The Influence of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) on Multicultural Team Performance

Abstract

Many domestic and international companies employed multicultural teams. This effort requires a commitment to integrate new employees regardless of culture or country of origin. However, challenges exist when companies use multicultural teams to meet objectives. In today’s global business environment, the multicultural team has become an essential part of an organization. The nuances of the current global business environment not only created opportunities for increased profitability but has also generated questions regarding the effectiveness of multicultural working teams. Unlike former studies with a concentrated focus on a single factor or maximum of three factors, this study analyzes four factors to determine the complex relationships between variables, their interrelationships, and how they influence team effectiveness. A model-based approach has been employed to examine the variables influence on team effectiveness. This study investigates the influence of cultural intelligence (CQ) on multicultural team (MCT) effectiveness. The examination focus consisted of investigative efforts to determine how CQ mitigates the challenges of cultural diversity on team activities and outcomes thereby highlighting the significance of CQ for multicultural teams. The study included 292 participants: results indicated strong relationships exist between motivational CQ and team effectiveness and metacognitive CQ and team effectiveness. This research contributes to existing literature in relation to team-based outcomes by highlighting the focus of multicultural team member perspectives, interactions, and assessments when engaged in team-level activities as opposed to using team-level outcomes as the basis for determining what makes a multicultural team effective.