Cross-Level Measurement of Cross-Cultural Competence

The present research endeavor was designed to assess the utility of cultural intelligence (CQ) as an emergent organizational level construct using samples of military organizations. CQ has predominantly been discussed as an individual level construct, but has never been assessed empirically as an organizational level phenomenon. Similarly, intelligence as exhibited by organizations has received substantial discussion in the literature. No empirical assessments of organizational intelligence, however, have been published to date. To develop a theoretical basis for organizational CQ, the CQ and organizational intelligence literatures were synthesized. As a result, a study was performed with the aim of examining the cultural intelligence scale (CQS) at the organizational level of analysis. This study examined the possibility of determining similarities in the factor structure of the CQS at the individual as well as the organizational level of analysis. It was hypothesized that the individual level component structure would be replicated at the organizational level of analysis: metacognition, cognition, motivation, and behavior. Data were collected by attaching the CQS to the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS), which is a widely distributed measurement instrument used to assess Equal Opportunity (EO) climate in military and civilian organizations. Support was found for the similarity in structure of the CQS at the individual and organizational level of analysis, with the cognition, motivation, and behavior components attaining the best evidence for use at the organizational level of analysis. A secondary study was performed to validate the use of the CQS at the organizational level of analysis. Equal Opportunity (EO) climate factors and Organizational Effectiveness (OE) outcomes, as measured by the DEOCS, as well as objective performance indicators were used as criteria for judging the predictive utility of the CQS at the organizational level of analysis. It was hypothesized that organizational CQ should have a negative relationship with all EO climate constructs other than Positive EO Behaviors. It was also hypothesized that organizational CQ should have a positive relationship with Positive EO behaviors, OE, and organizational performance. Support was attained for the use of the CQS at the organizational level of analysis with components of the measure significantly predicting the criterion measures in the hypothesized directions.