Cultural Intelligence in the World of Work

Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive review of both the theoretical development and empirical study of the concept of cultural intelligence. A review of previous work on cross-cultural competence provides an historical backdrop against which the two main theories of cultural intelligence are presented. These two approaches, as well as the assessments derived from them, are compared and evaluated. Issues associated with the measurement of cultural intelligence are examined in detail. An important feature of the review of the empirical work on cultural intelligence is that results are discussed in terms of the relationship of the four sub dimensions of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and also that results using the Short Form Cultural Intelligence Scale (SFCQ) and other measures of the concept are included. The review of empirical work includes studies that cast cultural intelligence as an antecedent, as a dependent variable, and as a moderator and a mediator. Cultural intelligence at the group and organizational levels are also discussed. Finally, this review sets the stage for a discussion of appropriate future directions in the study of cultural intelligence. Scholars in organizational psychology interested in the concept of cultural intelligence will find this an essential guide.