Internationalisation at home and inbound student integration: A conceptual framework for emerging-economy universities

Abstract

Universities in emerging economies have shifted from sending students abroad to receiving them, yet two research conversations that should guide this shift rarely connect. Internationalisation at home (IaH) promises intercultural learning for the majority of students who never study abroad, while the literature on international-student adaptation treats incoming students mainly as a group that needs support. This conceptual article integrates the two. Through an integrative review of research on internationalisation, acculturation, and cross-cultural adaptation, and drawing on Berry’s acculturation model, Searle and Ward’s distinction between sociocultural and psychological adaptation, the job demands–resources model, and intergroup contact theory, it positions the integration of inbound international students as the mechanism through which IaH delivers its promise on non-Western campuses. The framework proposes that institutional IaH conditions enable inbound student integration; that integration builds campus interculturality, meaning frequent and genuinely reciprocal intercultural contact; and that campus interculturality is the shared mechanism linking institutional effort to two outcomes, namely adaptation and retention for international students and intercultural competence for home students. Cultural distance, English-medium instruction in non-native-English settings, a multicultural and religious host context, and limited resources are proposed as emerging-economy boundary conditions, with Malaysia used as an illustrative case. Eight propositions are advanced, together with a research agenda and practical guidance for university managers and policymakers