Cross‐cultural social intelligence

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to discuss the concept of cross‐cultural social intelligence (CCSI), its relevance for both selecting and developing expatriates and other employees working in cross‐cultural contexts, the development of a situational judgment test to assess CCSI, and practical “lessons learned” in each of these areas. Design/methodology/approach – The four phases of the development and validation of the CCSI measure (using a total of 184 cross‐cultural SMEs) were developing the scenarios and the response alternatives, the content analysis, and establishing construct validity. Findings – The results from the content analysis and construct validation provide support for the use of the CCSI in cross‐cultural situations. Research limitations/implications – The CCSI has not yet been validated in a criterion‐related way (i.e. based on relations to job performance). This should be done before using for selection. Practical implications – Possible uses for the CCSI in organisations include selection and/or promotion of expatriates and other employees in cross‐cultural contexts and several types of training and development initiatives. This instrument is offered (free of charge) to any interested managers or HR practitioners. Originality/value – Despite the expressed need for instruments of this sort, nothing similar currently exists (especially not a theoretically grounded and empirically sound instrument). In addition, the “lessons learned” provide practical advice to others engaged in similar undertakings.