Integrating SDG 12 into Business Studies through Intercultural Virtual Collaboration

Luana Ferreira-Lopes, Ingrid Van Rompay-Bartels, Maria José Bezanilla and Iciar Elexpuru-Albizuri
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Luana Ferreira-Lopes: Teaching Innovation Unit, Deusto Business School, University of Deusto, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Ingrid Van Rompay-Bartels: International School of Business, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Ruitenberglaan 31, 6826 CC Arnhem, The Netherlands
Maria José Bezanilla: Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Sports, University of Deusto, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Iciar Elexpuru-Albizuri: Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Sports, University of Deusto, 48007 Bilbao, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: Intercultural Virtual Collaboration (IVC) has been a growing field in recent decades as it allows students from different cultures to work together without having to move physically. Besides providing students with an authentic experience that they are going to encounter in their future professional careers in increasingly globalised and digitised workplaces, more recently, IVC has also been used as a means to engage university students from different cultures in social and political issues that are common across societies. In this paper, we present an analysis of an IVC project that involved undergraduate Business students from a university in Spain and a university in the Netherlands where students from both universities were asked to collaborate online to develop a business case to analyse how companies communicate about the way they integrate SDGs in the different cultures involved. A content analysis of group reports delivered by students was carried out. In addition, intercultural competence development was measured through a questionnaire. Results show that the IVC project contributed to raising students’ awareness of how companies approach SDGs and adapt their products to different cultures. Students were also perceived to have developed intercultural knowledge, intercultural virtual teamwork, intercultural attitudes and intercultural awareness.

Keywords: higher education; sustainable development goals; business studies; intercultural virtual collaboration; business case; global virtual teams; virtual exchange (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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