Effects of Cultural Intelligence in Cross-Cultural Virtual Collaboration - Experimental data

People from different countries are increasingly working together with the sup-port of information and communication technologies. Such cross-cultural virtual collaboration is highly challenging due to the geographical separation and cultural diversity among collaborators. This study investigates the effects of an individual capability, cultural intelligence, on cross-cultural virtual collaboration processes in a controlled experiment. Thirty-five cross-cultural virtual dyads were formed and instructed to collaborate in a proposal writing task. Their interaction processes were analyzed with Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis. The results suggest that individuals with higher CQ demonstrated more positive reactions and attempted answers in the cross-cultural virtual collaboration after controlling for foreign language proficiency. The increased amounts of the two categories of interaction acts led to improved peer satisfaction. The study links CQ with proximal behavioral outcomes and identifies CQ as a key individual capability that predicts behaviors and affective outcomes in cross-cultural virtual collaboration.