About the researchers

Associate Professor Søren Jeppesen
Søren's research concerns the development of firms in developing countries. He works on issues regarding local factors which influence the development and growth potential of developing country firms (or lack of same). He focuses on SMEs, (small and medium size companies) CSR (corporate social responsibility) and driving forces (or lack of same) for strategies of SMEs in developing countries in engaging in CSR (or not engaging). 

Associate Professor Thilde Langevang
Thilde's research interests are in the area of entrepreneurship and development studies with a particular focus on youth, women, and creative industries in Africa. Her research on entrepreneurship has focused on the importance of the developing country context for entrepreneurship motivations, aspirations, organizational forms, and resource and skills acquisition.

Associate Professor Maribel Blasco
Maribel's research focuses on management learning and higher education, notably at business schools, as well as cross-cultural inquiry. She is interested in learning not only as the transfer of know-how and technical skills but also more broadly as a process of identity formation, acculturation and development of tacit abilities such as intercultural competences, ethical awareness and creativity and innovation; and in exploring how students apprehend and negotiate the implicit messages received via the ‘hidden curriculum’ at business schools in different cultural contexts

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Africa field course enables business professionals to face global challenges

New research shows that if you want to excel in international business, especially in developing countries, it's important to be open to the complexities and uncertainties of the real world.

08/01/2023

uganda

A CBS study based on a field-based course in Uganda reveals that mainstream business schools' structured and predictable learning environments may hinder students in developing essential abilities in international business. 

"Our research shows that if you want to excel in international business, especially in developing countries, it's important to be open to the complexities and uncertainties of the real world. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds is key,” says Søren Jeppesen, Associate Professor and co-author of the article "Learning Through Disruptions: Equipping Students to Cope With Challenging Contexts Through a Field-based Course in Africa" published in The Journal of Management Education.

The article is based on a field course designed for students of the MSc in Business, Language and Culture (BLC) who spend three weeks every year doing field research in Uganda in collaboration with students from the local Makerere University Business School (MUBS). 

The field-based course

By investigating students' experiences of the field course, the researchers found that it created disruptions that challenged their usual habits and assumptions. These disruptions included intense sensory experiences, unpredictability, and the need to collaborate with others and learn from other and despite feeling uncomfortable, all of which helped students learn important skills. 

In the field course, the students from CBS had to rely on students from MUBS, who were experts in the local context, when conducting fieldwork, an exercise that also promoted development of their intercultural competences.

“Our students get to try out their skills and develop competencies in a completely different and challenging environment, and in a setting that is very distant from what they are used to,” says co-author, Associate Professor, Thilde Langevang, Centre of Business and Development Studies. 

The research indicates that these disruptions can help students learn important skills and in the article the authors also propose ways to create similar learning environments closer to home. 

Longer term benefits 

Learning to cope with disruptions, ambiguities, complexities, and uncertainties is a crucial skill in today’s fast-moving international business environment, where both managers and employees must navigate problems, often under duress and in challenging contexts involving physical and/or mental discomfort.    

According to the article published in The Journal of Management Education, students who have completed the field course are better equipped to face these challenges.  

‘Such an approach is relevant in our volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment and is increasingly valued by employers.  The ability to challenge one’s taken for granted assumptions, which the course also trains, is a vital precondition for thoughtful and self-reflexive management that benefits society at large,” adds  Søren Jeppesen, 

The wider implications of the field course study for management education include highlighting the need for greater attention to practical application of theories in real-world contexts and for immersive, experiential teaching approaches at business schools.

“Business schools need holistic, real-world, sensory learning experiences in diverse cultural contexts. These experiences engage students' minds, hands, and hearts, fostering engagement, resilience, and meaningful understanding of theories. It is important to strengthen students' awareness of their dependence on others, which is crucial in today's collaborative work environments,” concludes Associate Professor Maribel Blasco from the Department of Management, Society and Communication.

Read the article Learning Through Disruptions: Equipping Students to Cope With Challenging Contexts Through a Field-based Course in Africa  

By Richard Steed, Journalist

The page was last edited by: Sekretariat for Ledelse og Kommunikation // 08/07/2023