Self-monitoring, Cultural Training and Prior International Work Experience as Predictors of Cultural Intelligence - a Study of Indian Expatriates

Abstract

The present study examined the role of self-monitoring, expatriate training, and prior international work experience on the cultural intelligence of expatriates. The data was collected from 223 Indian expatriates through a questionnaire survey. The results of data analysis indicated that self-monitoring has a significant impact on the cultural intelligence of the expatriates. Further analysis was done to examine the effect of these independent variables on individual dimensions of cultural intelligence. The findings signify that self-monitoring has a significant effect on all the three cultural dimensions, namely, cognitive, emotional/motivational and behavioral, and that expatriate training has a significant impact on the emotional/motivational dimension, but not on the other two. Prior international work experience was found not to have a significant effect on cultural intelligence and its dimensions. These findings provide significant insights into organizations for selecting and training the expatriates leading to their effective adjustment and performance in a different culture context. This paper contributes to expatriate management literature highlighting the effect of personality variables along with expatriate training. Further, it is a contribution to the research in cultural intelligence which is a relatively nascent area of research.

Opportunity and opportunism: The expatriation practices of Indian information technology multinational corporations

“…Moreover, due to lack of preparation and inconsistent expectations, participants experienced issues at work with regards to differences between home and host cultures as well as expectations from clients as they were viewed as contractors. While the framework by Black and colleagues (1991) with its embedded assumptions has been seen as fitting in well with the traditional western MNC models (Black et al, 1991;Caligiuri et al, 1998;Gupta et al, 2013), it may need amendment or indeed adjustment to fit this group of IT expatriates working within IT business models. In considering how to implement this model, there is a need to consider how we would use it within a larger industry context.…”

“…There has been extensive literature highlighting the importance for organizations to prepare employees for overseas sojourns as well as ongoing in-country organizational support (Bhaskar-Srinivas et al, 2005;Gupta et al, 2013;Guzzo et al, 1994). Expatriates formulate their own expectations of the host country prior to leaving for the assignment (Reiche et al, 2011).…”

“…There was a bit of training but not exactly; in the training, I was given documents to read and I just prepared those documents before moving... (Aarti/A). Lack of effective cross-cultural training programs adds to the probability of expatriate failure or poor performance on the assignment (Caligiuri et al, 2001;Gupta et al, 2013;Tung, 1987).…”

A Qualitative Phenomenological study of Emotional and Cultural Intelligence of International Students in the United States of America

“…Cultural intelligence can be increased over time with studying abroad (Gupta, Singh, Jandhyala, & Bhatt, 2013). The more individuals are entrenched in diverse cultures, the better chance of their having an appreciation for beliefs other than their own (Gupta et al, 2013).…”

“…Cultural intelligence can be increased over time with studying abroad (Gupta, Singh, Jandhyala, & Bhatt, 2013). The more individuals are entrenched in diverse cultures, the better chance of their having an appreciation for beliefs other than their own (Gupta et al, 2013). The theory of cultural intelligence addresses issues related to culture by focusing on the individual characteristics and personality traits of a person rather than merely the beliefs and norms associated with the culture (Ang et al, 2007).…”