Can Business Schools Make Students Culturally Competent? Effects of Cross-Cultural Management Courses on Cultural Intelligence

The rapid increase in courses dealing with cross-cultural management (CCM), brought about by economies' globalization and increased workforce mobility motivated us to examine the impact of cross-cultural management courses on cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to individua...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academy of Management learning & education 2013-12, Vol.12 (4), p.603-621
Main Authors: EISENBERG, JACOB, LEE, HYUN-JUNG, BRÜCK, FRANK, BRENNER, BARBARA, CLAES, MARIE-THERESE, MIRONSKI, JACEK, BELL, ROGER
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrator Education
Business schools
Control Groups
Cross cultural management
Cross cultural studies
Intelligence
Longitudinal Studies
Metacognition
Motivation
Multiculturalism & pluralism
RESEARCH & REVIEWS
Students
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Summary:The rapid increase in courses dealing with cross-cultural management (CCM), brought about by economies' globalization and increased workforce mobility motivated us to examine the impact of cross-cultural management courses on cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to individual's abilities and skills to effectively manage interactions in cross-cultural situations. It includes four dimensions: metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral. In two multinational longitudinal studies using matched samples and pre-postintervention measures, we assessed the effects of academic CCM courses on students' CQ. We found that after the courses, students' overall CQ was significantly higher than at Time 1. No effects on CQ were detected in the control group, where students worked in multicultural settings but did not take a CCM course. Cross-cultural management courses had stronger effects on metacognitive and cognitive CQ than on motivational and behavioral CQ. We found an interesting pattern regarding students' international experience: While international experience in Time 1 positively related to students' CQ, at Time 2, this relationship became nonsignificant (Study 1). These findings contribute to understanding the antecedents of cultural intelligence and how educational interventions affect it, with practical implications for designing and developing international management education and training programs.
ISSN:1537-260X
1944-9585
DOI:10.5465/amle.2012.0022