MKTG2060 International Marketing Assessment 1 Guidelines 2026 | Newcastle

MKTG2060 International Marketing Assessment 1 Guidelines 

Assessment 1 Guidelines: Firm Capability And  Readiness For Internationalisation

Assessment Type: Written Assignment- Individual
Weighting: 20%
Length: 2,000 words

This assessment invites you to critically evaluate whether a local firm is ready to expand into international markets. You are expected to demonstrate your understanding of international marketing theories and frameworks and apply them to analyse the firm’s internal capabilities, and overall readiness for internationalisation. Your analysis should be theory-driven, well-supported with data, and clearly communicated throughout.

Please note: Make sure the company you select has not yet internationalised. The firm’s website often indicates whether it has an international footprint, so it is your responsibility to conduct an initial check. In Assessment 2, students will continue working on the same firm to conduct a global environment analysis and develop a market entry strategy. Thus, the selection and justification of the firm is an essential part of this assessment.

Suggested structure and word allocation (2000 words):

• Executive Summary (Excluded from word count)
• Table of Contents (Excluded from word count)

Introduction (5%)

• Firm overview and justification of selection (10%)
• Firm internationalization readiness analysis (45%)
  o Macro Level – Country Analysis
  o Meso Level – Industry Analysis
  o Micro Level – Firm
• Internal Analysis
• Application of Internationalisation Theories (20%)
• Conclusion and recommendations (20%)
• Reference (Excluded from word count)
• Appendix (Excluded from word count)
• GenAI usage declaration and supporting documents (Excluded from word count)

Executive Summary

The executive summary should provide a concise overview of the entire report, summarising the firm’s context, key findings from the macro, meso, and micro analyses, the applied internationalisation theory, and the final recommendation. It should be limited to one page and written last, though presented at the beginning of the report.

Introduction

In this section you can briefly describe the structure of your report and provide a roadmap for the reader to follow. Clearly articulate the aim of the report and highlight the importance of assessing internationalisation readiness.

Firm Overview And Justification Of Selection

This section should introduce the firm you have chosen to analyse. Provide key information such as the business name, its geographic location, the industry it operates in, and its core products or services. Following this, explain why you believe this firm is a suitable candidate for international expansion. Your justification should be based on observable indicators of international potential—such as product uniqueness, market trends, or gaps in foreign markets—rather than assumptions about readiness. At this stage, you are not expected to confirm whether the firm is ready for internationalisation, as this will be determined through your full analysis. Avoid selecting firms that are already well-established in international markets, as this assessment focuses on evaluating readiness rather than analysing existing international strategy.

Firm Internationalization Readiness Analysis

In this section, review Chapter 1-5 of the textbook and especially the development of a firm’s international competitiveness framework. Based on this framework, you need to conduct three levels of analysis: national, industry, and firm level.

For the Macro-national level: You should use Porter’s Diamond to evaluate the home country environment to determine whether the firm has a strong foundation to go international. Discuss factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and government influence.

For the Meso-industry level: Apply Porter’s Five Forces to assess the industry attractiveness in which the firm operates. Consider the threat of new entrants, supplier and buyer power, substitutes, and industry rivalry.

For the Micro–firm level: Use Value Chain Analysis to break down the firm into primary and support activities. Identify which activities provide a competitive advantage and could be leveraged in international markets. Also discuss which areas may require further development or resources to support internationalization.

Application Of Internationalisation Theories

Based on content from Weeks 1–5 of the textbook, apply one internationalisation theory to assess how and why your selected firm may expand into international markets. You may choose from the Uppsala internationalisation model, the transaction cost theory, the network model, or any other relevant theory covered during Weeks 1–5. Explain how this theory applies to your chosen firm. Your discussion should demonstrate how the theory helps clarify the firm’s international potential and also highlight any possible limitations of the theory in this context.

Conclusion

Based on your analysis, provide an overview of your selected firm’s readiness for internationalisation. Clearly highlight the firm’s key strengths that support expansion into global markets, as well as any weaknesses that may hinder this process. Your conclusion should summarise your overall judgment and offer two clear recommendations: one that leverages the firm’s strengths and another that addresses its weaknesses.

References

Your report must follow APA 7th edition referencing style. You are expected to use scholarly or credible sources to support your arguments in all different sections, clearly indicating the source of your ideas or data. These may include the course textbook, peerreviewed journal articles, company reports, industry databases, or relevant news media.

Appendix

All supporting secondary data, such as news coverage, financial indicators, and screenshots of digital platforms or reports, should be placed in an Appendix at the end of your report. Ensure that each appendix item is clearly numbered and referred to in the main body of the report where relevant.

GenAI Usage Declaration

You are permitted to use Generative AI (GenAI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Grok) to support the research and writing stages of your assessment. However, any use must be ethical, transparent, and clearly reflect your own understanding, critical thinking, and academic judgement. If you did not use GenAI, you may simply declare that it was not used as part of your assessment.

As part of this requirement, you must include a brief paragraph in your report outlining how and at what stages or in which sections you used GenAI. This may include, for example:

• Brainstorming the initial structure of your assessment
• Clarifying international marketing theories or frameworks
• Improving the structure and flow of your report
• Refining grammar or rephrasing specific parts for clarity

If you used GenAI at any stage, you are also required to include screenshots demonstrating your usage. These screenshots should:

• Clearly show the prompt you submitted,
• Display the AI-generated response, and
• Include a visible date and time stamp on your computer screen.
• Only include the first page of each interaction, not all pages, to illustrate your workflow without overloading the appendix. As you may have several interactions with GenAI while developing your final work, include only the first and the last interaction as examples of how you used GenAI in your assessment

You must not use GenAI to write a whole section or the entire assessment, or submit content that lacks your own critical thinking, theoretical integration, and original contribution.

GenAI must not be used as a substitute for engaging with scholarly literature, company data, or credible sources. Over-reliance on AI-generated responses without interpretation or academic support will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Writing And Formatting Requirements

Please make sure you use numbering for both tables and figures, and refer to these numbers within your text to improve readability. To ensure consistency and professionalism, please use Times New Roman font in size 12, and set the line spacing to 1.5. Structure your report using clear section headings that correspond to the guidance above. The Appendix will not count towards your word limit.