Benefits and Challenges of Cross-Cultural Online Collaboration Projects

Abstract

An online collaborative research project was implemented simultaneously in courses at a US and Korean university. Students in either course formed a team with other students in a foreign university and went through a series of consumer research steps. This study aims to examine the impact of the cross-cultural project on students' global competence and success determinants. Data were collected from the classes at two different time points (i.e., a pre-test and a post-test survey). The results found that the project positively influenced some dimensions of students' global competence (e.g., US students' knowledge about Korea and Korean students' attitudes toward different cultures). However, a few variables were identified for future improvement. Equal student ratios from both countries are critical to increasing communication. Instructors also need to provide students with more chances to familiarize themselves with their global peers ahead of the actual project to decrease communication barriers.