Reverse Culture Shock among International Business Administration Exchange Students

Abstract

Reverse Culture Shock (RCS) is concerned with the readaptation process to the home country the expats go through upon their return after leaving the host country. The purpose of this research is to understand whether the respondents faced reverse culture shock upon reentry and to establish the relationship between RCS and demographic factors of the respondents. A cross-sectional survey design is used to fulfill the objectives of the study. Primary data was collected from 136 respondents by completing an online questionnaire adopted from (Austin, 1986; Church, 1982; Freedman, 1986; Koester,1985; Martin,1984; Sussman, 1986; Uehara, 1986). The data is analyzed by the use of SPSS 25 using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. The results indicate that the Business Administration/ MBA international students who participated in exchange programs and went back home differ significantly in their RCS regarding their education level. However, they do not differ significantly in their RCS in terms of gender, age, length of trip, and time since returning home.