Marketing Intelligence & Planning

Cross-cultural communication and emotional intelligence: Inferences from case studies

of gender diverse groups
Michael P. Lillis Robert G. Tian
Article information:
To cite this document:
Michael P. Lillis Robert G. Tian, (2009),"Cross-cultural communication and emotional intelligence",
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 27 Iss 3 pp. 428 - 438
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634500910955272
Downloaded on: 05 February 2016, At: 08:48 (PT)
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

References: this document contains references to 28 other documents.

To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 4135 times since 2009*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Robert J. Emmerling, Richard E. Boyatzis, (2012),"Emotional and social intelligence competencies: cross
cultural implications", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 19 Iss 1 pp. 4-18 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527601211195592
Taewon Moon, (2010),"Emotional intelligence correlates of the four-factor model of cultural intelligence",
Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 25 Iss 8 pp. 876-898 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683941011089134
(2014),"Cross-Cultural Communication, Theory and Practice2014 1 Cross-Cultural Communication, Theory
and Practice Palgrave Macmillan 2013 308 pp ISBN:978-0-230-39113-0", Development and Learning in
Organizations: An International Journal, Vol. 28 Iss 3 pp. 38-39

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:198285 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.


MIP
27,3
428
Received July 2008
Revised December 2008
Accepted January 2009
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)
Marketing Intelligence & Planning
Vol. 27 No. 3, 2009
pp. 428-438
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-4503
DOI 10.1108/02634500910955272
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-4503.htm
Cross-cultural communication
and emotional intelligence
Inferences from case studies of gender
diverse groups
Michael P. Lillis and Robert G. Tian
Medaille College, Buffalo, New York, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in
business communications and describes the pivotal role it plays in establishing skills that are vital to
a firm’s global network of operations.
Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of undergraduate business students, this paper
examines how EI can mitigate the potential negative effects that might arise from diversity within
dissimilar groups. As a measure of group diversity, we explore the role of one of the more traditional
dimensions of differentiation among heterogeneous groups, gender. Patterns of group performance are
observed across different levels of gender diversity and within and between high and low emotionally
intelligence groups.
Findings – Findings suggest that EI has a greater impact on the performance level of gender diverse
groups than that of their homogeneous counterparts.
Research limitations/implications – As a consequence, of increased globalization, organizational
environments are becoming enormously complex and considerably more culturally diverse.
In response to this growing trend, a key question for managers is to determine how to improve
organizational awareness of the thoughts, feeling and emotions that reside in other diverse cultures.
By focusing on how gender diversity can potentially impact group functioning, we hope to draw
attention to the need for an increased understanding of the behavioral tendencies and value
orientations that exist among dissimilar others and, by inference, dissimilar cultures.
Practical implications – Results are discussed in connection with cross-cultural competencies and
skills that are essential for a multinational enterprise.
Originality/value – This is the first study to suggest a relationship between EI and international
business communication effectiveness.
Keywords Corporate communications, Emotional intelligence, Globalization, Multinational companies,
Group dynamics, Corporate culture
Paper type Research paper
Cultural norms and international business communication
Cultural factors have long been known to influence communications, both within and
between organizations. Accordingly, as companies expand into foreign markets, many
are finding that stylistic tendencies in the home office frequently conflict with those of
their global subsidiaries. Not surprisingly, with over two-hundred nation-states in the
world, these cultural differences are continuously emerging and converging all across
an organization’s global network of operations. Unfortunately, such cultural variations
frequently act as an invisible barrier in international business communications,
often representing a significant impediment to a successful venture overseas. For that
 reason, managing stylistic variations between diverse national contexts offers a Case studies
significant competitive advantage for firms operating in foreign markets. of gender diverse
Communication is one of the most important functions to master in order for any
business to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive markets, particularly for firms groups
doing business internationally. A firm’s profitability is in large part determined by
its business communication strategies and skills. However, top managers in companies
working internationally sometimes neglect the significance of the invisible barriers 429
that cultural differences create in business communication. Cultural factors play an
important role and function as invisible barriers. Even as the world is becoming
globalized, many nations have increasingly voiced their claim to “a right to culture” in
international businesses. It is predicted that national culture will be a critical factor
affecting economic development, demographic behavior, and general business policies
around the world (Tian, 2000).
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

Such claims at the macro level will be important for making trade policy, protecting
intellectual property rights, and creating resources for national benefits. At the micro
level these claims could be invisible barriers for firms working in or wanting to enter
international markets. For example, the last summit of francophone nations in
the twentieth century called for a “cultural exception” in GATT/WTO rules governing
trade of goods. For these nations these claims will affect public policy on international
trade rules. They also might initiate worldwide cultural protectionism for
trans-national trading. As the voice of cultural rights increases, firms doing
business internationally will face other challenges from other dimensions of culture.
From a management perspective it is important for companies to realize that markets
today are worldwide and cross-cultural. Being aware of and sensitive to cultural
differences is a major factor for success in the world marketplace. Failure to put
marketing strategy in a cross-cultural context of the countries where a company is
doing business will work to the detriment of brands and business relationships.
If globalization is an inevitable process, then cross-culturalization will also be
inevitable. On the one hand, the world is becoming more homogeneous, and
distinctions between national markets are fading and, for some products, disappearing
altogether. This means that business communication is now a world-encompassing
discipline. On the other hand, the cultural differences between nations, regions, and
ethnic groups in terms, far from being extinguished, are becoming stronger. This
means that global/international business communication, a cross-cultural process,
requires managers to be well informed about cultural differences nationally, locally,
and ethnically in order to win in global markets. International business communication
is communication that crosses national boundaries for business purposes.
Communication among people from the same culture is often difficult. Therefore,
communication between people from different cultures from the point of view of
language, values, customers, and ways of thinking, will be far more difficult, a degree
of miscommunication being almost inevitable (Ferraro, 2002). Business communication
literature focused on advertising supports the hypothesis that advertising content
differs between countries. International advertising research has confirmed differences
in advertising content between countries. The premise upon which these studies
predicated is that advertisements, in part, reflect individual countries’ social systems
(Culter and Javalgi, 1992; Emery and Tian, 2003; McLeod and Kunita, 1994; Mueller,
1992; Ramaprasad and Hasegawa, 1992; Tse et al., 1989; Zandpour, et al., 1992).
 MIP Values, norms, and characteristics embedded in advertising messages appear in
27,3 various cultures to a greater or lesser degree (Emery and Tian, 2003; Mueller, 1992).
Therefore, understanding the importance of cultural values in advertising has great
practical value in business communication. Determining differences in cultural values
should guide the formulation of international business communication strategies
(Munson and McIntyre, 1979). Ignoring the cultural meaning embedded in advertising
430 could lead to a misinterpretation of the firm’s intended message (McCracken, 1987).
Such miscommunication is responsible for many businesses failing in international
markets.

Gender diversity and the issue of cross-cultural inference

As more and more firms enter the international arena, the challenge of diversity takes
on added significance. It is well understood that a natural by-product of going
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

international is increased diversity, in this case cultural diversity. Given that there are
a number of other demographic dimensions which contribute to workplace diversity
(e.g. age, gender, ethnicity, education, etc.), many organizations already have
experience in dealing with a heterogeneous workforce. Those organizations, which
have and promote diversity, are accustomed to working with people who have different
customs, social norms, and stylistic tendencies. It is reasonable to expect that as these
firms expand globally, they are likely to be comfortable working with people who are
different from themselves, thereby minimizing communication barriers in their
overseas operations.
By focusing on group performance across different levels of gender diversity, this
investigation seeks to illustrate both a means and the utility of thinking about and
describing communication constraints, especially as they relate to exchanges between
individuals from a different social context. The jump from diversity based on gender
to diversity based on culture, requires a wide-ranging perspective on diversity.
The answer to the question of whether or not a gender-based observation and
interpretation of performance can provide a basis for drawing inferences about
cross-culture exchanges depends, in part at least, on how diversity is understood.
Allaire and Firsirotu’s (1984) notion of partial replication, for instance, implies that a
simple communality of personal meanings evolves among the several actors in a social
system, which works to homogenize their world-views and facilitate their interactions.
The literature is replete with examples of this kind of homogenization for demographic
characteristics that contribute to diversity. For example, a widely accepted framework
for explaining social patterns between nations has been proposed by Hofstede (1980),
who identified four separate stylistic dimensions among employees in various
countries. Likewise, in the case of gender, numerous studies have drawn attention to a
variety of identifiable gender-specific behavioral patterns including: entrepreneurial
values (Malach-Pines and Schwartz, 2008), leadership styles (Johanson, 2008) and
achievement motivation (Steinmayr and Spinath, 2008) to name a few. Understanding
the empirical properties of such context-specific behavior patterns and, by inference,
the individual cognitive models on which they are based, provides a conceptual
framework for drawing inferences about how other context-specific dimensions
operate. Thus, as individuals increase their capacity for empathy within one
context (e.g. gender), they develop skills that can be readily applied to other contexts
(e.g. culture).
 Culture and emotional intelligence Case studies
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a set of abilities that includes the abilities to perceive of gender diverse
emotions in the self and in others, use emotions to facilitate performance, understand
emotions and emotional knowledge, and regulate emotions in the self and in others groups
(Mayer and Salovey, 1997). Moreover, these abilities can be learned, and are likely to be
shaped by aspects of a particular national culture. Thus, just as individuals are
socialized to acquire the social knowledge and skills necessary to assume an 431
organizational role, they can also come to improve their cross-cultural EI, often the
result of an increased understanding of the behavioral tendencies and value
orientations that exist among other cultures. As an example, in a recent study by
Peltokorpi (2008), cultural empathy was revealed to be a primary determinant of
expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.
Given that individuals tend to share universally the assumption that everyone else
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

sees the world from the same perspective they do, the challenge of cross-cultural EI is
likely to represent an uphill battle. Based on the previous studies conducted by Shein
(1996) and Simpkins (1998), 15 cultural variables should be considered by business
professionals when engaged in cross-cultural exchanges (Table I). A critical question,
then, is to what extent individuals understand and are empathetic to these distinctions
when interacting with someone from a different culture. Clearly, such cultural
variations have the potential to impact the quality of decision-making activity at the
individual, group and organizational level. To that end, it is readily apparent that EI
could play a vitally important role in our understanding of the relationship between
international business communications and firm performance.
If EI is culturally oriented, are some aspects of EI more or less influenced by culture?
Moreover, how do we use this concept to improve performance? Conceptually, EI in a
culturally diverse environment effectively supplements cultural awareness to predict
superior performance through its dimensions of empathy and social skills. With a
heightened sensitivity and awareness to the mind-set of culturally diverse groups,
obstacles to cross-cultural communication are minimized thereby increasing the
probability of success in the world marketplace.
As indicated by Cote and Miners (2006), there has been limited research
investigating the relationship between emotion intelligence and job performance.
Moreover, much of this research has been limited to the exploration of EI’s “main
effects”. Of particular interest in this study, however, is to what extent EI might be
considered a moderator in the diversity-group performance relationship. For example,
looking at average GPA scores for groups of executive MBA students, Lillis and
Krzystofiak (2007) found that improvements in EI among diverse groups had a greater
impact on group performance than it did for homogeneous groups. Such a finding is
likely to have significant implications for the ability of individuals to interact within
culturally diverse groups. Accordingly, this study is an attempt to extend previous
research on EI, providing a focus that helps to illuminate our understanding about how
to leverage these skills and apply them to a firm’s global network of operations.

An exploratory investigation
Data were collected from 32 undergraduate graduate students enrolled in an
introductory management course in a small private college. The sample included
16 females and 16 males, with an average age of 21.24 years. The vast majority of
 MIP
Variable Content
27,3
Action Is the culture relationship-centered, where stress is placed on working for
the experience rather than the accomplishment? Or is it more task-oriented
where stress is placed on actions that achieve the goal?
Competitiveness Is more emphasis placed on competition for rewards, or co-operation for
432 the benefit of life and relationships?
Communications Is the preference for explicit one-to-one communications, or more of an
implicit dialogue and avoidance of conflict? Are communications formal,
where emphasis is placed on protocol and social customs, or informal,
where restrictions are dispensed with?
Environment Do they feel they can dominate it to fit their needs, should they live in
harmony with it, or do they feel that their world is controlled by fate and
chance?
Individualism Is the individual more important then the group, or are the needs of the
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

individual subordinated to the group interests. Loyalty to self or society?

Structure Does the society lean towards order, with its predictability and rules, or
flexibility, where tolerance of unpredictable situations and ambiguity are
acceptable?
Thinking Does the culture favor inductive reasoning based on experience and
experimentation, or deductive reasoning based on theory and logic?
Time Is there a concentration on one task at a time, with a commitment to
schedules, or an emphasis on multiple tasks, with relationships being the
most important? Is punctuality precise and fixed, or is it fluid and loose?
Power and authority What are the dominant views of authority versus subordinates and the
power distance between individuals?
Union and management How much effect does union-management co-operation on achieving a
successful company?
Social values What is the dominant view of wealth and material gain; the attitudes
toward and the desire for material wealth versus religious satisfaction; the
good life or other non-material stimuli found more in traditional societies?
Risk view Do they view risk taking as a measured calculation of anticipated success?
Change and innovation Do people in a society embrace and adapt to change which promises to
improve productivity or do they maintain their basic faith in traditions or
Table I. old ways of doing things?
Cultural variables to Ethical values What is the prevailing view of ethical standards and moralities?
consider Gender What is the degree of masculinity vs femininity?

subjects, 97 percent, were Caucasian, while only 3 percent were African American, and
3 percent Asian. For the purpose of this investigation, students were assigned to
four person groups. Assignments were made so as to provide an equal dispersion of
cross-functional interests (accounting/finance, marketing, operations management,
engineering, and other) within each group. A total of eight groups were represented
within our sample, representing eight illustrative case studies, each with varying levels
of diversity.
Diversity was defined by within-group variations in gender. For the purpose of
conducting heterogeneity comparisons, groups whose members were all of the same
gender were considered to be homogeneous, while groups with variations in gender
among its membership were considered to be a heterogeneous mix. Thus, of these eight
groups, four of them were considered homogenous (all group members were either
male or female), while the other four were considered heterogeneous (each group
 contained two males and two females). Demographic information on each subject was Case studies
collected from college records. of gender diverse
As part of a course requirement, each subject completed a survey adapted from the
emotional competence inventory (Boyatzis and Goleman, 2002). This 72 items groups
questionnaire is assessed on a seven point Likert scale and measures 18 competencies
organized into four clusters. The self-awareness cluster includes competencies relating
to emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence. Social 433
awareness reflects empathy, organizational awareness, and service orientation.
Self-management is assessed in terms of emotional self-control, transparency,
conscientiousness, adaptability, optimism, achievement orientation, and initiative.
Finally, relationship management is represented by developing others, inspirational
leadership, change catalyst, influence, conflict management and teamwork, and
collaboration. Scores collected and analyzed for each of these 18 competencies were
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

used to obtain our measure of individual EI. Further, consistent with the approach of
Jordan et al. (2002), groups above the 50th percentile of EI scores were classified as high
in EI, all others were classified as low.
Group performance was assessed using a Words-In-Sentences (WIS) company
exercise developed by Marcic and Seltzer (2005). At the beginning of this exercise, each
group was asked to represent a small company that manufactures words and then
packages them in meaningful English-language sentences. During each production
run, teams were given a particular raw material phrase, whose letters served as raw
materials available to produce new words in sentences. Prior to beginning the exercise,
and to ensure that team output would conform to certain production criteria, specific
rules (production standards) were reviewed with each team. Following that review, a
practice production run was held to ensure that each team understood of the rules of
the exercise. Teams were then given 10 min to manufacture as many words as possible
and package them in legitimate sentences. The output of each WIS company was
measured by the total number of acceptable words that were contained within each
sentence.

Results
This study examined how EI, is likely to affect the relationship between group
heterogeneity, as represented by gender diversity, and group performance. As seen in
Figure 1, heterogeneous groups are more noticeably impacted by EI. Specifically, as EI
increases, gender-mixed groups experience greater gains in their performance level
compared to their homogeneous counterparts. More specifically, emotionally
intelligent heterogeneous groups were able to manufacture an average of 21 more
words than their less emotionally intelligent counterparts, whereas, emotionally
intelligent homogeneous groups were only able to improve their performance level by
an average of six manufactured words. Therefore, as these results suggest,
gender-mixed groups are more likely to benefit from higher levels of EI within the
group.
To further analyze this pattern of results, differences in performance scores were
observed across each of the 18 EI competencies. Table II reveals differences in the
average number of WIS for high and low group competency levels and between
heterogeneous and homogeneous groups. Consistent with our earlier approach, groups
above the 50th percentile of EI scores for a specific dimension were classified as
 MIP 45
27,3
40

35

434
Avg. # of manufactured words

30

25

20
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

15

Figure 1. 10
Average number of Heterogeneous
manufactured words for 5 Homogeneous
heterogeneous and
homogeneous groups by
low/high emotional 0
intelligence Low High
Emotional intelligence

highly competent in that dimension, all other groups were classified as having low
competence for that dimension. Surprisingly, as seen in the table, certain EI
competencies have a negative impact on group performance, especially among
homogeneous groups. In particular, seven of the 18 EI competencies have a negative
impact on performance in homogeneous groups. Conversely, only two of the 18 EI
competencies negatively impact the performance level of heterogeneous groups. Thus,
for example, although higher levels of inspirational leadership help heterogeneous
groups improve their average performance by over four manufactured words, it has
the opposite effect among heterogeneous groups where higher inspirational leadership
actually decrease the average performance scores of a group. We surmise that
gender-mixed groups that are high in EI are likely to be able to take full advantage of
the wide-ranging mix of competencies associated with the EI construct, thereby
allowing them to capitalize on the diverse array of skills and insights that reside within
their members.
To further explore the relationship between the 18 EI competencies and the
group-based dependent variable, correlations were observed for the total sample and
for both heterogeneity conditions (homogeneous/heterogeneous). As seen in Table III,
EI by itself has a stronger association with the dependent variable than either the
homogeneous or heterogeneous group independently, perhaps owing to the small
sample size in this study. Among the 18 individual competencies, self-awareness and
conflict management are significantly related to performance levels in heterogeneous
groups, suggesting that these groups are more likely to benefit from higher levels of
competence within these areas.
 Case studies
Homogeneous Heterogeneous
High Low High Low of gender diverse
competence competence Diff competence competence Diff groups
Self-awareness
Emotional self 24.50 39.20 214.70 40.67 40.33 0.33
Accurate self-assessment 44.83 33.45 11.38 41.20 40.10 1.10 435
Self-confidence 55.00 27.91 27.09 41.00 40.27 0.73
Self-regulation
Emotional self-control 46.63 29.33 17.29 43.50 40.00 3.50
Transparency 54.25 22.56 31.69 43.00 39.83 3.17
Adaptability 43.92 22.00 21.92 39.67 40.67 2 1.00
Achievement orientation 32.71 40.80 28.09 42.50 39.73 2.77
Initiative 48.30 22.00 26.30 40.00 40.54 2 0.54
Optimism 48.90 21.14 27.76 41.67 40.17 1.50
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

Social awareness
Empathy 32.57 40.90 28.33 41.00 40.20 0.80
Organizational awareness 34.83 38.91 24.08 42.00 39.70 2.30
Service orientation 49.00 32.67 16.33 43.80 38.80 5.00
Relationship management
Developing others 39.75 36.77 2.98 42.63 38.00 4.63 Table II.
Inspirational leadership 36.80 37.75 20.95 43.20 39.10 4.10 Average number of
Change catalyst 36.20 39.29 23.09 41.80 39.80 2.00 manufactured words for
Influence 42.00 34.30 7.70 43.00 39.83 3.17 high and low EI group
Conflict management 32.71 40.80 28.09 43.00 39.83 3.17 competencies by
Teamwork 41.86 34.40 7.46 40.67 40.42 0.25 heterogeneity

Conclusion and implications

Operating in a different country means that individuals must work with people of
diverse cultures and values. Strong pressures for responsiveness to these differences
emerge when beliefs and values differ significantly between counties, as they may for
historic or cultural reasons. Adjusting to these differences has sometimes proven to be
a difficult task. In fact, several studies have suggested that a major reason why
international assignments fail is due to an expatriate’s inability to adapt to a different
cultural environment (Kraimer et al., 2001; Ryan et al., 1999; Shaffer and Harrison,
2001). In a recent study, of cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates in Japan, the
personality traits of emotional stability and cultural empathy were shown to have a
positive influence on cross-cultural adjustment (Peltokorpi, 2008). Based on the results
of the present study, one might speculate that those who are high in EI are also more
likely to perceive context-driven emotion patterns and are therefore better able to adapt
to these situations than their low EI counterparts. Under these circumstances, EI serves
to effectively inoculate oneself against misreading context related norms, and allow for
a more effective exchange between members with divergent stylistic tendencies.
From a practical point of view, the identification of factors which influence the
performance of diverse groups has relevance in a number of applied contexts. Within
the realm of international business communications, managing a workforce comprised
of an eclectic mix of individuals (e.g. different countries, backgrounds, genders,
languages, shared experiences, etc.) would be greatly enhanced by an increased
comprehension level of the emotional dynamics that are at play. Moreover, in light of
 MIP
All groups Homogeneous Heterogeneous
27,3 (n ¼ 8) groups (n ¼ 4) groups (n ¼ 4)

Self-awareness 0.473 0.621 0.994

Self awareness 0.189 0.171 0.997 *
Accurate self-assessment 0.575 0.610 0.695
436 Self-confidence 0.456 0.461 0.996
Self-management 0.545 0.846 0.923 *
Emotional self-control 0.380 0.546 0.731
Trustworthiness 0.729 0.728 0.972
Adaptability 0.402 0.748 0.903
Achievement orientation 0.090 0.120 0.199
Initiative 0.448 0.541 0.685
Optimism 0.620 0.639 0.854
Social awareness 0.788 * 0.655 0.434
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

Empathy 2 0.314 20.399 20.125

Organizational awareness 0.235 0.313 20.322
Service orientation 0.347 0.344 0.946
Relationship management 0.734 * 0.936 * 0.424
Developing others 0.227 0.191 0.871
Inspirational leadership 0.281 0.247 0.976
Change catalyst 0.044 0.071 0.994
Influence 0.126 0.145 0.791
Table III. Conflict management 0.016 20.035 0.996 * *
Emotional intelligence Teamwork 0.588 0.661 20.664
correlations with Overall emotional intelligence 0.757 * 0.881 0.856
group-based WIS
performance measure Note: Significant at the *0.05 and * *0.01 levels, respectively (two-tailed)

the global nature of today’s economy, the cross-cultural aspect of EI takes on an added
level of significance.
Research to advance concepts developed here might take several directions. First,
a broader definition of diversity, which takes into account different national
contexts, would strengthen our supposition about the impact of EI on cross-cultural
communications. Undoubtedly, additional within-group variations (e.g. race, age,
national origin, etc.) could provide a more valid index of the heterogeneous mix that
might characterize international exchanges. Second, additional comparative studies
would provide a larger sample from which more robust inferences could be drawn.
Finally, future research could include other measures of group performance that might
do a better job of illuminating competency in business communications. At a
minimum, however, the results of this exploratory study open a promising new line of
inquiry into the connection between manifestations of context based norms and the
ability to attend to, understand and regulate emotions.

References
Allaire, Y. and Firsirotu, M. E. (1984), “Theories of organizational culture”, Organizational
Studies, Vol. 5, pp. 193-226.
Boyatzis, R.E. and Goleman, D.D. (2003), “Emotional and social competency inventory –
university edition”, available at: www.haygroup.com (accessed June 15, 2003).
 Cote, S. and Miners, C.T.H. (2006), “Emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and job Case studies
performance”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 51, pp. 1-28.
Culter, B.D. and Javalgi, R.G. (1992), “A cross-cultural analysis of the visual components of print
of gender diverse
advertising: the United States and the European community”, Journal of Advertising groups
Research, Vol. 32, p. 71.
Emery, C.R. and Tian, R.G. (2003), “The effect of cultural differences on the effectiveness of
advertising appeals: a comparison between China and the US”, Transformations in 437
Business and Economics, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 48-59.
Ferraro, G.P. (2002), The Cultural Dimension of International Business, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values,
Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Johanson, J.C. (2008), “Perceptions of femininity in leadership: modern trend or classic
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

component?”, Sex Roles, Vol. 58 Nos 11/12, pp. 784-6.

Jordan, P.J., Ashkanasy, N.M., Hartel, C.E.J. and Hooper, G.S. (2002), “Workgroup emotional
intelligence scale development and relationship to team process effectiveness and goal
focus”, Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 12, pp. 195-214.
Kraimer, M.L., Wayne, S. and Jaworski, R.A. (2001), “Sources of support and expatriate
performance: the mediating role of expatriate adjustment”, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 54,
pp. 71-100.
Lillis, M.P. and Kryzstofiak, F.J. (2007), “Emotional intelligence diversity, and group
performance: the effect of team composition on executive education program outcomes”,
Journal of Executive Education, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 41-54.
McCracken, G. (1987), “The history of consumption: a literature review and consumer guide”,
Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 139-67.
McLeod, D.M. and Kunita, M. (1994), “A comparative analysis of the use of corporate advertising
in the United States and Japan”, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 13 No. 2,
pp. 137-52.
Malach-Pines, A. and Schwartz, D. (2008), “Now you see them, now you don’t: gender differences
in entrepreneurship”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 23 No. 7, p. 811.
Marcic, D. and Seltzer, J. (2005), Organizational Behavior: Experiences and Cases, West
Publishing Company, St Paul, MN.
Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P. (1997), “What is emotional intelligence?”, in Salovey, P. and
Sluter, D.J. (Eds), Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational
Implication, Basic Books, New York, NY, pp. 3-31.
Mueller, B. (1992), “Standardization vs. specialization: an examination of westernization in
Japanese advertising”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 32, pp. 15-24.
Munson, J.M. and McIntyre, S.H. (1979), “Developing practical procedures for the measurement of
personal values in cross-cultural marketing”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 16 No. 1,
pp. 48-61.
Peltokorpi, V. (2008), “Cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates in Japan”, The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 19 No. 9, p. 1588.
Ramaprasad, J. and Hasegawa, K. (1992), “Creative strategies in American and Japanese TV
commercials: a comparison”, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 32, pp. 59-70.
Ryan, A.M., McFarland, L., Baron, H. and Page, R. (1999), “An international look at selection
practices: nation and culture as explanations for variability in practice”, Personnel
Psychology, Vol. 52, pp. 359-92.
 MIP Shaffer, M.A. and Harrison, D.A. (2001), “Forgotten partners of international assignments:
development and test of a model of spouse adjustment”, Journal of Applied Psychology,
27,3 Vol. 86, pp. 238-54.
Shein, E.H. (1996), “Three cultures of management: the key to organizational learning”, Sloan
Management Review, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 9-21.
Simpkins, R.A. (1998), “The global mind”, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 2,
438 pp. 34-6.
Steinmayr, R. and Spinath, B. (2008), “Sex differences in school achievement: what are the roles of
personality and achievement motivation?”, European Journal of Personality., Vol. 22 No. 3,
p. 185.
Tian, R.G. (2000), “Understanding consumer behavior: psycho-anthropological approach”,
North American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 273-9.
Tse, D.K., Belk, R.W. and Zhou, N. (1989), “Becoming a consumer society: a longitudinal and
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)

cross-cultural content analysis of print ads from Hong Kong, the people’s Republic of
China and Taiwan”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 15, pp. 457-72.
Zandpour, F., Chang, C. and Catalano, J. (1992), “Stories, symbols, and straight talk:
a comparative analysis of French, Taiwanese and US TV Commercials”, Journal of
Advertising Research, Vol. 32, pp. 25-38.

About the authors

Michael P. Lillis received his PhD in 1993 from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
He has published several research articles on decision making and organizational justice,
In addition, he has a variety of consulting experience with both large and small organizations in
the private and public sectors. He is currently an associate professor and Department Chair of
Management Programs at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York. Michael P. Lillis is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at: mlillis@medaille.edu
Robert G. Tian earned a PhD from York University, with a post-doctoral MBA from Wilfrid
Laurier University. He has received awards for published papers and for service from
organizations in Canada, China, and the USA. His peer-reviewed publications have looked at
consumer behavior and cross-cultural studies in marketing. He is currently an assistant
professor in Management Programs at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
 This article has been cited by:

1. Derrick Jackson, Steven V. Manderscheid. 2015. A phenomenological study of Western expatriates’

adjustment to Saudi Arabia. Human Resource Development International 18, 131-152. [CrossRef]
2. Joan Marques, Satinder Kumar Dhiman, Jerry Biberman. 2014. Teaching the un-teachable: storytelling
and meditation in workplace spirituality courses. Journal of Management Development 33:3, 196-217.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
3. Yi-chun Lin, Angela Shin-yih Chen, Yi-chen Song. 2012. Does your intelligence help to survive in a
foreign jungle? The effects of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence on cross-cultural adjustment.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations 36, 541-552. [CrossRef]
4. Lillis. 2010. Cultural Issues in the Business World: An Anthropological Perspective. Journal of Social
Sciences 6, 99-112. [CrossRef]
Downloaded by New York University At 08:49 05 February 2016 (PT)