Cultural intelligence, personality, and cross-cultural adjustment: A study of expatriates in Japan

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) has been theorized as the ability of individuals to adapt effectively in cross-cultural settings. This study sought to extend the literature by investigating whether CQ accounts for variance in cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates beyond what is accounted for by the five factor model of personality. Questionnaire responses from 154 expatriates in Japan were analyzed using hierarchical regression. The results indicate that motivational CQ can explain variance in expatriate general, interaction, and work adjustment over and above the five factor model of personality.