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Cross-cultural competence in international business: toward a definition and a model

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Abstract

Many international business failures have been ascribed to a lack of cross-cultural competence (CC) on the part of business practitioners. However, the international business literature appears to lack an adequate conceptualization and definition of the term ‘CC’, focusing instead on the knowledge, skills and attributes that appear to be its antecedents. In this conceptual study, we propose a definition of CC as it applies to international business and develop a model for understanding how CC is nurtured in individuals, linking our definition to the concept of cultural intelligence. We discuss the components of the model and suggest that there are environmental and contextual impediments to the effective application of the requisite skills, knowledge and attributes that have been identified as necessary for CC, resulting in a gap between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. We conclude by discussing the implications of the model for practitioners, and by suggesting appropriate directions for further research.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank JIBS departmental editor Dr Mary Ann Von Glinow and two anonymous referees for their advice and encouragement in the development of this paper. The authors gratefully acknowledge research support for this study from the Christine and Eugene Lynn Chair International Business Research Grant Program at Florida Atlantic University.

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Correspondence to James P Johnson.

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Accepted by Mary Ann Von Glinow, Department Editor, 17 November 2005. This paper has been with the author for two revisions.

Appendix

Appendix

Definitions of cultural competence from workplace diversity: a sample

  1. 1)

    Cross T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K. and Isaacs, M. (1989) Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care, Volume I, Washington, DC: Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. (pp iv–v)

  2. 2)

    National Association of Social Workers (NASW). NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice, 2001, Washington DC: NASW Press. Operationally defined, cultural competence is the integration and transformation of knowledge about individuals and groups of people into specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes used in appropriate cultural settings to increase the quality of services, thereby producing better outcomes… Competence in cross-cultural functioning means learning new patterns of behavior and effectively applying them in appropriate settings.'

  3. 3)

    US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Assuring Competence in Health Care, Washington, DC: Office of Minority Health, [www document] http://www.omhrc.gov/clas/finalcultural1a.htm, Accessed February 10, 2004. Cultural competence includes being able to recognize and respond to health-related beliefs and cultural values, disease incidence and prevalence, and treatment efficacy. Examples of culturally competent care include striving to overcome cultural, language, and communications barriers; providing an environment in which patients/consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds feel comfortable discussing their cultural health beliefs and practices in the context of negotiating treatment options; using community workers as a check on the effectiveness of communication and care; encouraging patients/consumers to express their spiritual beliefs and cultural practices; and being familiar with and respectful of various traditional healing systems and beliefs and, where appropriate, integrating these approaches into treatment plans.

  4. 4)

    Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Care Mental Health Services for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, Boulder, CO: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, [www document] http://www.wiche.edu/MentalHealth/Cultural_Comp/ Accessed February 10, 2004. Cultural competence includes attaining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enable administrators and practitioners within systems of care to provide effective care for diverse populations, i.e., to work within the person's values and reality conditions. … Cultural competence acknowledges and incorporates variance in normative acceptable behaviors, beliefs, and values in: determining an individual's mental wellness/illness, and incorporating those variables into assessment and treatment.

  5. 5)

    Vonk, M.E. (2001) ‘Cultural Competence for Transracial Adoptive Parents', Social Work 46(3): 246–255. Knowledge is needed to understand the client's life experiences and life patterns. Skills are tailored to meet the needs of a client from a different culture, including cross-cultural communications skills. Attitude is related to social workers' awareness of assumptions, values, and biases that are a part of their own culture and worldview and understanding the worldview of the client who is a member of a different culture. It includes principles such as understanding ethnocentric thinking and learning to appreciate differences. (p 247)

  6. 6)

    Child Welfare League of America. Cultural Competence and the New Americans. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, [www document] http://www.cwla.org/programs/culturalcompetence/ Accessed March 9, 2004. Cultural competence is the ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each. The knowledge and skill set necessary to identify and address the issues facing your organization, that have cultural implications, and the ability to operationalize this knowledge into the routine functioning of the agency.

  7. 7)

    McPhatter, A.R. (1997) ‘Cultural Competence in Child Welfare: What Is It? How Do We Achieve It? What Happens Without It?’ Child Welfare 76(1): 255–278. Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Guidelines for Culturally Competent Organizations (Appendix: E Definitions of Cultural Competence), [www document] http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/agencywide/documents/pub/DHS_id_016426.hcsp Cultural competence means an ability to provide services that are perceived as legitimate for problems experienced by culturally diverse persons' (p 261). ‘Cultural competence denotes the ability to transform knowledge and cultural awareness into health and psychosocial interventions that support and sustain healthy client system functioning within the appropriate cultural context’ (p 261).

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Johnson, J., Lenartowicz, T. & Apud, S. Cross-cultural competence in international business: toward a definition and a model. J Int Bus Stud 37, 525–543 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400205

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