Cultural intelligence and innovative work behavior: examining multiple mediation paths in the healthcare sector in India

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to look at numerous mediating factors that influence innovative work behavior through cultural intelligence (CQ). The author specifically examines affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being as three mediating pathways through which CQ predicts innovative work behavior (IWB).

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 355 employees working in the health-care sector of India through convenience sampling.

Findings

Affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being mediated the relationship between CQ and innovative work behavior. In addition, CQ positively relates to affective commitment (AC), interpersonal trust and psychological well-being and IWB.

Practical implications

Managers and human resource (HR) professionals can potentially stimulate employee innovation by developing cultural awareness programs for their employees. An organization must seek to provide a sense of attachment, a trustworthy environment and a favorable perception of psychological well-being to its employees. This could stimulate innovation in the health-care sector.

Originality/value

Although understanding the mechanism or processes by which CQ supports IWB is critical, research in this area is limited. This study theorizes and empirically examines affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being as novel mechanisms through which CQ promotes innovative behavior in health-care organizations. Furthermore, the author presume that the intervening mediators guide the direction of social exchange.

Leading for Innovation: Self-Efficacy and Work Engagement as Sequential Mediation Relating Ethical Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior

This research investigated the link between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior by examining the role of self-efficacy as a mediating factor and the sequential mediation of self-efficacy and work engagement. Using a survey approach, data were collected from 441 bank employees in the southern region of Thailand. The findings of the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed an association between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior and self-efficacy, respectively. Work engagement and innovative work behavior were both linked to self-efficacy. Work engagement was associated with innovative work behavior. According to the mediation analysis results, self-efficacy appeared to mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior. Ultimately, it was shown that self-efficacy and work engagement were sequentially mediated by ethical leadership and innovative work behavior. This research provides insight into the understanding of the connection between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior. The key contributions of this research are the exploration-mediating function of self-efficacy and the sequential mediation roles of self-efficacy and work engagement.

Work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction: the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of SIEs

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine linkages between work engagement, affective commitment, and career satisfaction, while probing the mediating role of knowledge sharing in context of self-initiated- expatriates (SIEs).

Design/methodology/approach

A mediation model was tested using survey data from 266 SIEs working in US information technology (IT) multinational corporations (MNCs).

Findings

The results revealed significant direct and indirect effects of work engagement on affective commitment and career satisfaction through knowledge sharing.

Research limitations/implications

Although common method bias and validity of measurement were assessed in this study, the survey data were cross-sectional. Rigorous testing of the proposed mediated model through longitudinal design must be undertaken to allow for stronger inferences about causation.

Practical implications

The results suggest that organizations must nurture a knowledge sharing culture to promote knowledge exchange amongst SIEs. This study also underscores the importance of SIEs' work engagement as an enabler of knowledge sharing. Managers have a critical role in creating the right work environment, where SIEs feel engaged in their work and motivated to share knowledge.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine interlinkages between work engagement, knowledge sharing, affective commitment and career satisfaction in SIEs' context.

Cultural intelligence as an enabler of cross-cultural adjustment in the context of intra-national diversity

Job transfers within the country can lead to adjustment issues, similar to what expatriates face, especially in the case of highly diverse countries, where a host of sub-cultures exist with distinct cultural practices within a single national culture. Intra-national variations in terms of language, ethnicity, food, clothing, economic development, geographic regions or urban-rural differences can be as significant as cross-cultural differences and cause barriers to social integration. Thus, it becomes important to equip employees with cross-cultural capabilities when they are deployed to a culturally distinct part of the country. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of cultural intelligence (CQ) as a critical capability that can enable the cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of employees in a domestic context. Participants of this study consisted of employees from the information technology sector of India, who were transferred to a different state within the country in the past 1-month. They were further categorized into those working in culturally homogenous versus heterogeneous environments. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. The hypotheses under study were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that CQ enabled the adjustment of employees within the domestic context. Furthermore, the CQ-CCA relationship was found to be positively moderated by intra-national diversity. While the ability of CQ to predict outcomes in cross-cultural scenarios has already been explored in employee mobility literature, this paper addresses the issues of intra-national diversity and domestic adjustment within the CQ framework, and establishes the usefulness of CQ to overcome the challenges put forth by intra-national differences and within-country cultural variations.

Self-initiated expatriate adjustment: South Korean workers in Vietnam

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify how young South Korean self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) have adjusted to their work and to verify the role of workplace learning activities as work adjustment processes in the relationship between work adjustment resources and outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed-method approach, beginning with a qualitative study, followed by a quantitative study.

Findings

The main findings of the qualitative study indicated two types of SIE personal characteristics (ability to embrace cultural differences and entrepreneurship), their participation in training programs and that a supportive work environment which facilitates their work adjustment. Workplace learning, which led to role clarification within their organizations, is also critical for adjustment. Based on these findings, the quantitative research study examined the effects of personal and contextual factors on workplace learning and adjustment (n = 120). The quantitative part of the study found cultural intelligence (CQ), entrepreneurship, training programs and supportive environments were positively related to sociocultural adjustment through the work adjustment process.

Research limitations/implications

As work adjustment is an important predictor of increased sociocultural adjustment among SIEs, organizations should build learning-supportive climates to promote workplace learning and seek people with appropriate characteristics for expatriation. Further studies should expand participant sample sizes to represent a wider population of SIEs.

Originality/value

Extant literature on SIEs mainly explored their performance and management. This study explores their adjustment processes through the perspective of workplace learning.

International assignments – extending an organizational value framework

Purpose

This study aims to present a framework relating to the organizational value of international assignments (IAs). This extends the existing framework by Lepak et al. (2007) and applies to other fields researching questions of value.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that applies new thinking to the critical practical and theoretical issue of organizational value in global mobility (GM) and international business (IB) literature. The Lepak et al. (2007) framework is explained, used and extended to appraise the value of IAs to organizations.

Findings

The primary contribution is the establishment of a value framework within which future IA research can position itself, refining extant measures and thereby enabling greater cohesion in future studies. The secondary contribution, impacting beyond the field of GM, is the development of this framework, including the identification and discussion of value itself, the significance of organizational sub-levels, the extension of the definitions of isolating mechanisms and competition to explicate value capture, the importance of temporal analysis and the inclusion of value assessment.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited by its application to IAs at the organizational level only. However, the relationship with other levels is also explored. Research within different contexts or focusing on the other levels of value will increase the understanding of value.

Practical implications

Definitions of the value of IAs are extended, and practitioner implications are discussed.

Originality/value

A new framework for evaluating the organizational value of IAs and new definitions to enable this value to be assessed are produced.

Intercultural adjustment challenges of Korean and Canadian self-initiated expatriates in the workplace: An exploratory bidirectional investigation

This study uses a qualitative approach and bidirectional design to explore the unique intercultural adjustment challenges that Korean and Canadian self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) experience in each other’s workplace. Through semi-structured interviews we draw upon thematic analysis to surface unique cross-cultural challenges finding that a ‘one-size’ fits all approach to understanding SIE adjustment is overly simplified and omits contextual considerations. Canadian SIEs struggled with issues related to power distance, collectivism and communication styles, whereas language barriers, individualism and hierarchical differences were major challenges for Korean SIEs. We apply our findings to previous conceptual models of cross-cultural adjustment and discuss three criteria: size of cultural gap, direction of immigration and unique contextual factors as necessary for understanding the intricate dynamics of SIE and host-country national relationships. Implications and limitations of this study are followed by recommendations for future research.

The influence of employees’ cross-cultural psychological capital on workplace psychological well-being

Orientation: In order to withstand the global and local cultural diversity and challenges that South African workplaces face, it is essential for employees to have cross-cultural psychological resources (i.e. cross-cultural psychological capital). A lack of cross-cultural psychological capital or the inability to adjust to cross-cultural environments may impact negatively employees’ psychological well-being.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore the influence of employees’ cross-cultural psychological capital on their psychological well-being (indicated by burnout and work engagement).Motivation for the study: Cross-cultural psychological capital and its influence on employees’ psychological well-being have not been explored in South Africa. This study aimed to fill this gap.Research approach/design and method: Data were collected using questionnaires completed by 213 employees from different organisations in South Africa. Partial least squares (PLS) and structural equations modelling (SEM) were used to explore the relationships between the independent variable (cross-cultural psychological capital) and burnout and work engagement.Main findings: Cross-cultural psychological capital had a statistically significant negative influence on burnout and a statistically significant positive influence on work engagement. It had a stronger negative influence on emotional exhaustion than on cynicism and a stronger positive influence on vigour than on dedication.Practical/managerial implications: Enhancing employees’ cross-cultural psychological capital by means of programmes and short interventions may improve their psychological well-being.Contribution/value-add: This research contributed to filling the gap in the literature regarding the role of cross-cultural psychological capital in the psychological well-being of employees working in cross-cultural environments.

Does cultural intelligence increase work engagement? The role of idiocentrism-allocentrism and organizational culture in MNCs

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of cultural intelligence (CQ), idiocentrism-allocentrism and organizational culture on work engagement in a multinational organization from the perspective of conservation of resources theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 219 employees of a multinational company (MNC). Partial least squares–structural equation modeling was used to test the research model.

Findings

The results suggest that CQ is positively related to work engagement and that this relationship is moderated by employees’ idiocentrism-allocentrism, as well as by the adaptability dimension of organizational culture.

Research limitations/implications

Greater generalizability of the findings could be achieved with a more geographically dispersed sample. Other cultural dimensions, as well as personal and organizational characteristics, should be considered in order to more clearly ascertain the relationships between these variables.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that CQ is a powerful tool for developing employee engagement within MNCs. Furthermore, a highly adaptive organizational culture and consideration of employees’ cultural values are important in order to enhance the effect of CQ on engagement.

Originality/value

This study identifies relevant resources that can aid in managing a diverse workforce and increasing employee engagement in companies that operate across national borders.

Cultural intelligence and work engagement of expatriate academics: The role of psychological needs satisfaction

Cultural intelligence (CQ) has received considerable research attention in studies on expatriates. However, most of the studies on this have been conducted on business expatriates, neglecting other types of expatriates, such as self-initiated expatriate academics. The growing number of expatriate academics taking up faculty positions in universities in an upper middle-income economy, like Malaysia, which is known for its complex cultural, racial, and religious diversity, has posed greater challenges to human resource managers of the respective universities. This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of CQ on work engagement (WE) with the presence of psychological needs satisfaction (PNS) as a mediating factor. Using a sample of 152 expatriate academics employed in 20 Malaysian public universities, it is found that PNS partially mediates the relationship between CQ and WE. In other words, the relationship between CQ and WE is both direct and indirect and mediated through PNS. The findings give rise to a number of implications, both theoretical and practical, in cross-cultural management research.

Psychological Availability between Self-Initiated Expatriates and Host Country Nationals during Their Adjustment: The Moderating Role of Supportive Supervisor Relations

This research examined the role of psychological availability as a means of psychological engagement between self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and their host-country nationals (HCNs) colleagues during their work and interaction adjustment. To reveal this process, this study presented the concept of psychological availability, which refers to an individual’s belief that they are physically, cognitively, and emotionally ready or confident to engage the self with their colleagues, as a mediator between proactive personality and adjustment. Also, it investigated the relationship between proactive personality and psychological availability and how it was moderated by supportive supervisor relations. We hypothesized, this relationship would be weakened/strengthened when SIEs and HCNs received low/high level of support from their supervisor. This study was conducted as a quantitative study, data was used from 342 SIEs and 342 HCNs working in mainland China. Our finding supported the hypothesis that psychological availability mediated the relationship between proactive personality and their adjustment to an international work environment; in addition, the relationship between proactive personality and psychological availability would be stronger when the level of superiors relations support is high between SIEs and HCNs. This study demonstrated the value of proactive personality as an antecedent effect and supportive supervisor relations as a moderating effect, and investigated how these factors can lead to a sense of psychological availability and boost psychological engagement between SIEs and HCNs in order to improve the adjustment between them.

Organizational practices for the expatriates’ adjustment: a systematic review

Purpose

The globalization of work has contributed to a great increment in cross-cultural interactions, contributing to a new impetus in the expatriates’ topic. The costs associated with the failed international missions are high, and the identification of effective adjustment strategies is of extreme importance, both for organizations and for individuals. The purpose of this paper is to identify the kind of practices that are developed by organizations and their impact on the adjustment of expatriates.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the proposed objective, a systematic review of literature (from the late 1980s to the present day) will be carried out.

Findings

Based on five articles on the topic, the results show that there are few studies that assess the impact of the types of adjustment to organizational practices, with the cross-cultural training and language training being the most common. These practices have shown a positive effect on performance and adjustment of expatriates.

Originality/value

The authors feel the lack of studies that have adequate indicators to measure the integration and effectiveness of the adjustment of expatriates.

Job resources and demands for expatriate academics

Purpose

While there is a growing interest in expatriate academics, their specific role as teachers with daily contact to local students seems to have been largely ignored when examining their adjustment and work outcomes. Based on the job demands-resources model the authors predict that good teacher-student relations, as a supportive job resource, will have a positive effect on expatriate academics’ job satisfaction. This effect, however, will be even stronger for individuals experiencing high job demands and challenges in terms of intercultural job adjustment. In other words, expatriate academics that have difficulties adjusting will benefit more from the social support that can originate from good relations to their students. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed expatriate academics adjusting to a university position in China by use of 124 responses from foreign university employees.

Findings

The authors found that teacher-student relations had a positive association with job satisfaction and that positive teacher-student relations increased job satisfaction more for individuals being slow to adjust.

Originality/value

This is one of the few papers to explore the impact that students can have on expatriate academics and treat this relationship as a potential resource for universities to capitalize upon in socializing their new foreign academic staff members.

Success and failure in international assignments

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on how success and failure for international assignments have been defined, and integrate several proposals for these definitions into a multi-dimensional model that considers task performance, relationship building, contextual performance and retention as all being part of how success or failure should be defined. The authors also discuss two proposed pre-requisites for success – absorptive capacity (operationalized at both the individual and the unit levels) and adjustment. The authors conclude by bringing in literature on performance management and how ideas about performance management must also be integrated into the discussion of the success or failure of international assignments.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews existing proposals regarding the definition of expatriate success and failure, and proposes a multidimensional model of success based on the past literature. Based on this literature the authors also propose two pre-requisites for success and discuss several requisite KSAOs, as well as some suggestions from the literature on performance management.

Findings

The authors argue for a multidimensional model of expatiate success which includes task performance, relationship building, contextual performance and retention as part of what constitutes a successful assignment. The authors also argue that absorptive capacity and adjustment should be considered as pre-requisites for success, and that principles from performance management should be applied to dealing with international assignments.

Research limitations/implications

A more comprehensive definition of success and failure should aid research by providing a better dependent variable, and by leading to research on various aspects of this outcome.

Practical implications

The proposed model and approach can hopefully help practice by clarifying the different dimensions of success and how performance management techniques can be applied to dealing with international assignments.

Originality/value

There has been a lot written about how we should operationalize the success or failure of international assignments. The present paper reviews that literature and integrates a number of ideas and suggestions into a multi-dimensional model which includes information about pre-requisites for success and relevant KSAOs, along with ideas from performance management to help insure the success of these assignments.

Do three years make a difference? An updated review and analysis of self-initiated expatriation

Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) were initially described by Inkson et al. (J World Bus 32:351–368, 1997) as individuals who move abroad on their own volition, with personal funding, oriented towards development and career goals. After almost two decades of research, it is imperative to review the knowledge that has been developed and identify future areas of intervention. Doherty (Int J Manag Rev 15:447–469, 2013. doi:10.1111/ijmr.12005) initiated the review and this paper aims to update it and explore some unapproached aspects. Five different data bases were targeted and searched for peer-reviewed articles published in English, between 1997 and 2014, which recognized self-initiated expatriation as a distinguished form of mobility and used this terminology in the title and/or keywords list. A total of 94 articles met these inclusion criteria, 45 of which were published between 2012 and 2014. By systematically analyzing them, it was observed a surpassing growth in the number of published articles in the last 3 years. This signalizes an increase of the academic interest in studying the SIEs all over the world, involving bidirectional moves between developed and developing countries. The constructs identified by Doherty (2013) at the three different levels (micro, meso and macro) continued to be explored, using qualitative or quantitative approaches. Besides this, a multi-informant approach has been adopted in some studies, while others focused on concept clarification, taking into consideration some of Doherty’s (2013) suggestions for future research. Three years of research made an enormous contribution to the development of knowledge about SIEs, but some aspects can be further explored; hence they are identified and thoroughly discussed.