Efficacy of Student International Exchange Programmes

in Training Future Managers for International

Assignments

ABSTRACT: Context: Exchange programmes enable students toacquire cross-cultural skills by allowing them to engage in partof their studies at foreign universities. By encouraging studentsto participate in these programmes, universities not onlyincrease the students’ chances of integration, but also promotethe development of important adaptive and cross-cultural skills.By travelling outside one’s own country, students can learn howto recognise important cultural and social issues that may affecttheir professional lives.

Purpose: We aim at verifying the extent to which internationalmobility prepares students for international assignments in transnational corporations.

Method: We used a systematic review of this literatureFindings: After compiling key success factors of international

exchange programmes, we were able compare the findings of past researchers regarding exchange programmes with the needs and challenges of transnational corporations in filling internationalmanagerial positions. Companies have experienced limited success in developing their own selection and training programmes. This is because cross-cultural competencies take time and effort to develop, and require fundamental transformation. Although didactic training may be useful, experiential learning is required; yet it is costly. International student exchange programmes provide an effective solution. Because they improve

1

adaptability and cultural sensitivity, they are likewise predictors of a successful assignment abroad.

KEYWORDS: Student international exchange programmes;

international job assignments; cross-cultural skills; adaptive

skills; intercultural capabilities; satisfaction; attitudes;

social factors; cultural factors; linguistic factors;

psychological factors; didactic training; experiential training;

systematic literature review.

2

Introduction

Taken together, the growing diversity of the workforce and

the continued globalisation of the business world have given rise

to the need for a new type of employee, particularly in

multinational organizations. In today’s business world,

organizations require employees who are open to cultural

diversity, adaptable to change, and thrive in uncertain

environments. They need workers (especially managers) who are

prepared for mid- to long-term assignments in international

contexts. Academic institutions can play a key role in developing

this new type of employee by offering exchange programmes or

cultural experiences that encourage students to think globally

and respond positively to values and beliefs different from their

own.

Exchange programmes enable students to acquire cross-

cultural skills by allowing them to engage in part of their

studies at foreign universities. By encouraging students to

participate in these programmes, universities not only increase

the students’ chances of integration, but also promote the

development of important adaptive skills.

It is imperative for students to properly conceive of and

understand the world in which we live. Methods for learning and

teaching vary across cultures. To attain cross-cultural skills,

it is critical for students to travel outside one’s own country.

By doing so, students can learn how to recognise important

3

cultural and social issues that may affect their professional

lives.

In an international context, the term ‘exchange programme’

generally refers to an agreement between universities that allows

a student (or group of students) to stay in a foreign country for

anywhere between three weeks to eight months. These programmes

may also be facilitated by organisations (e.g. ERASMUS). Visits

can take the form of cultural trips, internships in industry, or

one to two semesters of formal study. As international agreements

between universities have increased dramatically in the twenty-

first century, exchange programmes have become increasingly

common.

Many researchers have addressed the ways in which these

programmes have developed students’ skills, including their

intercultural competencies (Rodrigues, 2004) and social,

psychological, and linguistic capabilities (Llanes and Munoz,

2009). Because many authors have studied the benefits of

international student mobility, an empirical evaluation of the

extent to which international mobility prepares students for

international assignments in transnational corporations is

warranted.

The first step in such an evaluation is to identify and

synthesise extant research on exchange programmes. The second

step involves the identification of the programmes’ key success

factors and their influence on student satisfaction and

attitudes. In the third step, these results will be compared to

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the specific challenges and needs of multinational corporations

(MNCs) in attempting to fill international positions.

1. Research methodology

1.1 Systematic review

This study is founded on a systematic review of empirical

findings related to international student exchange programmes. In

the last decade, researchers have developed a substantial body of

literature on the subject. Therefore, a systematic review of this

literature represents an empirical method to colligate past

findings. In identifying studies through our systematic review,

we followed five essential steps:

1. Definition of the research objective.

2. Establishment of a systematic research strategy across

several databases, avoiding the introduction of bias.

3. Assessment of the validity and relevance of publications by

assigning a quality index and defining an inclusion

threshold.

4. Retrieval.

5. Summary of results and simplified presentation of the

selected articles.

Following these five steps, our systematic review of the

resulting studies was guided by two research questions:

1. What are the success factors for international students who

participate in an exchange programme?

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2. How do exchange programmes affect student attitudes and

satisfaction?

The first question allows us to identify and compare key

success factors with conditions in which internationally assigned

managers work. The second question demonstrates whether students

who participate in exchange programmes develop the attributes

necessary to achieve success in an international management

position.

1.2 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

To develop an appropriate corpus of literature for this

systematic review, we established criteria related to document

type, publication date, and document focus. With respect to

document type, we mandated that all documents must be scholarly

articles from peer-reviewed academic journals. As such, we

excluded book reviews, success stories, editorials, and books.

These criteria were based on the fact that generally, scientific

contributions appear in peer-reviewed academic journals. We also

opted to include only those studies that were published between

2002 and 2012. This time frame is largely consistent with the

recent expansion of foreign exchange student programmes.

Therefore, research published during this time period is expected

to address our two research questions. Finally, the documents

included in our review must have operationally or conceptually

focused on either of the two research questions. Articles that

did not directly address either of the two research questions

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were selected if they dealt with international students and

exchange programs of short duration.

1.3. Data sources

We utilised four databases to identify and retrieve

documents for our study. These databases were ABI/Inform Global

ProQuest, Business Source Premier, Emerald, and Elsevier's

Science Direct. ABI/Inform ProQuest indexes recent articles

related to economics and management science and draws from

roughly 3000 English-language periodicals. Business Source

Premier is an EBSCO database that is commonly used in fields

related to business. It provides access to over 2300 journals.

The Elsevier Science Direct database indexes over 2000 periodical

titles and the Emerald Abstracts database contains about 250 000

internationally published article abstracts related to

management.

1.3.1 Research strategy in the databases

We used a number of keywords and phrases to identify

relevant studies from the four databases outlined above. These

keywords and phrases were: ‘international students’, ‘foreign

students’, ‘exchange programs’, ‘exchange students’, ‘study

abroad’, and ‘short term’. Each of these phrases was combined

with all others using the Boolean operator “AND” to create all

possible combinations of keyword pairs. Though it may have

produced some useful results, we did not use the phrase

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‘international students’ in our search, as it yielded an

unmanageable number of studies unrelated to the current research

focus.

1.3.2. Selection of articles

The initial electronic search yielded 1108 documents. To

crystallise our results such that the included studies were only

the most salient to our research questions, we performed a number

of steps to refine our initial set of studies. In the EBSCO

database, for example, we mandated that only English language,

full-text articles be included in our results. We also required

all articles drawn from the ProQuest database to be available as

a full-text document as well. Finally, in the Science Direct

database, we selected a number of specific subjects to which the

articles must relate. These included: ‘business, management and

accounting’, ‘economics, econometrics, and finance’, and ‘social

science’. These steps caused 795 articles to be excluded, leaving

313 articles. After reading the titles and abstracts of these 313

articles, we removed 208 from the sample due to lack of

relevance, leaving 105 articles. Finally, we comprehensively read

the remaining 105 and found 53 to be irrelevant to our research

foci (one article was affected by technical problems). This left

a final sample of 51 studies to be included in our systematic

review. Figure 1 illustrates our article selection process.

FIGURE 1 HERE

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To extract and summarise relevant information from these

articles, we created a data entry form in Microsoft Excel in

which we recorded each article’s author(s), their university

affiliation, country of origin, year of publication, dependent

and independent variables, research methodology, sampling

technique, and results obtained.

2. ResultsIn this section, we describe the results of our analysis

that relate to success factors of international student mobility

(i.e. geographic area, research methods, exchange programme

operationalisation, and results. All other information gathered

is presented in the Appendix.

2.1. Geographic area of interest

A review of the geographic areas on which the authors of the

sampled studies focused reveals that most (39.73%) studies

concerned North America. The United States (34.25% of articles)

was, by far, the most prevalent area of focus. This is

unsurprising, given that the U.S. hosts the largest number of

international students in the world (OECD, 2011). According to

the OECD (2011), France, the United Kingdom, and Australia follow

the United States in terms of hosting foreign students. These

three countries account for 21.92% of the articles. With nearly

420 000 students abroad, China has the most students enrolled at

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foreign institutions. Table 1 summarises the distribution of

articles according to the geographic area of interest.

TABLE 1 HERE

2.2. Research methods used to gather data

Authors of the sampled studies employed a number of

different methods to observe the students throughout their stay

abroad, including questionnaires, interviews, and case study

analysis. Table 2 below shows that of the 51 articles, 61% used

questionnaires, 28.10% interviews, and 6.2% case studies. Note

that 4.7% of articles did not include any empirical method, given

their conceptual or theoretical treatment of the issue.

TABLE 2 HERE

Typically, questionnaires were administered to students

enrolled at a foreign university or to those students upon their

return home and were constructed to gauge students’ satisfaction

regarding their exchange programme, or to identify factors for

success in those programmes. Cross-cultural and psychological

factors, satisfaction, and cultural dimensions (Gullekso and

Vancouver, 2009; Hofstede, 1980; Seppas and Yu, 2007; Rodrigues,

2004) were most often addressed by questionnaires. Questions

intended to investigate the key factors for success during a stay

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abroad were similar across studies. Specifically, these questions

often addressed the number of languages spoken, time spent in the

language-speaking country, reasons for employment, previous

cultural experience (Masgoret, 2005), role of the group (Fairley

and Tyler, 2009), role of the family (Van Den Broucke, De Soete,

and Bohrer, 2002), meeting with the locals, and role of

ethnography (Jackson, 2006).

Among those studies that employed interview methodologies,

75% were conducted in focus groups. For example, researchers

interviewed a group of students at an Australian university to

determine their perceptions of international and cultural issues

(Crossman, 2008). In another example, students at a Swedish

university were interviewed about their aspirations and values,

personal development, professional development, disablers and

enablers, and culture (Green, Johansson, Rosser, Tengnah and

Segrott, 2008).

In addition to question-based methodologies, our review also

includes some case studies. These studies are derived from the

real-life experiences of students who have participated in an

exchange programme. These studies included an examination of

international partners of four major universities in the UK, the

building of global competencies through experiential study of

travel and tourism, and multiple studies documenting the

international experiences of nursing students.

Low response rates can compromise the potential

effectiveness any empirical method. However, it was difficult to

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assess the degree to which response rates limited the validity of

our findings since few articles (11) identified the number of

responses received in relation to their initial solicitation.

Those articles that did report a response rate documented an

average of 64%. One article described the administration of a

questionnaire to 165 students of which only 125 were selected.

Forty responses were rejected due to inconsistencies in the

respondents’ statements, which was attributed to problems

associated with language comprehension (De Jong, Schnusenberg,

and Goel, 2010).

2.3. Operationalisation of exchange programs as a variable

The articles we selected operationalise exchange programmes

either as an independent variable or as a dependent variable. In

those studies in which exchange programmes are treated as

dependent variables, authors primarily sought to identify factors

that directly influence the degree to which trips abroad are

successful or play a role in the students’ selection of their

exchange programme (Llewellyn-Smith and McCabe, 2008).

In those studies in which participation in an exchange

programme is treated as an independent variable, researchers have

largely attempted to indicate the effect foreign travel on

students’ attitudes. Some of the attitudes that were measured

include the role of exchange programmes as a policy tool for

foreign students (Yanik, 2004), the ways in which exchange

programmes can develop students’ skills and learning (Farrell and

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Ollervides, 2005), and the students' perceptions of their overall

business competence (Hallows et al., 2011).

As it relates to the current study, those articles that

treat participation in exchange programmes as a dependent

variable address our first research question. Those studies that

operationalise participation in exchange programmes as an

independent variable address our second research question.

2.4. Answers to the research questions

In this section, we present the results of the systematic review

for each research question.

2.4.1. Key success factors of exchange programs

For an exchange programme to be successful, it is important

to understand the various factors that influence its operation.

Although there are a number of factors that may negatively

influence an exchange programme, we focus only on those factors

that have a positive effect so as to address our research

question related to the success of such programmes. These factors

can be classified into four categories: social, cultural,

linguistic and psychological.

2.4.1.1. Social Factors

Social factors are essential determinants of the course of

an exchange programme. Through our systematic review of the

literature, we identified several social factors that affect the

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influence of exchange programmes on students that participate in

them. First, the degree to which exchange students interact with

citizens of the host country is a significant element of the

exchange experience. Specifically, there exists a positive

relationship between the number of interactions in which the

student engages and the student’s attitude towards the stay.

Students that actively socialise and connect with the host nation

experienced greater cultural immersion and satisfaction with

their cultural experience (Pedersen et al., 2011). Interestingly,

we found cross-cultural interactions to differ in accordance with

the students’ respective cultures. For example, French and

American students interact in different ways; whereas the French

prefer small groups of people, Americans prefer to socialise with

many people (Pitts, 2009). Interactions in a foreign exchange

context create emotional ties since they include social

components such as humour, group roles (Fairley and Tyler, 2009),

anecdotes, advice, or comparisons of two different cultures

(Llewellyn-McCabe and Smith, 2008). These components have a

positive influence on the outcome of the exchange program.

The role of families is also an essential social component

related to an exchange programme’s success. A student’s

satisfaction with both their host family and own family have been

found to be associated with the student’s satisfaction with their

experience abroad (Vance et al., 2011).

2.4.1.2. Cultural factors

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Cultural factors relate to a student’s understanding of

their host country’s culture. Hofstede (1980) offered five

dimensions of cultural differentiation that are of importance in

evaluating students’ perceptions of exchange programmes. They

include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and

collectivism, biological sex roles, and time orientation

(Hofstede, 1980; Rodrigues, 2004). A comprehensive knowledge of

the culture to which students are sent will help them avoid

culture shock (Doherty, Dickmann and Mills, 2010). As students

adapt to life in a foreign country, they will have many

opportunities to integrate into the host culture. This

acculturation process is critical, as it allows foreign students

to identify with the host culture and pursue further

acculturation if they so desire. In addition, the acculturation

process can increase students’ interest in the prospect of future

employment in the host country (Jang and Kim, 2010). Healthy

identification with a foreign culture also helps students to

avoid being identified as ‘different’ or ‘foreign’.

Past research has also shown preliminary stress associated

with a student’s first trip abroad can greatly reduce a student’s

integration into the host culture. As such, a student’s cultural

integration occurs much faster if they had previously travelled

abroad (Chak and Makino, 2010).

2.4.1.3. Linguistic factors

Active use of the host country’s spoken language has a

positive impact on students. By enthusiastically attempting to15

communicate with others, students facilitate interaction with

nationals in the host country and catalyse the acculturation

process (Masgoret, 2006). Given this, linguistic factors are

innately related to the social factors outlined above; greater

degrees of interaction are related to better use of the host

country’s language. Storch (2009) showed that even one trimester

(three months) yielded significant improvement in writing in the

host country’s language. Linguistic factors are crucial to the

success of an exchange program since the student will be forced

to interact in the educational system of the host country.

2.4.1.4. Psychological factors

Students’ psychological motivations directly influence the extent

to which the exchange programme is successful. Specifically, a

student’s motivations provide benchmarks that students can meet

through the pursuit of money, curiosity, power, value, or success

(Sanchez, Fornerino and Zhang, 2006). These psychological factors

are largely dependent on the factors described above (i.e. social

and cultural), since a student’s motivations can be altered by

other factors. For example, if students do not identify with the

community in which they live or are hosted by a bad family, their

motivation for a successful exchange experience may be affected.

Table 3 provides a summary of the four types of factors that

influence the success of an exchange programme.

TABLE 3 HERE

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2.4.2. Impact of exchange programs on students’ attitudes

In the articles selected for systematic review, many

researchers explored the influence of exchange programs on

students’ cultural awareness and attitudes and perceptions

related to globalisation. These researchers found that at the

culmination of their respective exchange programmes, students had

learned a number of things about their host countries. For

example, Lumkes and his colleagues (2011) found that students

learned about the role of the host country in an increasingly

globalised world, relations between their country of origin and

the host country, cultural sensitivity, and personal development.

In addition to these benefits, students also gained specific

knowledge in their field of study, which often differs from one

country to another (Green et al., 2008). Although most

researchers agree that students that do not travel acquire

information related to the background and general learning

techniques of a country or culture, students that participate in

an international exchange programme have a more meaningful and

contextualised experience. For instance, Shabalina and Sjoberg

(2010) found that travelling brings additional discernment of

their respective cultures on the part of students they surveyed.

Exchange programmes help students understand their role in

today's increasingly connected world, and improve their concept

of self-identity as well as their identity in relation to others

(Pitts, 2009).

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Finally, some research has shown that the effect of

participating in an exchange programme on a student’s attitudes

and perceptions manifest quickly. Students who study abroad are

much more critical of their own country and the outside world,

show greater interest in international politics and intercultural

issues, and experience cultural cosmopolitanism. As such,

exchange programs ‘develop a positive attitude among students

towards the culture studied in comparison with their native

culture’ (Carlson and Widaman, 2002).

2.5. Integrative conceptual framework

The results of the studies outlined above can be summarised

in an integrative model that illustrates the success factors of

exchange programs and the changes they impose on student

attitudes (see Figure 2).

FIGURE 2 HERE

3. DiscussionBy reviewing the studies we sample from the universe of

extant literature on foreign exchange programmes, we are able

compare the findings of past researchers regarding these

programmes with the needs and challenges of transnational

corporations in filling international managerial positions.

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Research on international assignments in MNCs has shown that

selecting the appropriate person for an international managerial

position is difficult. When they are not selected effectively,

assignees may return to their home countries prematurely or fail

to achieve organisational goals in other respects. The premature

ending of an international assignment is such a pervasive problem

that past research has used it as an indication that MNCs must

improve the processes with which they select job candidates

(Caligiuri, Tarique and Jacobs, 2009). Most researchers find that

the failure to hire appropriate personnel (and the costs

associated with doing so) is related to assignees’ lack of cross-

cultural competencies (Johnson, Lenartowicz and Apud, 2006).

In some cases, companies have attempted to develop cross-

cultural competencies through in-house training. Though

ambitious, this practice has often failed due to the inherent

complexities associated with knowing what may or may not be

effective in specific cultural contexts. Additionally, training

programs have been shown to be diverse in terms of the

competencies they target and learning approaches they emphasise

(Morrison, 2000).

Recently, however, research has begun to agree upon those

elements that are needed to succeed in an international

assignment. Specifically, current research has focused on a

particular set of knowledge, skills, aptitudes and others, known

as acronym KSAOs. The ‘other’ attributes refer to elements such

as motivation (Johnson, Lenartowicz and Apud, 2006) and

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personality traits such as openness, cultural flexibility and

limited ethnocentrism (Caligiuri and Di Santo, 2001). The big

five personality dimensions (i.e. openness, consciousness,

extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) have also been

found to be good predictors of success in international contexts

(Caligiuri, Tarique and Jacobs, 2009). In isolation, none of

these KSAOs is sufficient to bring success in international

contexts. Instead, companies seek to hire employees that possess

an attitude dimension that brings several of them together. This

attitudinal trait is often referred to as ‘cosmopolitanism’.

Cosmopolitanism is:

“[…] a state of mind that is manifested as an orientation

toward the outside, the Other, and which seeks to reconcile

the global with the local, and mediate between the familiar

and the foreign. […] an openness, a willingness to explore and

learn from alternative systems of meaning held by others”

(Levy et al., 2007).

By identifying valid predictors of success in international

assignments, we illustrate why companies have experienced limited

success in their attempts to develop their own training

programmes. They would need to focus not only on developing the

knowledge or skills necessary for specific international

assignments (e.g. a foreign language), but also on enhancing

personality traits such as openness. Most researchers agree that

cross-cultural competencies take time and effort to develop.

Their development involves ‘fundamental human transformation’

20

(Mendenhall, 2006). Therefore, although didactic training may be

useful in improving codified material, such as language skills or

general knowledge about one’s country of destination, it is not

useful for inciting fundamental change in personality traits or

attitudes. Experiential learning is required to achieve these

ends. Experiential training can be costly, however, as they ‘tend

to be labour, cost and time intensive’ (Caligiuri, 2006).

Can international student exchange programmes provide a

solution as an effective training mechanism for future

internationally assigned employees? They offer experience abroad

that serve as critical factors for success in a future

international assignment (Caligiuri, Tarique and Jacobs, 2009).

In addition to preparing students for future employment in a

foreign country, exchange programmes have also been shown to

improve an individual’s capacity to adjust to a new culture.

Cross-cultural adjustment is a predictor of both job performance

in an international position and the overall success of an

international assignment (Caligiuri, Tarique and Jacobs, 2009).

Although exchange programmes improve a number of KSAOs

related to cross-cultural competencies, our review demonstrates

that their success is contingent on a number of factors.

Specifically, we found that particular social, cultural,

linguistic, and psychological factors predict the success of an

exchange program. Therefore, for an exchange program to be

successful, it means these factors must be cultivated within the

programme’s participants. For example, individual motivations,

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language skills, commitment to interacting with nationals in the

host country, and capacity to integrate into the host culture

(acculturation) are predictors of a successful exchange

programme. Because they improve adaptability and cultural

sensitivity (Caligiuri and DiSanto, 2001), they are likewise

predictors of a successful assignment abroad (Caligiuri, Tarique

& Jacobs, 2009).

ConclusionThis review has addressed key aspects of exchange programmes

for international students. In this review, we explored two

research questions, which were respectively developed to (a)

identify factors for success of exchange programmes, and (b)

gauge the impact of these programmes on the students’ attitudes.

We identified four categories of success factors related to

exchange programmes: social factors, cultural factors, linguistic

factors, and psychological factors. Of these factors, cultural

and social factors were found to be the most influential on the

success of exchange programmes. Specifically, past research has

indicated that acculturation and social integration in the host

country are imperative elements of a successful exchange

experience. The most critical influence on students’ attitudes

was change in their self-identity and/or identity in relation to

others. Finally, in comparing the results of past research to the

needs and challenges of MNCs when filling an international

position, we found significant overlap between the success

22

factors of an exchange programme and those associated with a

professional international assignment. In addition, we found that

the outcomes of a successful exchange program and the

competencies required for an international assignment are also

quite similar.

Given this, we can conclude that international student

exchange programmes are an effective and efficient training

mechanism for future international assignees by offering both

didactic and experiential training prior to recruitment. By

selecting students with a successful history of studying in one

or more foreign countries, MNCs increase the likelihood of (a)

selecting employees who are suitable for assignments abroad and

(b) keeping training costs under control.

Future research in this domain should seek to design an

empirical study that evaluates the suitability of students who

have studied abroad for international positions. Another avenue

of future research relates to expanding the geographic focus of

empirical studies on foreign exchange programmes. Through this

study, we found the majority of researchers of the topic are

affiliated with universities located in northern hemisphere (with

the exception of Australia). It would be useful for future

research to be conducted by authors affiliated with universities

in the southern hemisphere to enrich and broaden the scope of the

subject matter. Given that future international positions may

emerge in developing and transition countries (e.g. Brazil), it

critical that researchers expand their area of focus to include

23

those countries. Therefore, more research is needed to determine

whether those factors that have been identified as important for

exchange programmes in the northern hemisphere are applicable in

the southern hemisphere as well. Results of this analysis will

likely reveal that new analyses related to exchange programmes in

developing countries are needed.

24

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Appendix: Bibliometric Information of the 51 ArticlesThis appendix presents information related to the 51 studies

that we incorporated into our systematic review. This information

may be of interest to researchers who seek to perform new

research on international student exchange programmes. Below are

several tables and figures that summarise the multiple dimensions

of all the articles we included in our systematic review.

1. Distribution of articles across scientific publication

databases.

APPENDIX FIGURE 1 GOES HERE

2. Distribution according to publication title.

APPENDIX TABLE 1 GOES HERE

3. Annual number of articles published on the topic between

2002 and 2012.APPENDIX FIGURE 2 GOES HERE

This figure demonstrates that the number of articles related

to foreign exchange programmes has increased gradually over time.

This growth can be attributed to the increasing degree to which

32

students seek mobility in their educations. Just as world

economies have begun to globalise, students now seek to develop

international skills and competencies. According to the OECD,

about 3 million students engaged in some form of foreign exchange

programme in 2007. Still, total student mobility is limited, as

only 2% of students enrolled in universities sought foreign

education in 2007. Though still limited, this recent growth can

be explained by technological progress and an increasing number

of students enrolled in universities around the world. According

to UNESCO, there are currently 153 million students enrolled in

universities worldwide, and this number is expected to grow to

262 million by 2025.

4. Distribution according to the authors’ country of origin or

country of affiliation

APPENDIX TABLE 2 GOES HERE

5. Classification according to the research design.

APPENDIX FIGURE 3 GOES HERE

For the purpose of this study, qualitative research methods

include interviews, case studies, or qualitative questionnaires.

Quantitative research methods involve the development of

hypotheses, the collection of data, the analysis of results, and

the interpretation of those results to test initial hypotheses.

33

Studies that employ a mixed-method design incorporate both

qualitative and quantitative elements.

34

Figure 1: Article selection

35

Table 1: Distribution of articles by geographic area of interestRegion Country Number of articles PercentageAsia 14 19.18

China 9 12.33

Turkey 1 1.37

Russia 1 1.37

India 1 1.37

South Korea 1 1.37

Japan 1 1.37

North America 29 39.73

United States 25 34.25

Mexico 2 2.74

Canada 2 2.74

South America 1 1.37

Brazil 1 1.37

Europe 14 20.55

France 3 4.11

Spain 2 2.74

Greece 1 1.37

UK 5 6.85

Finland 2 2.74

Beneluxa 1 1.37

Sweden 1 1.37

Oceania 9 12.33

Australia 8 10.96

New Zealand 1 1.37

Africa 1 1.37

Namibia 1 1.37

No geographic area

of interest

4 5.48

TOTAL 73b 100

36

aBenelux refers to a three-state union comprised of Belgium, the

Netherlands, and LuxembourgbThe total number of articles (73) exceeds the number of articles

in the review (51) because a single article may deal with

multiple countries.

37

Table 2: MethodsResearch method used No. of

articles%

Questionnaires 39 61Interviews 18 28.1

Case studies 4 6.2

Theoretical 3 4.7

Total 64a 100a Superior to 51 because some of the studies employ multiple

methodologies

38

Table 3: Factors influencing the success of an exchange program

Social factors Social interaction with the hostcountry

Role of groupRole of the family home and host

Cultural factors Cultural differentiationAcculturation process Cultural experienceCulture shock

Linguisticfactors

Degree of learning Academic validation

Psychologicalfactors

MotivationIdentity

39

Figure 2: Integrated conceptual framework

40

APPENDIX FIGURE 1

41

APPENDIX TABLE 1

Chinese Management Studies (n=1)Seppas and Yu (2007)

Employment Relations Record (n=1)Crossman (2008)

Procedia Social and Behavorial Sciences (n=2)Dikilitas, Duvenci and Aytekin (2009) Tepecik, Mercin and

Ozdojlar (2009)

System (n=2)Llanes and Munoz (2009) Shedivy

(2004)

International Journal of Educational Management (n=3)Ayoubi and Al-Habaibeh (2006) Wang, Taplin and

Brown (2011)

Bakalis and Joiner (2004)

Journal of International Business Education (n=1)Chak et Makino (2010)

Career Development International (n=3)Wang and Bu (2004) Doherty,

Dickmann and Mills (2010)

Thorn (2009)

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management (n=1)Daly and Barker (2010)

Journal of International Education in Business (n=3)Vance, Silbeck, Hogenauer and McNulty (2011) De Jong, Goel, Schnusenberg

(2010)

Hallows, Porter Wolf and Marks (2011)

Multicultural Education and Technology Journal (n=1)Malone and Wilder (2008)

International Journal of Intercultural Relations (n=14)Savicki et al. (2004)

42

Jackson (2006) Gullekson et Vancouver (2010)

Van den Broucke, De Soete and Bohrer (2002) Jackson (2008)

Masgoret (2006)

Lumkes Jr., Hallett and Vallade (2011) Pedersen et al.

(2011) Pitts (2009)

Goldstein and Kim (2006) Wilson

(2002) Anderson et al. (2006)

Carlson and Widaman (2002) Jang et

Yeong Kim (2010)

The electronic library (n=1)Aihong (2009)

Journal of Sport and Tourism (n=1)Fairley and Tyler (2009)

Journal of Management Development (n=1)Rodrigues (2005)

Business Education Innovation Journal (n=2)Brasfield, McCoy and Reed (2011)

Sjoberg and Shabalina (2010)

Nurse Education Today (n=2)Keogh and Russel-Roberts (2009) Green

et al. (2008)

International Journal of Finance and Economics (n=1)Lianos, Asteriou and Agiomirgianakis (2004)

Journal of Applied Research of Higher Education (n=1)Wang, Lu and Ren (2010)

Journal of Teaching in International Business (n=1)Sanchez, Fornerino and Zhang (2006)

Communication of AIS (n=1)Harris et al. (2011)

Business Horizons (n=1)Martin, Heppard and Green (2011)

43

Marketing Education Review (n=1)Ha-Brookshire and Stoll (2009)

International Journal of Human Resource Management (n=1)Tung (2007)

Journal of Second Language Writing (n=1)Storch (2009)

International Journal of Organizational Innovation (n=1)Yi-Wang (2010)

Europa-Asia Studies (n=1)Yanik (2004)

International Journal of Sustainability (n=1)Farrell and Ollervides (2005)

International Journal of Tourism Research (n=1)Llewellyn-Smith and McCabe (2008)

APPENDIX FIGURE 2

44

APPENDIX TABLE 2

Region Country No. of articles %Asia 14.79

Turkey 6 5.22China 6 5.22Singapore 1 0.87Russia 1 0.87Taiwan 1 0.87South Korea 2 1.74

North America 51.31USA 55 47.83Canada 3 2.61Mexico 1 0.87

Europe 22.61Spain 2 1.74France 1 0.87UK 13 11.30Sweden 1 0.87Germany 1 0.87Greece 2 1.74Belgium 3 2.61Austria 3 2.61

Oceania 10.44Australia 10 8.70New-Zealand 2 1.74

Africa 0.87Namibia 1 0.87

45

Total 115 100APPENDIX FIGURE 3

46