Cross‐cultural social intelligence

Abstract

Purpose-To discuss (a) the concept of cross-cultural social intelligence (CCSI), (b) its relevance for both selecting and developing expatriates and other employees working in crosscultural contexts, (c) the development of a situational judgment test to assess CCSI, and (d) practical "lessons learned" in each of these areas. In addition, this instrument is offered (free-ofcharge) to any interested managers or HR practitioners. Design/methodology/approach-The four phases of the development and validation of the CCSI measure (using a total of 184 cross-cultural SMEs) were developing (a) the scenarios and (b) the response alternatives, (c) the content analysis, and (d) establishing construct validity. Findings-The results from the content analysis and construct validation provide support for the use of the CCSI in cross-cultural situations. Research limitations/implications-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. Practical Implications-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. Originality/value-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.

An empirical analysis of three intelligences.

“…Many researchers have indicated that emotional intelligence is grounded in social intelligence (Albrecht, 2004;Alon & Higgins, 2005;Ang et al, 2004;Dulewicz & Higgs, 2000;Dulewicz et al, 2003;Earley & Ang, 2003;Huy, 1999;Law et al, 2004;Matthews et al, 2002;Salovey & Mayer, 1990;Wong & Law, 2002) or is thought by some theorists to be a subset of social intelligence (Ascalon et al, 2008;Crowne, 2009;Goleman, 2006;Salovey & Mayer, 1990), which was not found here. Some investigators argue that cultural intelligence is built on social intelligence (Thomas, 2006), yet the results of this study do not support previous research.…”

“…As noted in Crowne (2009), emotional intelligence was previously established as a subset of social intelligence (Ascalon, Schleicher, & Born, 2008;Goleman, 2006;Salovey & Mayer, 1990), and since its establishment, many scholars have acknowledged that emotional intelligence is grounded in social intelligence (Cartwright & Pappas, 2008;Dulewicz & Higgs, 2000;Dulewicz et al, 2003;Huy, 1999;Law et al, 2004;Matthews et al, 2002;Salovey & Mayer, 1990;Wong & Law, 2002). Other investigators have argued that social intelligence and emotional intelligence are one construct ( Bar-On, 2005;Bar-On, Tranel, Denburg, & Bechara, 2003;Kobe, Reiter-Palmon, & Rickers, 2001).…”

Development of a situational judgment test for global engineering competency

“…Especially relevant for the present study are prior efforts to create SJT and other scenariobased measures focused on inter/cross-cultural competence and related constructs. Ascalon, Schleicher, and Born (2008), for instance, developed an SJT to measure Cross-Cultural Social Intelligence (CCSI). Their instrument consists of 20 multiple-choice scenarios covering two dimensions (ethnocentrism and empathy) and five distinct cultural contexts (American, Chinese, Dutch, German, and Spanish).…”

The Impact of Cultural Intelligence on Employee Job Performance: An Empirical Study on King Abdel-Aziz Hospital in Al-Taif Governorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…To reflect that, the assessment focuses mainly on two criteria, ethnocentrism (cultural aspect) and empathy (social intelligence aspect). The assessment does not address CQ solely; in addition, though supported by content and construct validity, it has not been validated in a criterion-related way (Ascalon et al, 2008).…”

“…There is another concept developed and validated by Ascalon et al (2008), "Cross-Cultural Social Intelligence", which they suggested for assessing employees working in cross-cultural settings. However, as the researchers state, this construct represents a marriage of two relatively disparate literatures, those on social intelligence and cross-cultural communication.…”