Effects of International Study Tours on Attitude Toward Doing Business Globally as Su Ran Ce of Learn in G in Execu Tive M Ba Prog Ram S

Mr. Uday Tate; Mr. Suneel Maheshwari; Mr. Basanna Patagundi

doi:https://doi.org/10.51768/dbr.v16i2.162201514

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Effects of International Study Tours on Attitude Toward Doing Business Globally as Su Ran Ce of Learn in G in Execu Tive M Ba Prog Ram S

Uday Tate, Suneel Maheshwari, Basanna Patagundi

https://doi.org/10.51768/dbr.v16i2.162201514

Published Online: November 27, 2015

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

1. * Uday Tate, Professor of Marketing, Division of MGT-MKT-MIS, College of Business Marshall University, One John Marshall Drive , West Virginia, Huntington, United States (tateu@marshall.edu)

2. Suneel Maheshwari, Professor, Department of Accounting, Eberly College of Business and IT, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States (suneel.maheshwari@iup.edu)

3. Basanna Patagundi, Associate Professor, Management, CMR University, Banglore, Karnataka, India (basanna.p@gmail.com)

In the light of recent focus on global tours as an important part of executive education (e.g., EMBA programs), the purpose of the present research is to determine if a global tour will have an impact on EMBA students’ global awareness and attitude toward doing business globally.

Design/Methodology/Approach/Findings: To achieve this purpose, the results of a survey from a cohort of 30 EMBA students at a medium-sized university in the United States. The survey instrument was administered before and after a global tour that was a required part of the EMBA curriculum the university. The survey instrument measured the level of global awareness in terms of such issues as understanding of foreign cultures, negotiation skills needed when doing business in a global environment, etc. The survey data were analyzed using a t-test for paired comparison, using SPSSX. In sum, the results reported the increases in the level of global awareness and more positive attitude toward doing business globally indicated by the EMBA students can be attributed, at least partly, to the global tour experienced by those students.

Research Limitations/Implications: The research study used a before-after measurement sequence without any control group for the purpose of comparison. Therefore, it was difficult to categorically conclude that the global tour “caused” the higher levels of global awareness among EMBA students. It is likely that the changes in global awareness in the respondents might have been caused by such other factors as news reported on television, newspapers, discussions on global topics with their colleagues at work or in the EMBA cohort, global cases discussed in the EMBA class, and so on. The sample size also limits the generalizability of the results from the study.

Practical Implications/Value: The results suggest that global tours can help corporate managers increase their awareness with respect to many global issues, thus increasing the possibilities of conducting global business transactions more effectively and perhaps successfully. In addition, have a global tour as part of an EMBA program’s curriculum will increase its value to potential EMBA applicants.

Originality: The research study was based on the primary data that were collected using a survey instrument, instead of secondary data.

Keywords

Executive Education, Global Awareness, Globalization, Innovation, Engagement, Impact, Accreditation, Assurance of Learning, Cross-Culture Differences, Global Opportunities.

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