Chhaya Mani Tripathi, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, India
Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav, FORE School of Management, New Delhi, India
Tripti Singh, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, India

How important is it as an expatriate to be culturally intelligent? Does it really help them adjust to the foreign culture better? Are all the components of cultural intelligence (CQ) equally important in facilitating cross-cultural adjustment (CCA)? Which facet of CQ affects which dimension of CCA the most? Which CQ facet has the least influence on which CCA dimension? All these questions have only been answered partially and in fragments in the literature, giving rise to the need to delve deeper into this subject. Although several empirical investigations exist that tested the influence of CQ on CCA, unfortunately, the empirical results revealed somewhat mixed findings, with different facets of CQ affecting CCA dimensions differently.
Since a single study conducted on a limited sample is bound to have limitations and research constraints, there is nothing better than a meta-analysis to understand the dynamics of the relationship between two variables. Hence, to understand the myriad issues and the relationship between the two variables, this study examines the CQ-CCA literature and provides summary effects using meta-analysis to determine how CQ and its four facets affect CCA and its three dimensions.
The findings of the study revealed that CQ and all its individual components were positively and significantly related to CCA and its three subdimensions. Although CQ (overall) had a strong effect on CCA and moderate to strong effects on all the subdimensions of CCA, the strongest effect size was found for the relationship of motivational CQ with CCA. Also, when individual CQs’ relationships were assessed with the individual adjustment dimensions, the motivational aspect of CQ happened to be the most influencing factor, having a close to strong effect on interaction adjustment.
To conclude, this study highlights the summary effects for each association between CQ and CCA and their dimensions, elucidating the mixed findings reported in previous research.

To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Tripathi, C.M., Kaurav, R.P.S. and Singh, T. (2024), "How does your cultural intelligence contribute to your adjustment? Unveiling the link between cultural intelligence and cross-cultural adjustment using meta-analysis", Journal of Global Mobility, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 167-197.