Leadership in a culturally diverse organization: The impacts of a leader possessing cross-cultural competencies

LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION i ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION: THE IMPACTS OF A LEADER POSSESSING CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES Kennedy Oketch Ngoje, Doctor of Business Administration,2021 The globalization of different sectors of the economy poses many challenges to the management of the businesses, especially on how to effectively manage the business that involves multicultural employees and customers. The economic paradigm shift demands business managers to pay serious attention to their employees' cross-cultural competencies (CCCs), including their leaders’. Thus, the purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of a leader in a multicultural organization who possesses cross-cultural competencies (CCCs), using evidence-based management (EBMgt) to identify, analyze, and synthesize the relevant body of empirical evidence on the topic to enhance management practice. This research was underpinned by the social learning theory and the contact theory. A systematic review was performed on fifty- three peer-reviewed studies published from 1998 to 2021. The process included a critical appraisal of the studies for consideration. The selected studies were then subjected to the analysis and synthesis process, where the findings and the emerged themes relevant to answering the research question were recorded. The following is the research question (RQ): What are the impacts of a leader in a multicultural organization who possesses cross-cultural competencies? Three of the main findings of the research indicate that a multicultural leader who has CCCs is positively associated with: fast adaptations and adjustments to cross-cultural situations, ability to resolve conflicts, and capacity to establish working alliances. Some of the key recommendations to the management include sensitizing employees on the need for CCCs, considering the candidate’s CCCs during recruitments, setting up CCCs employees listening sessions, adjusting the organizational design to improve cross-cultural interaction between the employees of different cultural backgrounds, setting up effective CCCs’ development and training programs for the employees, and giving new employees the needed time and resources to develop their CCCs before assigning them to jobs in novel cultural environments.LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION i ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION: THE IMPACTS OF A LEADER POSSESSING CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES Kennedy Oketch Ngoje, Doctor of Business Administration,2021 The globalization of different sectors of the economy poses many challenges to the management of the businesses, especially on how to effectively manage the business that involves multicultural employees and customers. The economic paradigm shift demands business managers to pay serious attention to their employees' cross-cultural competencies (CCCs), including their leaders’. Thus, the purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of a leader in a multicultural organization who possesses cross-cultural competencies (CCCs), using evidence-based management (EBMgt) to identify, analyze, and synthesize the relevant body of empirical evidence on the topic to enhance management practice. This research was underpinned by the social learning theory and the contact theory. A systematic review was performed on fifty-three peer-reviewed studies published from 1998 to 2021. The process included a critical appraisal of the studies for consideration. The selected studies were then subjected to the analysis LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION ii and synthesis process, where the findings and the emerged themes relevant to answering the research question were recorded. The following is the research question (RQ): What are the impacts of a leader in a multicultural organization who possesses cross-cultural competencies? Three of the main findings of the research indicate that a multicultural leader who has CCCs is positively associated with: fast adaptations and adjustments to cross-cultural situations, ability to resolve conflicts, and capacity to establish working alliances. Some of the key recommendations to the management include sensitizing employees on the need for CCCs, considering the candidate’s CCCs during recruitments, setting up CCCs employees listening sessions, adjusting the organizational design to improve cross-cultural interaction between the employees of different cultural backgrounds, setting up effective CCCs’ development and training programs for the employees, and giving new employees the needed time and resources to develop their CCCs before assigning them to jobs in novel cultural environments. Keywords: cross-cultural competencies, multiculturalism, cultural competence, cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, social intelligence. LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION iii LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION: THE IMPACTS OF A LEADER POSSESSING CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES By Kennedy Oketch Ngoje Dissertation submitted to the School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration 2021 LEADERSHIP IN A CULTURALLY DIVERSE ORGANIZATION iv © Copyright by [Kennedy Oketch Ngoje] 2021 v Dedication First, I thank the Almighty God for all the blessings. This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Sila Ngoje and Salome Ngoje, for their unconditional love and pride in me throughout their lives. I also dedicate this dissertation to all those from humble family backgrounds and feel hopeless in their lives. vi Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincere and profound gratitude to Dr. John Sherlock for the invaluable and untiring guidance throughout the journey. Dr. Sherlock, thank you very much for sacrificing your holidays and weekends to offer your mentorship in this journey. Your friendly demeanor made it very easy to seek your guidance. I also would like to thank Dr. James Gelatt for the invaluable comments and availability throughout the journey. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Mohamed Ezz who was the third reader, for taking time to read through the research and give the necessary comments, that all proved to be so helpful in improving its quality. I also would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Marcia Bouchard, Dr. Lisa Pearo, and Dr. Alex Vernon for the courses that laid the foundation of this program. Ms. Marina Caminis, thank you for all the guidance and support throughout this program. Ms. Caminis, the position you hold in the doctoral program is indispensable. I also would like to thank Ms. Cynthia Thomes, for all the support in matters related database searches; your presentations and one-to-one meetings were essential throughout the whole journey. Let me also extend my gratitude to my family and friends who continue to perceive my potential positively. vii Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................1 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................2 List of Abbreviations............................................................................................................3 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of the Management Problem ..................................4 Background and Overview ......................................................................................7 Problem Statement and Significance of the Problem ............................................13 Purpose of the Study and the Research Question ..................................................15 Rationale for the Study or Significance of the Study ............................................17 Discussion of Concepts and/or Themes .................................................................18 Definitions and Terminology .................................................................................18 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................23 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................24 Chapter 2: Scoping Literature Review and Theoretical Frame .........................................25 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................25 The Literature Landscape or Scoping Literature Review ......................................32 Conceptual Framework ..........................................................................................61 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................63 Chapter 3: Method .............................................................................................................64 The Evidence-Based Research Framework ...........................................................64 Six Steps That Define EBMgt ................................................................................67 viii Systematic Reviews ...............................................................................................68 Systematic Review Process....................................................................................70 Search Strategy ......................................................................................................74 Method of Quality Appraisal of the Included Studies ...........................................77 Analysis and Synthesis Methodology ....................................................................81 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................83 Chapter 4: Analysis and Findings ......................................................................................85 Review of the Research Question ..........................................................................85 Description of the Data Set ....................................................................................85 Results of the Quality Appraisal of the Data Set ...................................................90 Results of Coding ...................................................................................................91 Findings and Discussion ........................................................................................96 Thematic Analysis ................................................................................................ 114 Summary of Findings ........................................................................................... 115 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................ 115 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications ........................................................................ 117 Review of the Research ....................................................................................... 117 Answer to the Research Question ........................................................................ 117 Management Implications (Recommendations) .................................................. 118 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................124 Areas for Future Research ...................................................................................126 Final Summary and Conclusion ...........................................................................127 References ........................................................................................................................128 ix Appendix A Details of Selected Studies ..........................................................................160 Appendix B TAPUPAS Appraisal Studies Results ..........................................................167 Appendix C WoE Appraisal Studies Results ...................................................................171 Appendix D Sources of Themes ......................................................................................174 Appendix E Roles of Components of CQ ........................................................................176 Appendix F UMGC OneSearch Databases ......................................................................177 Appendix G ProQuest Database Aggregator ...................................................................179 1 List of Tables Table 1 Defining Cross-Cultural Competence .............................................................................. 9 Table 2 International Migration 1970 – 2019 ...............................................................................11 Table 3 U.S. Ethnic Percentage Change: 1980–2019 .................................................................. 13 Table 4 PICOC Definition Table ................................................................................................. 16 Table 5 Formulation of Research Question ................................................................................. 17 Table 6 Low Power Distance Versus High Power Distance ........................................................ 60 Table 7 Association between PICOC Components and Search Terms ........................................ 76 Table 8 Searches Used ................................................................................................................. 76 Table 9 Frequencies of Studies by Study Method ....................................................................... 86 Table 10 First-Cycle Coding ........................................................................................................ 93 Table 11 Second-Cycle Coding .................................................................................................... 94 Table 12 Differences Among the Three Main Components of CCC ..........................................113 2 List of Figures Figure 1 Culture as a Multi-Level and a Multi-Layer ................................................................. 40 Figure 2 Conceptual Model of Cross-Cultural Leader ................................................................ 62 Figure 3 Evidence and Evidence Management Practice ............................................................. 66 Figure 4 Systematic Literature Review Flowchart ..................................................................... 71 Figure 5 PRISMA Diagram ......................................................................................................... 80 Figure 6 Source of the Primary Studies ...................................................................................... 88 Figure 7 Source of Study Participants ......................................................................................... 90 Figure 8 Cultural Dimensions to Coding Categories ................................................................... 95 Figure 9 Findings ........................................................................................................................ 97 3 List of Abbreviations Acronym Description ABI/INFORM: Abstracted Business Information/Information CAQDAS: Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software CC: Cultural Competence CCA: Cross-cultural adaptation CCC: Cross-cultural competence CCCs: Cross-cultural competencies CQ: Cultural Intelligence EBMgt: Evidence-based management EI: Emotional Intelligence HCNs: Home country nationals HPD: High-power distance LPD: Low-power distance MNC: Multinational corporation MMCS: Multinational corporations PD: Power distance PICo: Population, phenomenon of Interest, Context PICO: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, PICOC: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Context PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis RQ : Research Question SI : Social Intelligence SLT: Social Learning Theory SR: Systematic Review TA: Thematic Analysis TAPUPAS: Transparency, Accuracy, Purposivity, Utility, Propriety, Accessibility, Specificity UK: United Kingdom UMGC: University of Maryland Global Campus WoE: Weight of Evidence WTO: World Trade Organization 4 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of the Management Problem The globalization of different sectors of the economy has been on a rapid trajectory since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the formation of the European Union in 1983, and the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1995. Apart from the above-stated single-instance political changes, Chen and Starosta (1996) identified the following three factors that have accelerated the pace of globalization over the past two decades: (1) development of more communication and transportation connections across the world, (2) extensive population migrations across national borders, and (3) deemphasis of the nation-state and formation of regional alliances by countries. Since these three factors still hold true in most parts of the world, globalization is likely to continue at the same pace or faster. Many organizations have taken advantage of the removal of the trade barriers in expanding their businesses beyond their home country nationals (HCNs). However, many have also faced challenges related to cultural differences. One of the critical problems that has developed from economic globalization is that practitioners must be able to effectively interact with people (coworkers, suppliers, and customers) of different cultural backgrounds (Reichard et al., 2015), which has led to many business failures (Johnson et al.,2006). In the same line, Lee and Sukoco (2010) argue that globalization has caused a significant increase in cross-cultural interactions, a process that has led to cultural challenges such as language barriers that hinder the practitioners from achieving total job satisfaction (Diao & Park, 2012). Additionally, Ersoy (2014) assert that this issue negatively impacts the performance of the organizations. Gregersen et al. (1998) discover in a survey of Fortune 500 firms in the United States that 85% of CEOs state that the critical problem they are facing is a shortage of people with the required global leadership competencies. 5 Makraiova et al. (2012) contend that “rapid market and economic changes that took place in the past 20 years have brought a significant effect not only into the international trade but also influenced everyday life, resulting in different cultural interactions and requiring specific managerial competencies” (p.533). Likewise, Chen and Starosta (1996) argue that migration has changed the population composition of nations, resulting in many societies becoming much more culturally diverse. In that line, Chen and Starosta (1996) provide an example in the United States where the trend of changes in the composition of the workforce reveals an increase in diversification in terms of culture, gender, and age. There have been several studies on cross-cultural competence (CCC), especially regarding multicultural relations, cross-cultural transition, and adaptation; however, most of them have been done under the business problems of cultural competence, or CC (Wilson et al., 2013). CCC is a polysemous term whose diverse meanings depend on the group of people using the phrase (Leung et al., 2013). Therefore it “has been conceptualized in many ways” (Culhane et al., 2012, p.30), and it “covers a broad domain of individual qualities and capabilities deemed critical to mission performance in novel cultural settings” (p.32). Many of the definitions of CCC are based on one’s ability to understand a situation in a cultural context different from one’s own and to act on it effectively and promptly (Culhane et al., 2012; Hansen et al., 2000). In that line, Bean (2006) defines CCC as “the ability to function or work effectively in culturally diverse situations in general and in particular encounters with people from different cultures” (p.15), further stating that it is not innate but is acquired through experience and training. Additionally, Gertsen (1990) defines CCC as “the ability to function effectively in another culture” (p.341), stating that it is conceptionally made up of three interdependent dimensions that include an affective dimension, a cognitive dimension, and a communicative/behavioral dimension” 6 (p.346). At the same time, Johnson et al. (2006) describe it as one’s ability to use one’s knowledge and attributes effectively to work with people of diverse cultural backgrounds in both domestic and foreign cultural contexts, while Charleston et al. (2018) define it as “an individual’s capability and knowledge to successfully undertake a task in a cross-cultural setting” (p.3072). The overarching aim of CCC is to provide the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultural backgrounds and to respond effectively with the expected outcome, a process that Johnson et al. (2006) use to draw their comparison with CC. They state that CCC is conceptualized “in terms of performance, or outcomes: that is, in terms of an individual’s proficiency in responding to a different cultural context and cues by drawing appropriately upon the inventory of knowledge, skills, and attributes and behaving accordingly” (p.530). Ultimately, this leads Johnson