ELABORATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE EXPATRITES’ CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION

Nick Daher
Florida Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

As the world continues to shrink through globalization and becomes more connected
with one common market, organizations can no longer ignore the effects of globalization and the
increased mobility of labor across national and cultural boundaries. Cross-cultural adaptation
has become an important source of competitive advantage for many organizations and their
expatriates. Research suggests that employees who are highly effective in their home country may
not necessarily be as effective in international settings. Thus, experiences of expatriation have
been marked with high failure rates, increased costs, and ineffectiveness. This study elaborates on
the relationship between three dimensions of cultural intelligence (cognitive, motivational, and
behavioral) and three dimensions of expatriates’ cross-cultural adaptation (ability to work in host
countries, adaptation to general living condition in host countries, and interaction with citizens of
host countries).
Keywords: Cultural intelligence, cross-cultural adaptation, expatriates.