Cultural Intelligence and Job Satisfaction of Expatriate Workers in Korea: Exploring the Mediating Effects of Work Adjustment

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the cultural intelligence (CQ) ef f ects on expatriate job satisfaction and expatriate adjustment in a joint, unif ied model. We also placed the contemporary theory-based conceptualizations at the core of the study due to the criticism of existing underlying theories of CQ and expatriate adjustment. We also provide implications to Korean companies with expatriate workers: MNCs, medium-sized, and smaller local companies. Research design, data, and methodology: Our study employed the survey results f rom 1 16 expatriates l iving and working in K orea. First, w e conducted a correlation analysis as an initial test to address potential multicollinearity effects. Next, we utilized hierarchical regression analysis to test the first set of hypothesis. Lastly, we conducted Sobel test to test the mediation hypotheses. Results: F irst, as h ypothesized, C Q af fcets e xpatriate job satisf action i n a significant positive way. Second, CQ was also found to positively affect two facets of expatriates’ adjustment: work environment adjustment and job or task characteristics adjustment. Third, confirmed mediation of two facets of expatriates’ work adjustments on the relationship of CQ and job satisfaction is another important finding of this study. Finally, the eff ect of work-lif e balance adjustment in the context of CQ was not f ound to be s ignificant, which c an be a ttributed to a more complex nature of this relationship. Implications: This study conf irmed that CQ af fects expatriate adjustment and in turn their job satisf action. Theref ore, managers of Korean companies may find it benef icial to e valuate their expatriate workers’ CQ a s part o f the employee hiring p rocess or d evelop CQ of current workers. CQ e f f ects a lso go beyond job satisfaction and affect other important organizational variables like performance or turnover intention.