Title: Does international experience count in the cross-cultural management course effectiveness?

Authors: Crystal Han-Huei Tsay; Ru-Shiun Liou

Addresses: Department of Human Resources and Organisational Behaviour, University of Greenwich, 30, Park Row, London SE10 9LS, UK ' College of Business Administration, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, 1001 Leadership Place, Room 318C, Kileen, TX 76548, USA

Abstract: The rapid increase in globalisation processes in many aspects of social and work life has pushed educators to develop students with cross-cultural competence to work in culturally diverse settings. We extend the current understanding of the effectiveness of cross-cultural management courses by emphasising multidimensional learning outcomes. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of international experience on the effectiveness of cross-cultural management education. By studying 179 students at two universities, our results showed that students' international experience through international student status was positively associated with their cognitive cultural intelligence, and students' international experience through military affiliation was positively related to their motivational cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adjustment efficacy. We discuss ways to utilise experience for better learning and implications for management education.

Keywords: affective learning outcomes; cross-cultural management; cultural intelligence; international experience; international students; military experience; cross-cultural competence; culturally diverse settings; management education; higher education; cognitive intelligence; motivation; cross-cultural adjustment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2016.082424

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2016 Vol.11 No.4, pp.339 - 356

Received: 18 May 2016
Accepted: 04 Aug 2016

Published online: 24 Feb 2017 *

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