Abstract
Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to the ability to reason, function, and operate effectively in culturally diverse settings (Ang, Van Dyne & Rockstuhl, 2015; Earley & Ang, 2003). CQ has the potential to predict job performance outcomes in multicultural environments, however there is still a lack of CQ studies in culturally diverse settings. The field would also benefit from more evidence on how CQ interrelates with job performance facets like task performance [in-role behaviour (IRB)] and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). This study addresses this gap by investigating how both overall CQ and its facets relate to OCBs and task performance in expatriates in the diverse United Arab Emirates. We examined both helping/affiliative OCBs that maintain smooth operations, and challenging OCBs that initiates changes. Validated psychometric instruments were employed to measure the key constructs. This is a multi-source study where participants self-reported on CQ and their supervisors reported on the CQ, IRB and OCBs levels of the participants. Correlational and structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Results showed that global CQ significantly associated with in-role behaviours and organizational citizenship behaviors. Moreover, as hypothesised the association of CQ with contextual performance was stronger than task performance. CQ facet interactional effects were unconfirmed contrary to the theory, therefore, we call for more studies on the interactional effects of CQ dimensions.