Does cultural intelligence promote cross-cultural teams' knowledge sharing and innovation in the restaurant business?

Abstract

PurposeThis research investigates knowledge sharing and innovation on the part of culturally diverse teams in the restaurant business and their relation to cultural intelligence (CQ), in which CQ was conceptualized as a team-level variable.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 103 cross-cultural teams in restaurants located in five popular tourist destinations in Thailand and were derived from multiple sources to prevent common method bias. The data that measured team CQ and knowledge sharing were collected from all members in each team and were averaged to create aggregate measures at the team level, while the team supervisor evaluated the teams' innovative performance. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used in the data analysis.FindingsThe results indicated that those teams that demonstrated high CQ tended to exhibit a greater degree of team knowledge sharing and receive higher evaluations of their innovative performance than did those that demonstrated low CQ. The results also showed that team knowledge sharing mediated the relation between team CQ and innovation.Originality/valueCQ's contribution in cross-cultural teams measured at the team level contributes additional knowledge to prior CQ research that rarely has investigated the phenomenon at the aggregate level.

Working in a pandemic and post-pandemic period – Cultural intelligence is the key

“…Along with the higher trust among team members, CI also lowers the team relationship conflict (Seriwatana and Charoensukmongkol, 2020). CI is also beneficial for cross-cultural teams in terms of improving innovation and knowledge sharing among the team members (Ratasuk and Charoensukmongkol, 2020).…”

How Chinese expatriates’ cultural intelligence promotes supervisor-subordinate Guanxi with Thai Employees: The mediating effect of expatriates’ benevolence

“…Third, the job tenure of expatriates may affect their relationship building, as those who have worked for MNEs for several years would have accumulated more cross-cultural experience than newer expatriates (Fee et al, 2013) and would therefore find it easier to interact harmoniously with foreign subordinates. Lastly, the length of work relationship can potentially affect relationship quality, as a longer working relationship can enhance the level of familiarity and trust that people develop with each other (Ratasuk and Charoensukmongkol, 2020). Chinese expatriates reported their age, gender, and job tenure, whereas Thai employees reported the length of the working relationship.…”

“…Theoretically, the role of CQ in establishing supervisor–subordinate guanxi can be supported by the social classification theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979), which has frequently been used to explain why CQ could help individuals develop trust with foreigners (Rockstuhl and Ng, 2008; Seriwatana and Charoensukmongkol, 2020). This theory’s main prediction in the context of cross-cultural relationship building is that individuals tend to develop more favorable perceptions of those with whom they share cultural similarities (Tajfel and Turner, 1979); as prior research on the social classification theory has shown, they are consequently more willing to trust these individuals than those whose culture is different from theirs (Ratasuk and Charoensukmongkol, 2020). Individuals with high CQ are equipped with good cultural knowledge and the ability to effectively adapt their behavior to match perfectly with the cultural expectations of foreigners, which can lower the degree of their perceived cultural difference (Earley and Mosakowski, 2004).…”

“…One such gap is the association between outcome performance and expatriates’ CQ. As most prior CQ studies have emphasized the effect of CQ on task performance, leadership effectiveness, and the psychological wellbeing of expatriates (Ratasuk and Charoensukmongkol, 2020; Yang, 2017), there has been limited examination of CQ’s influence on the quality of trust-building and the interpersonal relationships that expatriates develop with local subordinates in a host country. Moreover, few studies have focused on the way in which CQ influences the potential for expatriates to build interpersonal relationships from an Asian cultural perspective.…”

The Role of Extraversion and Openness on Host Country Nationals’ Task Performance and Contextual Performance at Work

“… 12 , 45 This cultural difference demands the possession of specific cultural competence or cultural intelligence. 46 , 47 This study presumed that HCNs’ personality trait (extraversion and openness) can act as like a cultural competence that facilitates the adaptation to different cultural environments and assist HCN to have high relationship qualities with their SIE colleagues. Those HCNs who have higher levels of extraversion and openness may be more willing to shift their perspective and view the relationship as a positive means of growth and career development rather than a source of stress.…”