Coping with cultural challenges: adaptive strategies of Dutch students in short-term hospitality internships in Aruba

Abstract

This study examines how Dutch hospitality students cope with cultural challenges during internships in Aruba’s hospitality industry. While cultural differences in international mobility have been widely documented, less is known about how individuals actively adapt to these differences in short-term professional placements. Drawing on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory as a heuristic framework and integrating insights from cultural intelligence, acculturation theory and Meyer’s work-practice perspective, the study explores how students navigate cultural contrasts in everyday workplace interactions. The research is based on nine semi-structured interviews with Dutch students who completed internships in Aruban hospitality organisations. Using a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis, the study identifies three recurring coping patterns: strategic self-regulation, relational negotiation and organisational adaptation. These coping strategies demonstrate how students actively balance their own cultural expectations with local workplace norms. The findings suggest that cultural dimensions function less as deterministic predictors of behaviour and more as contextual triggers that activate adaptive responses. By foregrounding coping mechanisms rather than static cultural differences, the study offers insight for cross-cultural management literature on short-term professional mobility. Practically, the results highlight the importance of intercultural preparation, mentoring and organisational support for students undertaking international internships in tourism-dependent economies.