Time, Exposure and Social Sustainability in the National Identity of International Students

Authors

Luca Utassy
Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism
Dorottya Edina Kozma
University of Pannonia, Faculty of Business
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4948-8815
Klaudia Gabriella Horváth
Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0316-9744
Sarolta Ács
Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3228-1558
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.epf.7.2026.27

Synopsis

This study examines how the duration of study abroad is associated with perceived changes in national identity. The aim was to address a gap in understanding whether time spent abroad may be linked to specific attitudinal shifts. The study uses a retrospective pre-post design with 308 international students in Hungary, grouped by time abroad, and analyzes perceived changes across four identity dimensions: national sentiment, patriotism, nationalism, and collective narcissism. While no significant between-group differences emerged, the within-group results suggested that perceived changes were concentrated in the more defensive and superiority-based dimensions of identity. Specifically, a significant decrease in nationalism and a marginal decrease in collective narcissism were observed in the three-or-more-years subgroup, while affective and pride-based dimensions remained stable or showed slight increases. This research contributes by identifying duration as a potentially relevant factor and by distinguishing between different dimensions of national identity in the study abroad context.

Author Biographies

Luca Utassy, Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism

Luca has been working as a full-stack marketing professional for many years, with a primary focus on digital and performance marketing. For nearly 10 years, she has been strengthening the teams of educational institutions, while also teaching Search Engine Marketing at Budapest Metropolitan University. She is deeply committed to the well-being of international students, and her research frequently focuses on the experiences and challenges of foreigners.

Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: luca.utassy@gmail.com

Dorottya Edina Kozma, University of Pannonia, Faculty of Business

Kozma Dorottya Edina earned her PhD with an empirical study on sustainable development. Her main research areas include the examination of sustainable development within the European Union, the development of composite indicators based on circular economy and climate change metrics, and national regulatory frameworks related to the legal implementation of ESG in the V4 countries.

Veszprém, Hungary. E-mail: kozma.dorottya.edina@gtk.uni-pannon.hu

Klaudia Gabriella Horváth, Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism

Klaudia has been working in the field of innovation management since 2019, focusing on collaborations between universities and Hungarian SMEs, product development processes, and the interconnections between corporate sustainability and product positioning. She earned her PhD in Public Management at the University of Public Service in Hungary. Alongside her teaching and research activities, she has gained experience in public administration as well as in multinational corporations such as P&G and Tungsram, providing her with strong practical insight into the corporate implementation of sustainability.

Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: khorvath@metropolitan.hu

Sarolta Ács, Budapest Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business, Communication and Tourism

Sarolta has been working in the field of PR and communication for more than ten years, contributing to international brand campaigns and agency projects. Her research examines how artificial intelligence is transforming trust, corporate reputation, and the functioning of the PR profession. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Széchenyi István University and a lecturer at Budapest Metropolitan University.

Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: saci.acs@gmail.com

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Volume

Sustainable Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on ESG, Digital Transformation and Corporate Responsibility

Pages

533-550

Published

July 3, 2026

Categories

Copyright (c) 2026 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Utassy, L., Kozma, D. E., Horváth, K. G., & Ács, S. (2026). Time, Exposure and Social Sustainability in the National Identity of International Students. In J. Belak & S. Oberman Peterka (Eds.), Sustainable Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on ESG, Digital Transformation and Corporate Responsibility (pp. 533-550). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.epf.7.2026.27