doing Business in Latin America, created by Universidad de los Andes, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. We invite you to take the other two courses if you have not yet taken them. This course is for people who want to expand their knowledge about Latin American companies’ businesses. In particular, it is designed for those who want to understand how international success stories are built in the region and how many challenges have turned into opportunities for the business sector. This course does not require any previous knowledge and therefore it is especially relevant for people in academic training, who want to complement their studies or to have a space for reflection and interaction with others who are interested and experienced in this field. Finally, this course can be useful for professors in the field of international business and strategy, who want to gain in-depth knowledge about multilatinas and companies in Latin America.

• How do multilatinas create competitive advantage?
• Welcome! On this course you will learn about the most distinctive characteristics of multilatinas and come to understand how they create their competitive advantage. It has traditionally been said that multilatinas create their competitive advantage through costs, but in recent years, several multilatinas, as well as achieving efficiency, have sought competitive advantage through differentiation.
• Driving forces behind business development in Latin America
• In this module, you will learn about the role of natural resources in the development of Latin American economies. You will learn about the power of corporate groups and their contribution to the development of the Latin American business sector. And, finally, you will have the chance to examine the role of the state in industrial policies.
• Internationalization strategies
• Welcome! In this module you will learn about how multilatinas’ domestic success leverages their internationalization process and conditions three key decisions regarding their internationalization strategies: market selection, speed, and entry modes.
• Innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America
• Welcome! In this module, you will learn about the impact of new technologies in Latin America's business and economic development. You will learn that it is a region with great talent and creative skills, and you will understand its opportunities and challenges for high-impact entrepreneurs.