Cultural intelligence's influence on international business travelers' stress

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine cultural intelligence's (CQ) influence on international business travelers' ability to deal with the strain caused by institutional distance (ID). Design/methodology/approach - The methodology begins with a literature review to establish a framework for discussion by bringing together international business travel, stress, distance, and CQ. A total of 841 participants from Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport were surveyed in order to test the hypotheses. Findings - Results reveal that CQ partially moderates the relationship between ID and travel and job strain. Research limitations/implications - Furthermore, the research implies that an increase in CQ is not positive in all situations. Originality/value - This is the first empirical study to examine CQ in the short-term context of international business travel.