Introduction
Managers working across borders are expected to be “interculturally competent”. Behind this common expression lie several research traditions that do not ask the same questions. This review distinguishes three families of frameworks and discusses how they can be combined.
1. Describing contexts: cultural dimensions
Hofstede (1980) proposed to compare national cultures along a limited set of value dimensions. The GLOBE project (House et al., 2004) extended this approach to leadership expectations, and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) offered alternative dilemmas. These frameworks help managers anticipate differences, but they describe societies, not individuals.
2. Assessing individuals: cultural intelligence
Earley and Ang (2003) shifted the focus to the individual’s capability to function effectively in culturally diverse settings. Cultural intelligence combines cognitive, motivational and behavioural components. It is useful for selection and self-assessment, yet it says little about the relational context in which competence is exercised.
3. Developing people: process models
Deardorff (2006) conceptualised intercultural competence as a process moving from attitudes (respect, openness, curiosity) to knowledge and skills, and then to internal and external outcomes. Practitioner-oriented works such as Meyer (2014) translate these insights into concrete scales for communicating, persuading and deciding.
4. Towards an integrated view
Each family answers a distinct question: where do differences lie, who is able to navigate them, and how can people learn to do so. An integrated approach would use dimensional frameworks to map contexts, cultural intelligence to identify development needs, and process models to design training paths.
Conclusion
Rather than choosing one framework, research and practice benefit from articulating them. Future work could examine how organisations combine these tools in their international mobility programmes.
References
- Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266.
- Earley, P. C., & Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures. Stanford University Press.
- Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences. Sage.
- House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (Eds.). (2004). Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies. Sage.
- Meyer, E. (2014). The Culture Map. PublicAffairs.
- Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the Waves of Culture (2nd ed.). Nicholas Brealey.