what exactly is international business?

Answer 1

International business is any aspect of a trade between two countries. For instance, if Coke sells its product in China, they're conducting international business.

Within that broad definition of international business, there are subdivisions, though. There's International Finance, International Marketing, International Operations Management, and International Accounting, to name a few.

The International Finance specialist will deal with the financing structure of the agreement. He will deal with the different currencies as well as any debt management.

The International Marketer will develop marketing campaigns for the Chinese market, often working with Chinese Advertising agencies to ensure that Coke's message is projected in a culturally acceptable way.

The International Operations Manager may deal with shipping the Coke to China or distributing it once it's there.

The International Accountant will balance the books and pay the appropriate taxes.


This also works in reverse. There are companies in China that want to sell to us. They need Americans to facilitate getting their products to our markets.

Answer 2

Beg to differ:
International business is any business which has cross-border aspects.
It does NOT have to between countries.
It can be between residents fo the same country (doing business abroad).
It can be the result of exposure to double taxation.
It can be the result of double jurisdiction, governing law, execution or teh lack thereof.
It can be the result of nothing more than a contract being in a foreign language.
... or involving foreign currency
... or international transport
... or standards
... or registered rights
... or real estate
etc., etc., etc.

In addition, in most international transactioin what you would need is first and foremost an inter-cultural negotiator and an experienced international lawyer. Without the first one you might break the deal, in stead of making it. Without the second one, you might make a"broken" deal, which may go sour before it yielded its full value.