Soon Ang’s research while affiliated with Nanyang Technological University and other places

Research on language proficiency and cultural intelligence (CQ) has developed somewhat independently, resulting in a partial understanding of the personal resources required to facilitate job performance and adaptation in a foreign culture. Our meta‐analysis synthesizes the two constructs by drawing on the overt‐covert model of culture and the conservation of resources (COR) theory. Specifically, we propose that language proficiency and CQ complement each other by overcoming resource losses arising from overt (i.e., explicit language differences) and covert (i.e., implicit rules) cultural differences, respectively. We further propose that the host‐country communication context (i.e., higher vs. lower context dependence) moderates the effects of language proficiency and CQ. Meta‐analytic results based on 355 field samples ( N = 128,358) support our hypotheses and show that (1) both language proficiency and CQ are positively related to job performance and cultural adaptation, (2) the effects of language proficiency are accentuated in cultures with lower communication‐context dependence, while (3) the effects of CQ are accentuated in cultures with higher communication‐context dependence. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and practice.

This meta‐analysis clarifies and tests the structural relationships among the Big Five personality traits, cultural intelligence (CQ), and an expanded criterion domain of job performance. Positioning CQ in the nomological network of personality traits is timely because research has demonstrated that CQ predicts a range of work‐related outcomes in today's multicultural workplace. Drawing on the Cybernetic Big Five Theory (CB5T), we conduct a meta‐analytic investigation ( n = 24,552; k = 109) of the metatraits of stability (shared variance of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability) and plasticity (shared variance of extraversion and openness) on CQ and five job performance outcomes (task performance, affiliative citizenship performance, change‐oriented citizenship performance, adaptive performance, and creative performance). Our findings show that CQ is a stronger mediator of the plasticity metatrait (than stability) on job performance, supporting our hypotheses. We also discover intriguing suppressor effects, suggesting that the importance of the plasticity metatrait on job performance could be underestimated in existing Big Five meta‐analyses.

The literature on individual differences constitutes a key area of research in organizational sciences, such as organizational psychology, organizational behavior, and behavioral strategy. In line with this, there is a vast and further growing body of knowledge within this literature. This volume aims to provide an accessible overview of the academic research that characterizes this area. Specifically, through 26 chapters written by 57 established academics, this volume explores key research streams, ranging from psychological to biological/physiological characteristics, and assesses the impact of individual differences in an era of technological and social disruption. In doing so, it assists academics and practitioners in understanding and utilizing individual differences to enhance organizational outcomes.

The Oxford Handbook of Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior comprises 28 chapters organized in six sections that provide the most recent and compelling evidence that cross-cultural and global perspectives are essential to understanding organizational behavior. Part I of the Handbook begins with a discussion of fundamental theoretical and methodological issues in cross-cultural OB research. Part II focuses on Culture and Organizational Entry, including culture and recruitment and selection, training and development, appraisal and management of performance, and careers across the lifespan. Part III turns to Culture and Individual Behavior in Organizations, focusing on cultural influences on motivation, job attitudes, justice, creativity, deviance, and stress and well-being. Part IV moves to Social Dynamics in Organizations, with chapters on cultural influences on trust, leadership, teams, communication, and conflict and negotiation. Part V examines Culture at the Organizational Level, including culture and social networks, strategic management, and organizational change and development. Part VI turns to the Cross-Cultural Organizational Interface, including culture and consumer behavior, work–family dynamics, global mobility, joint ventures and alliances, multinational enterprises and Global HRM (human resource management), corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and cultural intelligence and global identity. The final chapter analyzes the research–practice interface and gaps within cross-cultural OB. The authors reflect on our seminal theories and empirical discoveries and provide a thoughtful window into the future of research in cross-cultural OB for decades to come. With a science–practitioner model in mind, they also identify key practical insights for managers operating in this brave new globalized world.

In this chapter, we take the view that intelligence and context are deeply intertwined. Within this view, we show how three different streams of intelligence research emerge from different conceptualizations of context: (1) intelligence in context; (2) intelligence across cultures; and (3) cultural intelligence (CQ). “Intelligence in context” responds to the traditionally narrow focus of intelligence as IQ by defining different intelligences for different contexts beyond academic settings. “Intelligence across cultures” adopts an ethnological perspective and examines how views of intelligence are shaped by national cultures. CQ integrates the first two perspectives on intelligence by shifting the research focus from a cross-cultural comparison of intelligence to examining a capability to function effectively in the specific context of intercultural interactions. We discuss implications and future research directions for CQ and intelligence in the Anthropocene epoch, with the goal to mitigate global conflicts and sustain humankind.

We’re in an age of massive global disruption. Technological advancements threaten century-old business models, globalization is re-ordering supply chains, and people need to work with colleagues and customers who have vastly different backgrounds. On top of that, we’re in the midst of a global pandemic and customers, employers, and investors are demanding more than just a “Black Lives Matter” social media post. Organizations with high cultural intelligence are able to navigate this volatility and complexity effectively. Over the last two decades, scholars from across the world have published hundreds of articles on cultural intelligence (CQ), the capability to relate and work effectively in complex, culturally diverse situations. Most of the work has examined cultural intelligence at the individual level. But what about organizations? Can organizations be culturally intelligent? The emerging research on CQ at the organizational level offers leaders and organizations critical insights for navigating today’s diverse, digital world. Organizational CQ is a firm’s capability to function effectively in a complex and unpredictable multicultural world. This article explicates the importance of the culturally intelligent organization and how to develop organizational CQ.