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

TLDR

The rapid rise of cross‑cultural management courses driven by globalization and workforce mobility prompted an examination of cultural intelligence (CQ), defined as the ability to manage cross‑cultural interactions across metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions. The study aimed to assess how academic CCM courses influence students’ CQ. Using two multinational longitudinal studies with matched samples and pre‑post intervention measures, the authors evaluated the courses’ effects on CQ. Results showed that CCM courses significantly increased overall CQ, especially metacognitive and cognitive components, with no effect in a control group, and altered the relationship between prior international experience and CQ, highlighting the educational impact on cultural intelligence.

Abstract

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.