Stays abroad and intercultural competence of students

Abstract

Intercultural competence is increasingly important to cope with the challenges of the globalised and dynamic world. Therefore, there is considerable interest of researchers and companies in gaining insights into the development of intercultural competence and its relationship with personality traits. This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between stays abroad, intercultural competence and individual personality traits of 202 academic subjects. It was also examined how intercultural competence is related to the length of stay, the attitude to work and patterns, and the level of integration. The results show a positive relationship between duration and cognitive, motivational and behavioural intercultural competence. Moreover, the results reveal that the relationship between a person's behavioural patterns and intercultural competence is mediated by the type of stay abroad and social competence. The study contributes to the development of intercultural management, reflecting on the state of literature and showing relevant predictors for the development of intercultural competence.