Religious expatriates’ cultural intelligence and adaptation

Alfred Presbitero

Journal of Global Mobility, 2017, vol. 5, issue 2, 146-157

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into religious expatriates’ cultural intelligence, adaptation and the role of motivation. Drawing mainly from the theory of intelligence (Sternberg, 1999) and theory of self-determination (Deci and Ryan, 2000), the study posits that cultural intelligence of a religious expatriate is positively and significantly related to his or her psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Moreover, the study hypothesizes that intrinsic motivation, as a type of motivation, plays a significant role in moderating the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (both psychological and sociocultural). Design/methodology/approach - In total, 110 religious expatriates from various religious communities were surveyed. They were asked to rate their cultural intelligence, intrinsic motivation and adaptation (i.e. psychological and sociocultural). Findings - The results demonstrate that cultural intelligence is positively and significantly related to both psychological and sociocultural adaptation. Furthermore, results show that intrinsic motivation, as a type of motivation, moderates the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (both psychological and sociocultural). Originality/value - The study contributes to the limited studies on non-corporate expatriation focusing mainly on religious expatriation. In addition, it adds value by generating new insights into the importance not only of cultural intelligence but also of intrinsic motivation in ensuring high levels of psychological and sociocultural adaptation. It further offers a number of practical insights that can be relevant for both corporate and non-corporate expatriates.

Keywords: Intrinsic motivation; Cultural intelligence; Psychological adaptation; Religious expatriates; Sociocultural adaptation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jgmpps:jgm-09-2016-0041

DOI: 10.1108/JGM-09-2016-0041

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