Theoretical and Practical Advances in the Assessment of Cross-Cultural Competence

Abstract : Organizations engaged in international operations must navigate complex intercultural dynamics for successful performance, necessitating identification of individuals who are likely to succeed in these environments and training personnel in cross-cultural competence (3C). To do so, adequate competency models of 3C need to be developed and valid 3C assessment instruments must be identified or generated. The present chapter reviews issues and challenges in 3C model development and illustrates these problems in an analysis of the Defense Language Office's Framework for Cross-Cultural Competence. The comparative advantages of competency versus causal models of 3C are discussed and an integration of competency and causal models is suggested. An examination of 34 instruments that have been recommended in the 3C civilian and military literatures for assessing cross-cultural competencies and their antecedent factors showed that existing 3C measures suffer from poor construct validity and have not been empirically linked to important outcome variables. A measurement strategy that eschews self-report methods and broadly assesses KSAOs and behavioral competencies is advocated.

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