International Marketing

This course will present an overview of marketing practices in a global environment and provide the framework upon which international marketing management can be based. Emphasis will be placed on the scope and challenges of international marketing, the culture, political, legal, and business systems of global markets, the global market opportunities, and the development of global marketing strategies (product planning, promotion, pricing and channels of distribution). The course is designed to provide students with the latest understanding of global issues and the necessary skills in making strategic decisions based on a global perspective through lectures, case studies, and group projects.

Consumer Behavior across Cultures

Consumer behavior covers all the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products and services, including the mental and social processes that precede and follow these actions. This field is of utmost importance for marketers’ and companies’ decisions. This module examines consumption related choices from an international perspective. It focuses on the individual consumer and offers students an accurate picture about a) the process of consumer behavior and impact on consumer decision making; b) how culture clashes and values affect consumer behavior; and c) how international marketers decode and incorporate into their offerings the cultural components of foreign target markets.

Marketing Research

Marketing research allows marketers to make empirically-determined, well-informed decisions and more so when dealing with the complexities of international markets. This module is intended to introduce the principles of marketing research and familiarize students with the main research methods and techniques. Its syllabus include topics such as research methodology, research design, data sources for international marketing research, measurement and scales, questionnaire design, survey design, sampling, understanding marketing metrics, qualitative studies, and basic analytical techniques.

Digital Marketing I

The course, among others, includes the following topics: (a) web analytics, (b) digital advertising campaigns and analysis of their performance (Google Ads / Meta Ads), (c) corporate presence in social networks and analysis of interaction with digital followers, (d) marketing strategy and digital business models, (e) consumer behavior online, (f) content marketing, (g) Search Engine Optimization, (h) e-mail marketing, (i) UX design.

Advertising & Communication

The main objective of this module is to familiarize students with the mechanisms that determine the effectiveness of advertising and integrated marketing communications (IMC). A balanced approach is adopted with a focus on both the theoretical and managerial aspects of advertising and IMC. The module emphasizes the role of marketing strategy and communication strategy in enhancing brand equity. In addition to advertising, a range of other MARCOM tools (e.g. sales promotion, personal sale, public relations, internet and social media advertising) are presented and their synergistic use is discussed. The process and issues surrounding the development of an IMC plan as well as the methods for assessing its effectiveness are analyzed. The challenges of advertising and IMC at an international level provide a central focus throughout the module.

Upon completion of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the relation between marketing goals and communication goals.
• Understand the function of advertising and its relationship to branding.
• Understand the role of each MARCOM tool as a component of an integrated strategy.
• Understand and handle the challenges of international communications.
• Develop their own IMC plans and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Plan, execute and evaluate local and international IMC campaigns.

Business Strategy

The objective of this course is to help students develop the skills for formulating and implementing strategy. It provides an understanding of: A company's operative environment and how to build and sustain competitive advantage; How to make a strategic choice given a number of alternative strategic options; How to create superior customer value by designing the optimum configuration of company resources and capabilities; How to balance the opportunities and risks associated with dynamic and uncertain changes in industry attractiveness and competitive position; How to spot and avoid the most common strategy mistakes taking place and make better strategic decisions; How to direct the company into the future.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Innovation is the most important guarantor of sustainable competitive advantage for firms around the world. Entrepreneurship is the principal source of jobs and wealth in the economy. However, shaping an organization so that it successfully and repeatedly brings innovations to market is a daunting managerial challenge. This course examines the basics managers need to organize and commercialize valuable innovation in both entrepreneurial and established firms. Major topics include designing appropriate innovation processes; identifying, building and commercializing innovations; taking advantage of internal and external sources of innovation; and structuring entrepreneurial organizations. The course includes lectures, case analyses, visiting experts, practical exercises and student presentations.

Digital Marketing II

The purpose of the course is for students to understand the subject and methods of digital marketing analytics and at the same time to familiarize themselves with modern empirical approaches to the analysis of the behavior of online users. Students will acquire the knowledge and skills required to analyze the vast amount of data resulting from user interactions and transactions with corporate websites, social networking pages and online advertising campaigns in order to extract useful, data- driven, conclusions. The course, among others, includes the following topics: (a) web analytics, (b) digital advertising campaigns and analysis of their performance, (c) corporate presence in social networks and analysis of interaction with digital followers, (d) search and content marketing analytics, (e) customer analytics (CLV, RFM analysis), (f) advanced topics on digital marketing analytics (Marketing Automations, Experiments with A/B testing, Marketing attribution, Analytics platforms).

B2B Marketing

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to understand the unique conditions of B2B markets (transactions among businesses) and the relevant marketing strategy adaptations in both strategic and tactical level regarding both the company and the customer.

Brand Management

Upon completion of this module, students will have acquired new knowledge on fundamentals of brand and product, types of product and brand decisions, branding and logos, new product and brand development and product line pruning.

Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability

This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability practices in the business world. Students will explore the ethical, social, and environmental dimensions of business operations, and how companies can contribute positively to society while maintaining financial success. The course will cover theoretical foundations, practical applications, and case studies to facilitate a holistic understanding of CSR and sustainability.

Customer Journey & Experience

This course aims to enable students to appreciate the breadth, the significance and the centrality of the customer experience; to comprehend the notion of the customer journey and the tools that enable us to analyse it; to appreciate how to manage, enhance, and optimize the customer experience and how to achieve excellence, via the optimum management of the service provision process, the people involved, and the environmental multi-sensory atmospherics. Students are exposed to a number of managerial tools and techniques and through the hands-on, practical application approach of the course they learn how to use them by applying them to real life examples

Fashion & Luxury Marketing

The module offers students the opportunity to acquire knowledge about how the domestic and international fashion industry operates, its opportunities and prospects, problems and ways to address them, knowledge of fashion and luxury marketing management and businesses operating in this field, skills in strategic management of fashion product branding and application of an appropriate, integrated communication strategy, the ability to understand the mechanism of consumer purchasing decisions and predict future trends in the fashion and luxury industry

Negotiations

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Conduct successful negotiations
• Appreciate the importance of negotiation skills
• Understand the nature of interpersonal and intergroup dispute
• Distinguish between alternative approaches to dispute resolution
• Understand the nature of negotiation as a dispute resolution process
• Understand its requirements and the factors that influence its outcome
• Distinguish between claiming and creating value in negotiation
• Analyze and plan a negotiation
• Choose the appropriate strategy

Sales Management

The purpose of the course is to analyze the dimensions of the complex operation of the Sales department. Specifically, emphasis will be placed on:

(a) In the sales process and sales techniques. The focus will be on business-to-business transactions where the bulk of market sales are seen, but the basic approaches will also apply to retail sales. References will also be made to electronic sales.

(b) In strategic and critical decisions that are required to be made by Sales executives when designing a sales plan, such as market forecasting and setting Sales targets, determining the Sales force and fleet as well as hybrid and mixed sales systems (eg agents) that can be implemented by a company, the planning of the sales areas in combination with the targeting and positioning of the company, and the organization of the Sales force.

(c) In the role of cooperation and methods of coordination of the Sales department with the Marketing department (since these two functions are the most customer-centric), as well as in general management issues of the relations of the Sales department with other key departments and functions of a company.

(d) In broader issues contained in the operation of the Sales department such as the logic of CRM systems, customer service, complaint management, the importance of service orientation (servitization) and service-dominant logic, as well as decisions with HR philosophy such as remuneration, training, control of Salespeople and internal marketing policies (Internal Marketing Orientation).

(e) In the key role of the adoption of the Marketing philosophy in the strategic planning and implementation of the Sales operations with a view to providing value to the customer (customer value).

Sales Promotion

Students attending this module will likely get a job with a manufacturer of consumer goods (e.g., grocery or durables) or a domestic/global retailer. It is, therefore, of particular importance to acquire knowledge about retail sales promotions. By combining empirical evidence with practical illustrations and case studies, this module aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the nature, content, and context of retail sales promotions. After module completion, students will be able to know:

• The role of gifts in sales promotions
• The philosophy of sales promotion
• The conditions justifying a sales promotion campaign
• The alternative methods of retail sales promotions
• Issues relating to the design, implementation, and post-promotion evaluation of sales promotions campaigns
• Promotions in perishable product categories
• Promotions in durable product categories
• Framing of sales promotions
• The role of gifts in sales promotion

A thesis is an original piece of work on a topic within the marketing and communication disciplines. The topic is selected by the student after consultation with faculty. The purpose of a master thesis is to demonstrate the student’s ability and expertise in the chosen field of study. It should be around 15,000 words long. A principal supervisor is assigned to each student to assist with guidance on how to prepare, produce, and submit the master thesis.