Cross‐cultural social intelligence: An assessment for employees working in cross‐national contexts

The aim of the paper is to discuss the concept of cross-cultural social intelligence (CCSI), its relevance for both selecting and developing expatriates and other employees working in cross-cultural contexts, the development of a situational judgment test to assess CCSI, and practical "lessons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cross cultural management 2008-05, Vol.15 (2), p.109-130
Main Authors: Evelina Ascalon, Ma, Schleicher, Deidra J., Born, Marise Ph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative analysis
Content analysis
Corporate culture
Culture
Customer services
Empathy
Employees
Ethnocentrism
Expatriate employees
Expatriates
Intelligence
Intercultural communication
International trade
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Strategic management
Studies
Work environment
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Summary:The aim of the paper is to discuss the concept of cross-cultural social intelligence (CCSI), its relevance for both selecting and developing expatriates and other employees working in cross-cultural contexts, the development of a situational judgment test to assess CCSI, and practical "lessons learned" in each of these areas. The four phases of the development and validation of the CCSI measure (using a total of 184 cross-cultural SMEs) were developing the scenarios and the response alternatives, the content analysis, and establishing construct validity. The results from the content analysis and construct validation provide support for the use of the CCSI in cross-cultural situations. The CCSI has not yet been validated in a criterion-related way (i.e. based on relations to job performance). This should be done before using for selection. Possible uses for the CCSI in organisations include selection and/or promotion of expatriates and other employees in cross-cultural contexts and several types of training and development initiatives. This instrument is offered (free of charge) to any interested managers or HR practitioners. Despite the expressed need for instruments of this sort, nothing similar currently exists (especially not a theoretically grounded and empirically sound instrument). In addition, the "lessons learned" provide practical advice to others engaged in similar undertakings.
ISSN:1352-7606
2059-5794
2059-5808
DOI:10.1108/13527600810870570