Intercultural Competence Predicts Intercultural Effectiveness: Test of an Integrative Framework

Abstract

Why does someone thrive in intercultural situations; while others seem to struggle? In 2014, Leung and colleagues summarized the literature on intercultural competence and intercultural effectiveness into a theoretical framework. This integrative framework hypothesizes that the interrelations between intercultural traits, intercultural attitudes and worldviews, and intercultural capabilities predict the effectiveness with which individuals respond to intercultural situations. An empirically verified framework can contribute to understanding intercultural competence and effectiveness in health care workers, thus contributing to more equity in health care. The present study sets out to test this integrative framework in a specific health care context. Future health care practitioners (N = 842) in Flanders (Belgium) were questioned on all multidimensional components of the framework. Structural equation modeling showed that our data were adequate to even a good fit with the theoretical framework, while providing at least partial evidence for all hypothesized relations. Results further showed that intercultural capabilities remain the major gateway toward more effective intercultural behavior. Especially the motivation and cognition dimensions of cultural intelligence seem to be key factors, making these dimensions an excellent target for training, practical interventions, and identifying best practices, ultimately supporting greater intercultural effectiveness and more equity in health care.

Effects of Learner Variables on Chinese Bilingual Undergraduates’ Intercultural Sensitivity and Effectiveness

“…[43] indicated that the university milieu could help develop and increase students' intercultural effectiveness and suggested that ICC should be integrated into curricula and teaching content, as did [5,59]. For most schools and students who do not have chances to study abroad, it is recommended to offer various courses and activities that enrich students' awareness of and respect for different cultures, leading to enhanced sensitivity to and effectiveness in intercultural communication and higher ICC [3,5,11,13,35,40,43,45,58,60,61]. Such courses and activities can be in various forms such as culture-enriched language courses, general and discipline-specific ICC courses, (virtual) multicultural team assignments, (virtual) exchange programs, and workshops.…”

“…Moreover, though use of English and English achievement proved not to be good predictors for students' intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness, it is still important for students to improve proficiency in and increase the use of the target language [3,13,29,30]. Hence, they may become more interested in and motivated to study the language and its culture, and more willing to participate and more confident in intercultural interactions [13,45,51,61,64].…”

Presenting the direct intercultural effectiveness simulation: an implicit trait policy on intercultural competence

“…Intercultural competence is described as a multifaceted concept (i.e., traits, attitudes, and capabilities) that also incorporates elements like experience, motivation, and learning to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with individuals from a different cultural background ( Dias et al, 2020 ). The framework was recently empirically validated ( Schelfhout et al, 2022 ), indicating that personality drives the framework, while especially cultural capabilities lead to self-efficacy beliefs toward intercultural effective behavior.…”

“…Individuals that have a higher intercultural competence (comprising of traits, attitudes, and capabilities) are thus assumed to display more interculturally effective behavior due to their self-belief that a higher competence indeed leads to more effectiveness ( Leung et al, 2014 ). To test this assumption, the results on the DIES are integrated into existing frameworks in literature regarding GDK and ITP ( Lievens and Motowidlo, 2016 ) and intercultural competence and effectiveness ( Leung et al, 2014 ; Schelfhout et al, 2022 ).…”

“…For the present research on the DIES instrument, we therefore consider an ITP on intercultural competence, in which intercultural competence (i.e., traits, attitudes and capabilities) interacts with an accentuation effect on intercultural effectiveness as theorized by Leung et al (2014) . As we already know that intercultural competence indeed predicts intercultural effectiveness, a personal self-belief or ITP that intercultural competence is effective can predict future effective behavior ( Schelfhout et al, 2022 ). Such a specific ITP setup has consequences for validation.…”