An Experiential Approach to Cultural Intelligence Education

Abstract

Cultural intelligence (CQ) represents a promising advancement in the area of cross-cultural training and management. Experiential approaches for CQ development have been proposed as highly effective; however, there is a lack of CQ-specific approaches in the management literature. This work overviews the concept of cultural intelligence and its relevance to management then highlights an experiential CQ education process and framework. The process, designed to increase CQ capacity by engaging in a new cultural contact experience, was initially developed with two cohorts that included a total of 743 management education participants. Details of the process, supporting theory, related teaching materials, participant evaluation, and participant CQ development indicators are presented and future research directions are discussed.