Orientation: In an age where subordinate cultural heterogeneity has become the norm, cultural intelligence might assist leaders to improve their effectiveness.Research purpose: This research investigated whether leader cultural intelligence moderated the relationship between leadership style (as represented by empowerment and direction) and leadership effectiveness.Motivation for the study: Although the literature on cultural intelligence has been increasing in quantity, there remained a gap in the understanding of the relationship between leader cultural intelligence, the empowering and directive leadership styles and leadership effectiveness.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional survey design was followed. Data were obtained from 1140 staff members employed at 19 South African organisations. Factorial, correlational and moderated multiple regression analyses were performed.Main findings: Although leader cultural intelligence and its dimensions do not moderate the relationship between empowering leadership and leadership effectiveness, they do nonetheless negatively moderate the relationship between directive leadership and leadership effectiveness. This moderation was, however, assessed to be of no practical significance.Practical and managerial implications: As leader cultural intelligence did not act as an important influencer of the relationship between leadership style and leadership effectiveness, it appeared that effective leaders may have used their cultural intelligence to actually guide the selection of an effective leadership style in the first place.Contribution and value add: Being one of the first studies to explore the moderating effect of leader cultural intelligence on the relationship between leadership style and leadership effectiveness, this research has made a valuable contribution to building both the cultural intelligence and leadership knowledge bases.

Orientation: Within both the South African context and abroad, leaders are increasingly being required to engage with staff members whose cultures differ from their own. As the attractiveness of different leadership styles varies in line with staff member cultural preferences, the challenge leaders face is that their behaviours may no longer be apposite. To this end, it is mostly unknown whether those leaders who are deemed culturally intelligent behave in a specific manner, that is, display the empowering and directive leadership styles.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between leader cultural intelligence and the empowering and directive styles of leadership, as perceived by subordinates.Motivation for the study: To operate successfully, leaders need to adopt and display those leadership styles that best match the cultural expectations of their staff members. Cultural intelligence may assist in this respect. Most of the studies on leader cultural intelligence and leadership styles have concentrated on the transformational leadership style. There is, thus, a requirement to examine how leader cultural intelligence relates to other leadership styles.Research design, approach and method: The study was quantitative in nature and made use of a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 1140 staff members spread across 19 diverse organisations carrying on business activities in South Africa. Correlation and regression techniques were performed to identify relationships.Main findings: Leader cultural intelligence was found to have a stronger relationship with empowering leadership than it had with directive leadership. With empowering leadership, leader metacognitive and motivational cultural intelligence acted as important antecedents, whilst for directive leadership, leader’s motivational, cognitive and metacognitive cultural intelligence played a predictive part that carried a medium effect.Practical/managerial implications: The findings can be used by organisations to guide the selection of leaders and to focus initiatives for their development.Contribution and value-add: The study adds to the cultural intelligence and leadership literature by offering empirical evidence of the relationship between leader cultural intelligence and the empowering and directive leadership styles.

Orientation: To identify and report on cultural intelligence truths.Research purpose: To explore cultural intelligence truths by means of a systematic review of the cultural intelligence literature.Motivation for the study: Cultural intelligence truths must be systemised if the business and academic communities are to derive optimal value from the diverse knowledge base.Research design, approach and method: The research was qualitative in nature, comprising a systematic literature review. The period covered was from 01 January 2002 to 31 May 2015. The final number of included studies was 76, representing 48 different journals. Cultural intelligence hypotheses were identified and thematically categorised. Validated hypotheses constituted truths (i.e. truth statements). Key findings are both reported and commented on.Main findings: Cultural intelligence hypotheses may be classified into 13 separate themes plus a ‘not categorised’ group. In total, 60% of the hypotheses on cultural intelligence have given rise to truth statements. Accordingly, there remains some divide between theorised cultural intelligence relationships and how these have played out under empirical investigation.Practical managerial/implications: Business professionals will find it easier to consume the cultural intelligence literature, thereby facilitating their understanding of how best to leverage the knowledge in equipping the workforce to function optimally in cross-cultural interfaces. Scholars will be better positioned to tailor the focus and structure of cultural intelligence studies going forward.Contribution: Cultural intelligence truths have been systematically identified, organised and reported on.

The rapid rate of globalisation is increasingly exposing both individuals and organisations to situations of cultural heterogeneity in which they are expected to function optimally. The cultural intelligence research programme has consequently experienced increased impetus with the result that a broad array of insights now exists. Organising such information will facilitate the assimilation thereof by both business representatives and scholars. Accordingly, this review sought to situate the cultural intelligence literature in terms of the concept and definition statement elements of the general body of scientific knowledge framework. A systematic literature review followed by content analysis was performed. Concepts were crystallised through a fusion of the key words whilst the definition statements were examined to detect elements of both uniqueness and commonality. Despite a large volume of key words existing across the material, remarkably only a limited number of concepts were identified: accomplishment, culture, expatriates, experience, fit, intelligence, motivation, supervision and training. Whilst the definition statements of cultural intelligence have evolved to include, amongst others, its dimensions, the range of culture types it exists in relation to, the categories of persons that may demonstrate it and the conditions in which it could be exhibited, they mostly remain predicated upon the initial expositions.