Topic frequency
How often each topic actually gets tested
Not an official Pearson weighting — Pearson doesn’t publish one for this paper. This is what this course’s own research found by reading real mark schemes and examiner reports series by series, counted honestly rather than assumed. Use it to prioritise review time, not to assume a topic near the bottom won’t appear.
Richest by series count
Assessing global markets and production locations (push/pull factors, Porter's five forces, ease of doing business, political stability, return on investment)
4.3.2.1–4.3.2.3At least one of this topic's three spec sub-points was tested in every one of the 5 fully-read series checked (Oct 2021, Jun 2022, Jan 2023, Oct 2023, Jan 2024), plus 2 more series confirmed by later targeted pulls (Oct 2022, Oct 2025) — 7 distinct real series in total, the strongest confirmed record of any WBS14 topic. Most often a 20-mark Evaluate (push/pull once, Porter's five forces twice) or a 12-mark Assess on a single production-location factor.
Also very heavily tested
MNCs — impact on host economies, international business ethics, and controlling MNCs
4.3.4.1–4.3.4.3Confirmed in 4 of the 5 fully-read series — every one but June 2022. Every real citation is a 20-mark Evaluate essay, split evenly between Section B and Section C; ethics (4.3.4.2) is the most-tested of the three sub-points, and IKEA is the one company confirmed anchoring two different sub-points across two different series.
Solidly, repeatedly tested
Factors driving globalisation (trade liberalisation, FDI, transport/communication costs, the WTO)
4.3.1.3Confirmed in 3 of the 5 fully-read series (Oct 2021's two questions, Jan 2023), plus one further targeted confirmation (Jan 2026) — 4 real citations across 3 distinct series. Always a discursive 12-mark Assess or 8-mark Discuss, never a quantitative opener; three of the four sit in Section A's back-half (d)/(e) slots.
Growing economies (developed/developing/emerging characteristics, GDP/GDP-per-capita/HDI) and international trade and business growth
4.3.1.1–4.3.1.2Confirmed in 3 of the 5 fully-read series (Oct 2021, Jun 2022, Jan 2023), with June 2022 alone supplying four consecutive Section A sub-questions on this content — an unusually dense concentration compared with most other WBS14 topics. No later targeted pull has added a fourth series.
Global marketing approaches, niche markets, and cultural/social factors
4.3.3.1–4.3.3.3Confirmed in 3 of the 5 fully-read series (Jun 2022, Oct 2023, Jan 2024), plus 2 more series confirmed by later targeted pulls (Oct 2022, Oct 2024) — 5 distinct real series in total. Four of its five real anchors are 20-mark Evaluate essays, three of those at Section B Q2; every anchor is built around a named real company or product.
Thinner, but examinable
Reasons for global mergers, takeovers and joint ventures; exchange-rate and skill-shortage uncertainty
4.3.2.4–4.3.2.5Confirmed in 3 of the 6 WBS14 series this course has checked at all for this topic (Oct 2023, Jan 2024, Oct 2025) — only 2 of those 3 sit inside the 5-series systematic read, genuinely thinner evidence than most of this table. 12-mark Assess dominates; only 2 of the spec's 10 lettered reasons for merging have ever anchored a real question.
Protectionism (tariffs, quotas, subsidies) and trading blocs
4.3.1.4–4.3.1.5A genuine split worth keeping visible: trading blocs is seen in 2 of the 5 systematic series (Jun 2022, Jan 2023), always a 12-mark Assess built around ASEAN. Protectionism is seen in 0 of those same 5 systematic series, but five separate later targeted pulls (Oct 2022, Oct 2024, Jun 2026, Jan 2022, Jun 2023) have since confirmed it real and spanning nearly the whole mark range — thin systematic coverage here does not mean thin real content, just thin systematic coverage.