Business Students’ Learning Motivations and Implications for Sustainable Implementations of At-Home Internationalized Programs: Qualitative Evidence from Vietnam

Internationalization of higher education programs has become more diverse in non-Western countries but there has been a paucity of studies exploring these at-home initiatives of internationalization, particularly using business students’ experience. This article reports a qualitative study that investigated 18 Vietnamese business students, majoring in marketing and international business, for their motivations of pursuing an elite internationalized university program. The results showed that business students were motivated by several foreign elements embedded in these programs: English language instruction, foreign certificate/degree, international teachers and friends, among others. The motivations were influenced by their rational self-interest and opinions of third parties and were practically driven by the motive of enhancing their employability. The article discusses the findings in relation to the current socio-cultural and educational context of Vietnam and provides practical implications for sustainable implementation of these business programs on the principle of meeting students-as-customers’ learning needs and expectations.