The Constructs of Cultural Competence in

Conducting Business Abroad: Experience VS. Education

Kelly Gooch

Research Problem

• With globalization on the rise, many companies are engaging in international business

• In order to be successful in creating relationships and satisfying goals with international business partners, the employee must meet a certain level of cultural competency

Research Questions

• RQ1: How does the possession of cultural experiences and exposure compare to involvement in cultural training and education in terms of individual cultural competence?

• RQ2: Do employees who have experienced a combination of the two aforementioned elements in the form of short term Study Abroad Programs have a greater level of cultural competence than those who only satisfy one of the elements?

Hypotheses

• H1: Employees who possess experience with and exposure to another culture will be more culturally competent (in terms of that culture) than those who have been merely educated about that culture.

• H2: Employees who have had short term Study Abroad experience will be more culturally competent than those who participate in culture competence trainings, however less culturally competent than those who have had more extensive experience and exposure to that culture.

Research Gap

• Previous research on– Cultural training in its most effective form– Employers’ desire to staff those with cross-cultural

experience– Many based on business in U.S

• Gap lies where the elements come together- have not been compared/contrasted in terms of what leads to the best foreign ambassador

Conceptual Framework

Conceptual Framework

• Explains how cultural training and education, cultural experience and exposure, and Study Abroad involvement may all factor into the formation of cultural competence.

• Also displays how the smaller elements may work together or separately

Literature

• Cultural Competence models– Johnson, Lenartowicz & Apud (2006)– Kohen & Rosenall (2002)

• Cultural Training model– Black & Mendehall (1990)

• Cultural Experience model– Zoogah & Abbey (2009)

• Study abroad framework– Ortiz (2004)

Research Methods

• Design: assess employee comfort with ability to interact with businesspersons from another country, as well as supervisor satisfaction with employee performance abroad– Mixed-methods research design w/ quantitative

closed-ended & qualitative open-ended survey questions

Research Methods

• Population/Sample: survey will be distributed to a sample of employees and supervisors from a Harrisonburg business that send correspondents abroad to conduct business– Variety of job positions & years of experience– Variety of amount of travel & travel locations– Both male and female– High school- college graduates– Supervisor surveys will be distributed to only

supervisors of employees who participate

Research Methods

• Data collection: surveys– Will consist of open-ended and closed-ended

questions– 4-point Likert scale will be used– Supervisor surveys will be distributed after

employee surveys, then supervisors will take separate surveys to evaluate particular employees

Analysis

• Employee surveys must be received before supervisor surveys are distributed

• Any analysis will take place after both groups of surveys are completed

• Return percentages & sample size will be considered

• Quantitative data: graphs, quantitative data: graphs & comparison of themes

Generalizability

• Results may be generalizable to other organizations with limitations

• May be applicable to companies with similar attributes in field and size

• Factors like location and office diversity may hurt generalizability

Conclusion

• Questions/Comments?

Sources• Fraenkel, J., & Wallen, N. (2006). How to design and evaluate reserach in education. (6

ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.• Black, J.S., & Mendenhall, M. (1990). Cross-Cultural Training Effectiveness: A Review and

a Theoretical Framework for Future Research. The Academy of Management Review. 15(1): 113-136. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/258109.

• Johnson, J.P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, L. (2006). Cross-cultural competence in international business: toward a definition and a model. Journal of International Business Studies. 37: 525-543.

• Koehn, P.H., & Rosenau, J.N. (2002). Transnational Competence in an Emergent Epoch. International Studies Perspectives. 3(2): 105. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1528-3577.00084/abstract

• Ortiz, J. (2004). International business education in a global environment. International Education Journal. 5(2):255–65

• Zoogah, D.B., & Abbey, A. (2010). Cross-cultural experience, strategic motivation and employer hiring preference: An exploratory study in an emerging economy. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management. 10(3): 321-343. Retrieved from http://ccm.sagepub.com/content/10/3/321.