Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism

Course Number 1130

Professor Geoffrey G. Jones
Fall, 29 Sessions
Option of paper or final exam

Career Focus

For students who want to understand the past and present of globalization in order to advance their careers in the global economy of tomorrow.

Educational Objectives

This course draws lessons from the history of global capitalism for the business leaders of the future. Many of the opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs and businesses in the global economy today have been encountered in the past. The purpose of EGC is to offer this perspective as a unique strategic resource for today's business leaders. Through the eyes of global entrepreneurs of the past, we will explore the origins and dynamics of global capitalism; the identification and exploitation of global business opportunities; and the business challenges and opportunities posed by differences in business and political systems, and cultures. The course provides an historical framework for understanding global capitalism, and its past eras of crisis, and a guide for thinking about its future.

Content and Organization

EGC consists of four modules. The first examines how entrepreneurs built the first global economy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by creating business organizations that pursued resources and markets across borders. It shows how these pioneers identified opportunities and managed risks in the face of adversity. The second module seeks to understand the spectacular reversal of globalization from the 1920s, as wars, the Great Depression, and the enormous wealth gap between the rich West and the rest of the world, prompted governments to seek to reverse globalization. It explores the role entrepreneurs played in causing the widespread questioning of the legitimacy of global capitalism during this period. The third module shows how entrepreneurs slowly rebuilt global capitalism and global markets after World War 2. The final module examines the creation of the second global economy between 1979 and the present day as countries such as Brazil, China and India opened their borders to global capitalism, and as information technology transformed entrepreneurial opportunities, and employs the lessons of history to understand the current risks of deglobalization.

EGC offers a framework for understanding the diversity and complexity of global capitalism by providing cases on entrepreneurs from many countries, and from industries ranging from opium trading and luxury watches in the first global economy to beauty products, cinema and outsourcing in the second global economy. The course includes some of the world's most well-known entrepreneurs, as well as some of the most infamous. By reviewing the historical evidence on global entrepreneurship, it provides a unique learning opportunity for those considering entrepreneurial careers, whilst demonstrating the critical role of entrepreneurs in sustaining the legitimacy of global capitalism.

Students will have the option of taking a final exam or writing a final paper.