Global managers : An analysis of the impact of cultural intelligence on job satisfaction and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of cultural intelligence (CQ) on the job performance of global managers. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 332 global managers were surveyed from multinational companies operating in Brazil. The mediating effect of job satisfaction was tested on the CQ-job performance relationship. Findings – The findings suggest that job satisfaction transmits the effect of CQ to job performance, such that global managers high in CQ exhibit more job satisfaction in an international setting, and therefore perform better at their jobs. Practical implications – Results imply that global managers should increase their CQ in order to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately perform better in an international context. Originality/value – The authors make three primary contributions to the international business literature. First, the authors introduce job satisfaction as a possible outcome variable of CQ. Thus, this work is the first empirical study to test the effect of CQ on the job satisfaction of global managers. Second, although the job satisfaction-job performance relationship is recurrently discussed in the organizational behavior literature, it is not often explicitly associated with global managers that are working in cross-cultural settings. Finally, the authors posit that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between CQ and job performance.