The effect of the International Business Institute study abroad program on cross-cultural adaptibility among international business students

This study evaluated the effects of the International Business Institute (IBI) study abroad program on the cross-cultural adaptability (CCA) of US university students. The IBI program was a ten-week semester in Europe. The Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) was administered as a pre- and post-test to both a study-abroad and a stay-at-home group. The CCAI measures four traits: flexibility/openness, emotional resilience, perceptual acuity, and personal autonomy. Four hypotheses were tested using two-way ANOVA. The study-abroad group scored significantly higher than the stay-at-home group on the pre-test regarding the total score and three of the four traits. The study-abroad group scored significantly higher than the stay-at-home group on the post-test regarding the total score and all four traits. Neither group reported significant pre- to post-test score changes, however ANOVA indicated that the differences in the pre- to post-test score changes of the two groups were significant. Using ANOVA, further tests determined that the study-abroad subgroup of 22 students who had not lived abroad reported significant pre- to post-test improvement regarding perceptual acuity and personal autonomy. Three sets of significant correlations were found within the study-abroad student data. First, pre-test perceptual acuity scores are positively correlated with the amount of time spent abroad prior to the program. Second, pre-test total, perceptual acuity, and personal autonomy scores are negatively correlated with pre- to post-test improvement. Third, time abroad is negatively correlated with pre- to post-test improvement regarding perceptual acuity. Though significant CCA improvement did not occur for the study-abroad group as a whole, the students who had not lived abroad did report significant improvement. Participation in the IBI program appears to have been more beneficial for students with the least amount of prior cross-cultural experience.