Education-Related Factors in Cultural Intelligence Development: A Colombian Study

This article reports the results of a study inquiring about the role of education-related factors in the development of cultural intelligence. Five hundred fifty-seven students of a Colombian international business (IB) undergraduate program participated in the study. The psychometric properties of the measures were assessed by conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and by calculating the corresponding reliability coefficients. T-tests and ANOVA analyses were carried out to test the hypotheses of the study. The results of the study suggest that second language proficiency, multicultural team membership, and participation in curricular and extracurricular activities promote the development of the cultural intelligence of undergraduate IB students.     

Incorporating a Short-Term Study Abroad Service Trip for Educating International Entrepreneurship in the BOP Market

ABSTRACT

The bottom of the pyramid (BOP) market has gained importance in international entrepreneurship due to its large market potential. Drawing on the literature of international business education, as well as social entrepreneurship and international entrepreneurship education, we propose a course to educate students how to develop business intimacy with the BOP community. We employ the experiential-learning pedagogical framework and design elements including a short-term study abroad service trip, an entrepreneurship project, and structured reflections. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, we demonstrate that the course facilitates students’ learning in the key areas of international and social entrepreneurship, including the economic and social value of community embeddedness for BOP ventures, the emotional intelligence in interacting with BOP communities, and the attitude toward social entrepreneurship.     

Organizational Learning and Market Orientation in International Marketing Education

SUMMARY

This study develops and tests a series of relationships between organizational learning and market orientation as it pertains to international marketing education. The focus is on the activities and relationships between the students, faculty, and staff in the international marketing/business program at three schools in the north, midwest, and south United States. Based on a sample of 193 undergraduate and graduate international marketing students, the results suggest that organizational learning (class and major area-based learning)-team orientation, systems orientation, learning orientation, and memory orientation-positively influences market orientation learning outcomes (i.e., intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination, and responsiveness). The major implication of the study is that the education provided to the students in an international marketing course (i.e., upper-division university course) can be enhanced by focusing on organizational learning tools as a means to increase the shared knowledge level among the Students.     

Teaching International Business Concepts Through the Exchange of Cultural Metaphors

Abstract

The objectives of this paper are (1) to review the concept of cultural metaphors, (2) to propose a specific application of cultural metaphors in the teaching of international business concepts and (3) to report two situations in which this application was used. The paper concludes with recommendations for further development of this teaching methodology. The applications involved the exchange of metaphors between students at a French university and students at a university in the United States, in 2001 and 2004, which they had developed to describe their respective cultures. The courses were in the field of international business management.     

Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient: A Five‐Country Study

Cultural intelligence (CI) has often been linked to performance at the individual, team, and firm levels as a key factor in international business success. Using a new measure of CI, the business cultural intelligence quotient (BCIQ), our study provides empirical evidence on several key antecedents of CI using data on business professionals across five diverse countries (Austria, Colombia, Greece, Spain, and the United States). The findings suggest that the most important factors leading to cultural intelligence, in order of importance, are the number of countries that business practitioners have lived in for more than six months, their level of education, and the number of languages spoken. We find that cultural intelligence varies across countries, suggesting that some countries have a higher propensity for cross‐cultural business interactions. By teasing out the common antecedents of BCIQ among professionals, our findings may help with screening and training professionals for international assignments. Future research may examine the environmental (country‐specific) factors associated with a higher propensity for cultural intelligence (such as immigration, cultural diversity, languages spoken, and international trade) to explain the effect of country of origin on cultural intelligence in the professional community. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Commitment to the Study of International Business and Cultural Intelligence: A Multilevel Model

Adopting a multilevel theoretical framework, we examined how metacognitive and motivational cultural intelligence influence an individual’s commitment to the study of international business (IB). Data from 292 undergraduate and graduate business students nested in 12 U.S. business school classes demonstrated that individuals’ metacognitive and motivational cultural intelligence are positively related to their commitment to the study of IB. Furthermore, there is additional commitment when the classrooms’ cultural intelligence climate is high. We discuss the implications of these findings within a classroom context that involves cross-cultural interactions.     

A Fast Track to Cultural Immersion

ABSTRACT

The internationalization of the business curriculum remains a priority for preparing students for a global workforce. Business schools continue to stress the importance of semester-long study abroad programs. Yet in colleges and universities with a growing population of non-traditional, working adult students, it is challenging to provide international study abroad opportunities. Options for such intensive immersion are limited and may include non-credit travel, travel as a small part of a credit course, or travel with a trade mission group. In short term international travel, quickly introducing students to culture shock and moving toward some minimal acculturation is the primary goal. This article describes a nine-day study abroad trip to Monterrey, Mexico that quickly exposed students to the local culture via a day-long structured scavenger hunt exercise. Suggestions for implementing such experiential activities into the curriculum of other study abroad programs are provided as well as a discussion of students and faculty learning.     

What leads to cultural intelligence?

The ability to interact effectively in multiple cultures is not a skill possessed by all; yet, it is becoming more important in today's global business world. Recently, this skill has been labeled cultural intelligence (CQ), and has caught the attention of business leaders and researchers alike. While previous studies have examined potential outcomes of cultural intelligence, possible antecedents are examined herein. This investigation generates some insight regarding the impact of cultural exposure on CQ, as well as developing an understanding of how the depth of cultural exposure influences a person's cultural intelligence. Findings indicate that certain types of exposures to other cultures (such as education abroad and employment abroad) and the level of exposure from these experiences increases cultural intelligence. These findings are critical for multinational firms as managers hire, promote, train, and prepare employees for international assignments. Additionally, some have discussed how cultural intelligence is a critical skill for global business leaders, and it seems likely that CQ will become increasingly important due to the rise of diversity in the workforce.     

Insights for a post-Brexit era: marketing the UK as a study destination – an analysis of Arab,Chinese, and Indian student choices

ABSTRACT

Britain’s scheduled exit from the European Union (‘Brexit’) has long-term ramifications for strategic marketing. Faced with new challenges and uncertainty, UK universities are increasingly looking beyond EU borders to recruit international students. In this context, we draw upon country-of-origin theory to categorise the factors that influence non-EU international student decisions to select an overseas study destination and institution. Based on the results of a survey with 317 Arab, Chinese, and Indian students attending UK universities, we identify eight factors that influence international student decisions to study in the UK (social safety, education quality, entry obstacles, environment, recommendations, knowledge of host country, work and immigration, and meeting new cultures). The results address gaps in the literature, offering new insights that will help practitioners and academics to better understand how international students select a country and university as a study location.     

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Management in Kenya

ABSTRACT

The management discipline is largely populated by models embedded in western cultural views and values. This paper addresses the generally misplaced confidence of management scholars in utilizing western culture-based models of management to analyze management practices and perspectives in African countries. This paper starts with the premise that management is, at its core, a cultural practice that is derived from a cultural value system. As such, exporting US/western management models and practices abroad requires adaptation to local cultural dynamics and socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore, with western management models using nation-state as a unit of analysis to analyze culture, there is an assumption that all peoples (and localities) within a national culture are isomorphic in their value systems. From a cross-cultural management perspective, this is not only misleading but problematic because, by implication, international managers ignore internal cultural differences and dynamics and how various cultural groups interact with foreign businesses. This study argues that an informed understanding of a nation's sociopolitical history, economic conditions, geography, and internal cultural dynamics is crucial for international managers working in Africa. Using Kenya as an example, the study discusses the misplaced application of western culture-based management models and proposes a culturally-integrative framework of management.     

Student Cultural Interaction in a Short-Term Study Abroad Program

Empirical studies of the effects of short-term study abroad programs have found mixed results. This study uses a pre-post test design to assess the effect on student cross-cultural adaptability of a 2-week study abroad program to Germany that includes substantial student interaction with Germans. Pretrip to post-trip, students showed a significant increase in personal autonomy. Comparison of pretrip student scores against scale score means identified personal autonomy as the only dimension students were not already significantly above average pretrip. Although Business students demonstrated a significant increase in personal autonomy following the trip, Letters and Sciences students showed no significant change in any of the four cultural dimensions measured.     

Internationalizing Business Education

ABSTRACT

A research effort was undertaken to study factors that would encourage and limit business school students regarding their participation in international study programs. The sample of students came from a large, urban, state university. Results indicate that personal factors were the strongest encouraging variables while financial considerations were the most limiting factor in the decision process. Subsequently, factors that would promote increased overseas study participation among the students were analyzed.     

Designing Curriculum for Real-World International Business Needs

Economies continue to become more integrated through international trade and foreign investment, as well as by more, and more, complex global supply changes. With the expansion in the level and scope of international business (IB), it becomes all the more important that university graduates seeking careers in IB be able to “successfully hit the ground running” as they enter the labor force. The Schulich School of Business introduced a Certificate in Managing International Trade and Investment for undergraduates in 2012. Its aim was to intensify their learning by deepening their knowledge of IB and providing them with integrative courses, real-world learning, and cultural intelligence, enabling them to be effective in organizations as soon as they graduate. To ensure that the curriculum was in line with real-world needs, executives and other experts were interviewed to identify the skills they wanted to see in people they were hiring for their IB activities. The factors identified from this qualitative research informed the development of the Certificate. The global mind-set fostered will give students a competitive edge both in the recruitment process and on the job.     

The Use of Living Cases in International Management

Abstract

Educators recognize the need to provide ‘hands-on, practical experience’ to business students and exposure to ‘real world’ concerns. This article describes an approach to using living cases in a class on international management, whereby students complete a semester long consulting project for a local small business and provide that company with a plan on how to “go international.”     

International-Domestic Student Differences in Learning: Use of Classroom Response Systems in China Versus in Canada

ABSTRACT

This study compares the impact of audience response systems (clickers) on the learning experience and classroom behavior of Chinese and Canadian students. Based on differences in student learning styles, which are rooted in the differences in national cultures, we predict that clicker technology will result in a more positive learning experience, and have more impact on classroom behavior in Chinese students than in Canadian students. Our survey results show that, consistent with the findings of prior studies, both groups of students report a positive experience and improved classroom behavior with the use of clickers. Chinese students report a more positive learning experience, but no difference in classroom behavior changes than Canadian students. This study extends the research on clickers by considering the impact of cultural background and shows classroom technology such as clickers can potentially help mitigate the cultural barriers in international business education.     

Global leadership success through emotional and cultural intelligences

Culturally attuned and emotionally sensitive global leaders need to be developed: leaders who can respond to the particular foreign environments of different countries and different interpersonal work situations. Two emerging constructs are especially relevant to the development of successful global leaders: cultural and emotional intelligences. When considered under the traditional view of intelligence as measured by IQ, cultural, and emotional intelligences provide a framework for better understanding cross-cultural leadership and help clarify possible adaptations that need to be implemented in leadership development programs of multinational firms. This article posits that emotional intelligence (EQ), analytical intelligence (IQ), and leadership behaviors are moderated by cultural intelligence (CQ) in the formation of global leadership success.     

Do International Cocurricular Activities Have an Impact on Cultivating a Global Mindset in Business School Students?

ABSTRACT

In today’s integrated global economy, business executives of multinational corporations are required to have a flexible global mindset in order to cope with the driving forces of globalization. Thus, the global market forces stress the importance for business schools to graduate students with skill sets pertinent to functioning competitively in the ever-changing business environment. In this article, we conducted a survey of 165 students in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University to examine whether international cocurricular activities help achieve the goal of cultivating a global mindset in students. The results suggest that international cocurricular activities enhance students’ global mindset. Short-term study tours and international internships do have a significant impact on students’ global mindset as other long-term cocurricular activities, which may cost more time and money. We recommend that short-term study tours be used as an alternative cost-effective way to engaging business students in the internationalization of the business curriculum at their institutions.     

Performance implications of store format diversification for international retailers

Abstract

International retailers face formidable tasks in trying to replicate, or improve upon, their home country success abroad. Their market-seeking efforts sometimes require strategic diversifications of their store format portfolios capable of serving customers in different host countries. In this study, we examine whether the degree of store format diversification helps improve the performance of international retailers. We also assess the possible moderating effects of three factors—internationalization speed, political distance, and cultural distance—on this relationship. Utilizing 2001–2015 panel data for 19 retailers originating from several home countries and operating in multiple host countries, we employ a fixed effects model to examine the hypothesized relationships. Our results show that the performance of international retailers is influenced negatively by store format diversification. This relationship is moderated by internationalization speed and political distance, but not by cultural distance.     

A Simplified Approach to Teaching the Value of Multinational Diversification

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which a specific time-based country experience outside of the subject’s native regional cultural cluster, would be able to explain the subject’s level of cultural intelligence. Using a sample of 143 subjects, the results suggest individuals who have identified the country within which they have spent the most total time to be a non-Anglo country had developed a higher level of cultural intelligence than demographically similar U.S. citizens in the sample who spent their most significant amount of time in an Anglo cluster country. In addition, it was found that those subjects within the Anglo culture cluster group who traveled internationally but spent the greater amount of time in a foreign Anglo culture country (i.e., non-USA), did not significantly differ in three of the four cultural dimensions from those who never traveled outside of the USA. These results suggest country choice can make a difference.