Cultural intelligence : factors and measurement

Abstract

This thesis focuses on cultural intelligence and the factors that are associated with individuals who have the ability to succeed in an international work environment. In review of the literature, the concept of cultural intelligence remains largely openended as very little has been tested empirically. An exploratory pilot study was conducted on subjects from Norway and the United Kingdom as an opportunity to work out method issues and to formulate hypotheses to test that had grounding in preliminary experimental data. In essence, the pilot study was used to generate questions, not answers. The intention was to pick out the most important questions and focus on those areas in future research. The CQ Questionnaire© was used, as well as a background survey which assessed factors that may or may not contribute to cultural intelligence. Results showed significant differences in variance between males and females, British and Norwegians.