International business education: Identifying the emergent topics in international business and their relevance for knowledge development

The objective of the exploratory study is to better understand emerging themes in International Business (IB) education from the perspective of leading IB scholars. Seven major IB topical areas were uncovered and their relative importance on three levels of knowledge development are examined: awareness, understanding, and competency. Significant differences were found with respect to the importance of these factors on the three levels of knowledge development. While it is sufficient to increase students' awareness in General Knowledge of IB and International Trade and Institutions, findings suggest that both awareness and understanding are necessary for Technology Issues and the Political-Economy Environment. Finally, students were expected to be informed in all three levels of knowledge development with respect to Cross-Cultural Issues, International Ethics, and Managing Global Operations. © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.