STUDENTS' ATTITUDES, SATISFACTION, AND LOYALTY TOWARDS A COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITY ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Today's higher education demands active learning formats in order to engage students in their learning process. Most common active learning formats include a wide variety of collaborative classroom activities, problem-solving activities, the use of new technological web-based applications such as Skype or Google Hangouts, or the use of gammified classes. Collaborative learning formats enhance students' motivation and involvement in learning activities resulting in higher student performance and satisfaction with learning activities. This paper analyzes an international marketing collaborative learning activity and students' attitudes, satisfaction, and loyalty towards the activity. A sample of 48 students from 9 different European countries enrolled in the International Marketing Week Valencia 2014 was randomly assigned to one of eight different teams in order to develop an international marketing plan for a Spanish winery. Using a real winery as a background for the project students were encouraged to develop an international marketing plan in a collaborative and self-regulated process during 3 days. Students were provided with different tasks and a suggested framework in order to accomplish with the main goal of developing the international marketing plan but they decided the order and time devoted to each task. Students were also encouraged to use their previous knowledge on the subject and their cultural background to contribute with useful and creative solutions to the project. Results suggest that students' attitude, satisfaction, and loyalty with this learning activity is high. Results also suggest that students' satisfaction with the activity contributes to students' loyalty to the activity, that is, students' intention to participate again in the activity.