The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence, Global-National Knowledge, and Team Performance for University Global Virtual Team

This study aimed to examine key variables relevant to the X-Culture Global Virtual Team Project. The problem addressed in this study was that operating in a cross-cultural environment continually challenges organizations, making it necessary for workers, blue-collar to professional, to effectively interact with people from different cultures. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the extent to which cultural intelligence and global--national knowledge predicted team performance for university students engaged in collaborative team projects resembling the global corporate work environment. The study used a predictive correlational design. The study used secondary data originally collected by the X-Culture project and involved a sample size of 2,434 students from 460 project teams representing 40 countries attending 95 universities across the globe. The instrument used to collect data for the predictor variables was the Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient. Data for the outcome variable were provided to the project by instructors and represented the teams' project performance ratings. The results indicated a positive and statistically significant relationship between cultural intelligence and team performance, r = .150, p < .05. The relationship between the variables was relatively weak but statistically significant. The results indicated a positive and statistically significant relationship between global--national knowledge and team performance, r = .162, p < .05. The relationship between the variables was relatively weak but statistically significant. These results indicated that both cultural intelligence and global--national knowledge are predictors of team performance for projects resembling those found in the global corporate work environment. The study served as a test for the 4-factor model of cultural intelligence, and its results supported this model. Further research, perhaps in a professional global work environment, could provide more information on this study's topic and provide additional testing for the 4-factor model of cultural intelligence.