Cultural Intelligence: A Research in The Context of The Big Five Personality Model
Funda İşleyen, Ebru DoğanThe aim of this study is to analyze the effect of personality traits of employees on cultural intelligence in culturally diverse businesses. In this context, the concept of cultural intelligence which form the basis of the research, the Big Five Personality Model, and the relationship between cultural intelligence and personality were examined. The sample of the study was composed of employees in multinational companies with a multicultural structure operating in the field of information and technology in Germany. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the personality traits of the employees affect cultural intelligence and its dimensions. In thisregard, it wasfound that the personality trait that mostly affect cultural intelligence is openness to experience.
Kültürel Zekâ: Beş Büyük Kişilik Modeli Bağlamında Bir Araştırma
Funda İşleyen, Ebru DoğanBu çalışmanın amacı; kültürel çeşitliliğe sahip işletmelerde, çalışanların kişilik özelliklerinin kültürelzekâ üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktır. Bu kapsamda; araştırmanın temelini oluşturan kültürel zekâ kavramı, Büyük Beş Kişilik Modeli ve kültürel zekâ-kişilik ilişkisi incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini, Almanya’da bilişim ve teknoloji alanında faaliyet gösteren çok kültürlü yapıya sahip çokuluslu işletmelerde çalışanlar oluşturmuştur. Yapılan analizlerin sonucunda, çalışanların kişilik özelliklerinin kültürel zekâ ve boyutlarını etkilediği belirlenmiştir. Bu bağlamda, kültürel zekâyı en fazla etkileyen kişilik özelliğinin, deneyime açıklık olduğu bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır.
The success of multinational companies that have employees from different social cultures depends on managing these cultural differences. In this process, both personalities and cultures of employees should be considered. Every person has a unique personality and a different perspective towards different cultures. For this reason, when hiring a new employee, it is necessary to focus on both her personality and cultural intelligence, especially in multinational companies.
The aim of this study is to determine the personality traits in the context of The Big Five Personality Model that affect cultural intelligence. Within this framework, firstly the concepts of cultural intelligence and personality, and the relationship between cultural intelligence and personality have been examined. Then, the findings obtained by analyzing the effect of personality traits on cultural intelligence were evaluated.
The research covers employees in multinational companies operating in the field of information and technology in Germany. The effects of personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience) on cultural intelligence and cultural intelligence dimensions (metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral) were examined. Convenience sampling method was chosen, survey method was used as data collection tool and data were obtained online from 289 employees.
In the research, a five-dimensional personality inventory consisting of forty four expressions developed by John and Srivastava was used to measure personality. In order to measure cultural intelligence, the scale developed by Ang et al., which includes twenty expressions and four dimensions, was used.
Multiple regression analysis was used in the model, and it was found that personality has a significant effect on cultural intelligence and dimensions. The findings obtained show similarities with other studies in the literature.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that the personality trait that mostly affect cultural intelligence is openness to experience. As openness to experience increases, the level of cultural intelligence increases. Individuals with wide interests, open to new ideas, feelings and thoughts, eager to learn, highly imaginative and creative are individuals who are eager to know and communicate with new employees from different cultures.
It has been determined that the second personality trait affecting cultural intelligence is conscientiousness. Individuals with a high level of responsibility are reliable, responsible, self-disciplined and achievement striving. They observe the communication and interaction styles of people from different cultures and communicate effectively with them.
Extraversion personality trait is the third-ranked trait influencing cultural intelligence. Extraverted individuals are highly self-confident and social individuals. For this reason, extraverted individuals communicate more easily with individuals from different cultures and adapt to multicultural environments.
When the findings are evaluated in terms of the dimensions of cultural intelligence, the personality trait that has a positive effect on all four dimensions is openness to experience. Conscientiousness personality trait has a positive effect on metacognitive and behavioral cultural intelligence. Extraversion has a positive effect on motivational cultural intelligence.
In this context, in multinational companies, the cultural intelligence of employees who are open to experience first, then conscientious and extraverted appears to be relatively higher than those who do not have these characteristics. Thus, individuals with high openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion personality trait will be able to work more harmoniously and efficiently with their colleagues in the work environment. Therefore, it will be beneficial to choose individuals with the mentioned personality traits first in terms of organizational performance for multinational enterprises with cultural diversity. However, the importance of providing training to improve the cultural intelligence levels of the employees in multinational companies is obvious.
