The effect of student perceived benefits and obstacles to determine if and where to study abroad

Purpose This research aims to examine business students’ geographic interests and motivations for study abroad. Design/methodology/approach Two hundred sixty-seven undergraduate business students from a midwestern university completed the survey on perceived benefits and obstacles of studying abroad (personal and professional), geographic regions where willing to study (rated by psychic distance [PD]), the format for willing to study (length and faculty-led) and respondent characteristics. Findings Results indicate students who perceive high professional benefits chose higher PD countries, whereas those perceiving higher personal benefits chose medium PD countries. Students with higher professional obstacles, such as concerns of timely degree completion, avoid high PD countries, whereas students expressing high personal obstacles prefer low PD countries. The research results also connect student classification, gender and school funding source to the perceived benefits and obstacles. Originality/value The outcome of this study is to aid study abroad programs in segmenting their users and to better serve business students with more targeted communications and enhanced program offerings. It extends the marketing literature by using the theory of PD to explain and guide these strategies.