Danish SMEs Going Global: The Strategic Path to Growth in Foreign Markets

the course

Amid shifting geopolitical landscapes, supply chain disruptions, and rapidly evolving markets, recent research by the Danish Industry Foundation underscores that internationalization remains a crucial growth driver for Danish SMEs—boosting revenue, employment, innovation and overall value creation. Yet many companies venturing abroad find themselves unprepared to strategically deal with risks of the increasingly uncertain global environment.

This course equips executives to move from a reactive stance, troubleshooting problems as they arise, to proactively crafting their international expansion strategy. Through a systematic framework built on cutting-edge insights from the field of international business strategy, you will learn how to evaluate new markets and market entry strategies, manage cross-border operations, understand and overcome various geopolitical, economic and operational risks engrained in the internationalization process, and develop a cohesive strategy that advances your organization’s international growth ambitions.

Each participant is offered two optional, free of charge, individual sessions with the course instructors—one before the two-day training and another one afterwards. These sessions offer a platform for a tailored consultation on your specific challenges of building an internationalization strategy, giving you personalized feedback on how best to integrate and apply the course insights in your own business context.

This course is taught in English.

who should attend?

This course is designed for CEOs, managing directors, owners, senior executives, international sales managers, export managers, international sales representatives, business developers, marketing managers, and trade advisers of Danish SMEs who are at the beginning of their international journey—those with 1-3 years’ experience in foreign markets (for example, through selling, sourcing, or other activities) or considering their first steps abroad.

It is especially suited for companies that need to develop a coherent strategy for international growth, providing clear, actionable insights to guide their expansion.

Key Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will acquire:

• Practical tools and solutions for designing and refining an internationalization strategy, tailored to the needs of Danish SMEs.
• A short-cut to building competitive advantage in global markets by leveraging your company’s distinctive strengths to gain a competitive edge when entering, expanding and managing operations in foreign markets.
• Actionable insights for strategic growth focusing on aligning your international expansion with overarching business goals, ensuring that your global initiatives drive lasting impact.
• Strategies for identification and mitigation of risk by spotting potential vulnerabilities, crafting contingency plans, and managing uncertainties in volatile markets.
• Dynamic, real-world learning experience through a tripartite course setup—interactive lectures, in-depth case analyses of Danish and foreign companies, and peer discussions—enabling you to apply these insights directly to your organization’s context.

Course Content Overview

The course consists of two key components:

Part I: Two Days of Intensive On-Site Training
Throughout the two-day program, you will engage in interactive lectures, real-life case studies (including Danish SMEs), and peer discussions to:

• Explore Success Factors and Pitfalls
  Here you will understand why some companies excel internationally while others fall short or fail, with a particular focus on the resource and capability considerations unique to Danish SMEs.
• Master the “Why, When, Where, and How”
  You will examine the interconnected decisions that drive internationalization—goals you want to achieve by operating in foreign markets, market selection, entry modes, and timing—and learn how to align these choices with broader organizational goals.
• Develop a Structured Strategy
  You will acquire frameworks and insights to map out your company’s strengths, weaknesses, and risk profile, ensuring a balanced approach to global expansion that mitigates vulnerabilities.
• Manage Global Operations
  Tailored to different stages of internationalization, you will discover practical ways to lead cross-border teams, adapt products or services to different markets, and sustain competitive advantage through strategic resource and capability management.
• Safeguard Against Risk
  You will understand and identify the sources and influences of geopolitical, economic, and operational risks, as well as outline contingency plans to address them—preparing you to navigate volatile international environments effectively.

Part II: Two Individual 1:1 sessions
Each participant is offered two optional, free of charge, 60-minute one-on-one sessions with our course instructors—one before the on-site training and one after. In the initial session (taking place in week 33 or 34), you will have the opportunity to discuss your firm’s specific internationalization challenges, issues, and questions, and receive tailored feedback. 

After the intensive two-day training, the follow-up session (taking place in weeks 41 to 43) allows you to review your progress, discuss how you will have applied the insights from the course, and further refine your internationalization strategy with personalized insights. These individually scheduled sessions are designed to provide focused guidance and help you overcome your most pressing challenges.

practical information

The course combines theory with practical insights. The course consists of:

• 2 full days of on-site training at Aarhus University
• 2 personalized 1:1 sessions (60 minutes) scheduled individually with each participant (optional, free of charge)

Program

Program coming soon.