Linking international experience and cultural intelligence development: The need for a theoretical foundation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the literature on the relationship between international experience (IE) and cultural intelligence (CQ) development, and advocate for the utilization of theory to explain this relationship. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the premise that CQ can be developed through IE, the authors review existing empirical research in regards to this relationship. The authors conducted a search of the main business, education, and psychology databases for articles published from 2003, the year when the CQ construct was introduced, through 2017. The search focused on studies where CQ was tested as a dependent variable or as a mediator between IE and a dependent variable, and resulted in 15 empirical articles and three book chapters. Findings A critical analysis of the relationship between IE and CQ reveals considerable variation and inconsistencies among findings within the extant empirical literature. The authors argue that this is mainly because most studies fail to apply a theory to explain the link between these two constructs. The authors draw from social learning theory (SLT) to illustrate how it can be utilized to detail the relationship between IE and CQ development. The authors also suggest how future research can advance the understanding of this relationship, and outline the implications of such examinations for practice. Originality/value While substantive knowledge has been generated to understand CQ as an antecedent, the authors investigate CQ development as the dependent variable. The critical review of this literature identifies a specific weakness within previous research and the authors offer a way to resolve it. SLT, which views learning as being affected by both observation and experience, and includes attention, retention, and participative reproduction, is one potentially powerful tool that can explain why and how IE can lead to CQ development. This is a far more fine- grained and detailed approach to understanding and explaining the relationship between the two constructs than provided by previous studies.