Cultural intelligence of entrepreneurs and international network ties

Purpose - – This paper aimed to investigate whether the cultural intelligence (CQ) of entrepreneurs is associated with the quality of the relationships firms develop with foreign networks. Design/methodology/approach - – The samples include small and medium manufacturing firms in Thailand. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire survey. A list of 1,000 firms was randomly selected from the directory of Thai exporters. A total of 129 surveys were returned. Partial least square regression was used to analyze the data. Findings - – The results revealed a positive association between the CQ of entrepreneurs and the quality of the relationships that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had with foreign customers, foreign suppliers and foreign competitors. The quality of the relationships was also associated positively with export performance. However, there was no significant evidence for the role of the quality of relationships with foreign competitors in export performance. Research limitations/implications - – The use of cross-sectional data makes it difficult to claim causality between the constructs. Moreover, the CQ and export performance measures that use subjective evaluation may cause bias. The small sample size also limits the generalizability of the results. Practical implications - – The results suggested that CQ is a key capability entrepreneurs must develop to conduct business more successfully in foreign markets. Social implications - – Because SMEs are considered a key driver of a country’s economic development, CQ training could be an important choice on which the government should focus. Furthermore, as the world economy is more integrated, CQ training can significantly help people improve cross-cultural communication skills which are essential for them to be successful in today’s globalized economy. Originality/value - – Despite the increasing popularity of CQ research, evidence for its contribution to the ability of entrepreneurs to develop good relationships with foreign firms is lacking. The main contribution of this study is to bridge this research gap by providing empirical evidence.