This chapter provides information on the methodology used to conduct this research.
First, it presents the framework and the hypotheses tested. Then, it provides information about the sample, data collection methods and the questionnaires used to develop the research.
The following framework illustrates the relationships tested throughout this study.
Figure 3.1. Research framework Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
Political Skill
Job Satisfaction
Control Variables -Age
-Tenure in organization H2
H1
Hypothesis
Based on the previous literature, the research purpose, research questions and the hypotheses of the study are proposed as follows:
Hypotheses 1: CQ positively relates to job satisfaction.
Hypotheses 2: Political skill positively moderates the relationship between CQ and job
satisfaction. Specifically, the higher the political skill, the stronger the effect of CQ on job satisfaction.
Sample
The target population of the study is the expatriates working in Taiwan. The data were collected from expatriates who have worked in Taiwan at least three months as white-collar workers (e.g., teacher, lawyer, engineer and manager). Data were collected through expatriates in Taiwan by using 200 paper-based questionnaires and 102 online questionnaires.
Data Collection Process
Convenience sampling and snowball sampling were used in this study. The main approach used to conduct data collection was to visit the National Immigration Agency in person in order to obtain permission from the agency managers. After permission was granted, paper-based questionnaires were distributed to the participants one by one. Firstly, we asked them how long they had been working in Taiwan to confirm the participants were suitable for our research. Secondly, we observed their behavior and English ability to confirm if they were white-collar expatriates. We distributed our online questionnaires through some social media such as facebook. We posted our online questionnaires to the facebook club that
consisted of expatriates in Taiwan and asked the club members to help us finish our research.
Those officebook clubs consist of English teachers in Taiwan; for this reason; we confirmed that they were all white-collar expatriates. For snowball sampling, we asked our friends to find their white-collar expatriates’ friends and help us to collect questionnaires from them.
Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire was designed to collect data on cultural intelligence, job satisfaction and political skill. The scales adopted in this questionnaire were all well developed. The content of the scale’s items was all valid. The items in the questionnaire are in English. As most of the white-collar expatriates were highly educated, their English ability was good enough to answer questions.
To confirm the validity of the questionnaire, it also designed to reduce common method variance (CMV), which might make the systematic measurement error (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). First of all, the answers of respondents were confidential to encourage subjects to respond as honestly as possible. Second, the questionnaire used different scale formats including two 5-point Likert scales and on 7-point Likert scales to reduce CMV.
Measurement Cultural Intelligence
The CQ scale was adopted from Ang et al. (2007). A total of 20 items were contained in this scale, and they were separated into four constructions (4 items for meta-cognitive CQ, 6 items of cognitive CQ, 5 items for motivational CQ and 5 items for behavioral CQ). All items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Cronbach’s
alpha reliability of the four dimensions of CQ in the present study ranged from 0.79 to 0.87.
Sample items included “I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.” Individuals with a high score signified that they have an ability to accommodate to new culture environments.
Table 3.1.
The Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Scale
Dimensions Items
Meta-Cognitive CQ
1. I am aware of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds.
2. I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.
3. I am aware of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions.
4. I check the correctness of my knowledge as I interact with people from different cultures.
Cognitive CQ 1. I know the laws and economics of other cultures.
2. I know the rules (e.g. vocabulary, grammar) of other languages.
3. I know the cultural values and religious beliefs of other cultures.
4. I know the marriage systems of other cultures.
5. I know the arts and crafts of other cultures.
6. I know the rules for expressing nonverbal behaviors in other cultures.
Motivational CQ 1. I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures.
2. I am confident that I can socialize with locals in a culture that is unfamiliar to me.
3. I am sure I can deal with the stresses of adjusting to a culture that is new to me.
4. I enjoy living in cultures that are unfamiliar to me.
5. I am confident that I can adjust to the shopping conditions in a different culture.
(continued)
Table 3.1. (continued)
Job Satisfaction
The job satisfaction scale was adopted from Anderson, Coffey and Byerly (2002);
Cronbach’s alpha reliability was 0.8. The job satisfaction scale consists of five items. The sample items for job satisfaction are: “The work I do on my job is meaningful to me” and “At the company or organization where I work, I am treated with respect” All item responses were on a 5-point Likert scale 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Table 3.2.
The Job Satisfaction Scale Job Satisfaction
1. The work I do on my job is meaningful to me.
2. At the company or organization where I work, I am treated with respect.
3. I feel I am really a part of the group of people I work with.
4. I look forward to being with the people I work with each day.
5. The opportunities that I have at work to learn new skills could help me get a better job or find another equally good job if this one doesn’t work out.
Behavioral CQ
1. I change my verbal behavior (e.g. accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.
2. I use pauses and silence differently to suit different cross-cultural situations.
3. I change the speed of my speaking when a cross-cultural situation requires it.
4. I change my nonverbal behavior when a cross-cultural situation requires it.
5. I change my facial expressions when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.
Political Skill
We used the six items political skill scale derived from Perrewé et al. (2004).
Cronbach’s alpha reliability of political skill was 0.71. The representative items include: “I find it easy to envision myself in the position of others” and “I usually try to find common ground with others”. All items were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).
Table 3.3.
The Political Skill Scale Political Skill
1. I find it easy to envision myself in the positions of others.
2. I am able to make most people feel comfortable and at ease around me.
3. It is easy for me to develop good rapport with most people.
4. I understand people well.
5. I am good at getting others to respond positively to me.
6. I usually try to find common ground with others.
Control Variables
Based on the literature review, the researcher found some demographic variables that influence job satisfaction. Therefore, the demographic variables were added in the personal information part of the questionnaire. We can explain the relationships between dependent and independent variables through controlling the influence of demographic variables. The control variables are listed in the following:
Age
Previous studies indicated that age was relevant to job satisfaction since older expatriates are more satisfied with their work in a foreign country (Clark, Oswald, & Warr, 1996; Herzberg, Mausner, Peterson, & Campbell, 1957; Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992).
Tenure in organization
Previous studies found that tenure in organization affected job satisfaction, including negative and positive effect (Bedeian, Ferris, & Kacmar 1992; Ng & Feldman, 2010).
Data Analysis
This was a quantitative study. The statistic instruments of SPSS 22 and AMOS 22.0 were used in this research to analyze the data. The analysis methods follow.
Pearson Correlation Analysis
In order to know the relationships among cultural intelligence, job satisfaction and political skill, Pearson coefficient was used to examine the correlations. Pearson’s correlation (r) were used to determine whether there was linear or direct correlation between variables;
when the correlation is high, it shows that there is a strong relationship between two variables.
The number of correlation should between 1 and -1. When r = 1, it is a perfect correlation. If r = 0, there is no correlation. If r = -1, it is perfect negative correlation. Negligible correlation is considered for r = .01 to r = .09; low correlation is considered for r = .10 to r = .29;
Moderate correlation is considered when r is between 0.30 and 0.49; substantial correlation is considered when r is between 0.50 and 0.69; very high correlation is considered when r is between 0.70 and 0.99 (Davis, 1971). The correlation coefficient illustrates whether variables
are related and considered as the base, when explaining whether a variable can make predictions of the outcome variable.
Descriptive Statistics
This study used descriptive statistics to describe the characteristics of subjects. The frequency distribution and the percentage of numbers were used to determine the distribution patter of subjects in age, gender marriage, country located and tenure in organization.
Confirmatory Factory Analysis (CFA)
CFA is used to determine how well a measurement model generalizes across groups or time (Brown, 1993). In other words, CFA was used herein to examine whether an existing measure that was developed in the past was appropriate for the current population. Outputs of highest interest for this study included X2/df, RMSEA, IFI, TLI and CFI to examine measurement models’ goodness of fit.
X2/df refers to Chi-square divided by degrees of freedom, which is also known as the relative chi-square. Chi-square is a fundamental statistical measure to assess the statistical probability that predicts and observes if covariance matrices are actually equal in a current population. It is a guide showing what the fit of data to the modal is when dropping pathways.
Different researchers have recommended that X2/df can be as low as 2 or as high as 5 to indicate a reasonable fit (Marsh & Hocevar, 1985). Root mean square error or approximation (RMSEA) compares lack of fit to the saturated model. According to some researchers, RMSEA should be less than .08 (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). The incremental fit index, also known as Bollen's IFI, is also relatively insensitive to sample size. Values that exceed .90 are regarded as acceptable, although this index can exceed 1. Tucker Lewis index (TLI),
sometimes called the non-normed fit index (NNFI), is similar to the NFI. However, the index is lowe; hence, the model is regarded as less acceptable. TLI greater than or equal to 0.9 indicates acceptable model fit. The comparative fit index (CFI) compares the fit of a target model to the fit of an independent model. Roughly, the CFI thus represents the extent to which the model of interest is better than the independence model. Values that approach 1 indicate acceptable fit.
Regression Analysis Hierarchical Regression Analysis
Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between cultural intelligence and job satisfaction. Two steps were conducted. In the first step, control variables were entered. In the second step, the independent variable was entered to test the effect of this variable on the dependent variable. Hierarchical linear regression analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986; Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003) was also used to examine the moderating role of political skill in the relationship between cultural intelligence and job satisfaction. In order to reduce the multicollinearity problem, before calculating an interaction term (cultural intelligence x political skill), cultural intelligence and political skill were centered by subtracting the mean from the original ones (Aiken & West, 1991). Three steps were conducted to test the moderating effect of political skill. In the first step, the control variable was entered. In the second step, the independent variable and the moderator were entered simultaneously to test the impact of the two variables on the dependent variable.
Above all, the third step was to enter the multiplication item to test the interaction effect on the dependent variable.
Pilot Test
A pilot study was implemented to insure the reliability of the instruments. The purpose was to identify confusing items, to provide suggestions for improving the format and wording, and to evaluate the overall appearance of the instrument. Questionnaire revisions were made based on the feedback from respondents. Although larger samples are better for the precision of estimations, a reasonable minimum sample size for a pilot study to do a preliminary research is 30 (Johanson & Brooks, 2009). For this reason, the sample size was 30 collected from different expatriates; data collection was finished in one week.
Table 3.5 summarizes the descriptive statistics analysis describing the frequency distribution and the percentage of numbers to understand the demographic information of the samples. Most of the respondents were male (56.7%) and female (43.4%). The respondents predominately were 31 to 40 years old (56.8%) and 31 to 40 years old (36.7%). Over half of the respondents (60%) were still single and 30% of them were married, only 10% of them were divorced or separated. For the country location, 33.3% of them were from Asia and 20% from North America, with only 13.3% from Africa. Most respondents had worked less than one year (53.3%); 46.7% of them have worked more than one year.
In this pilot study, reliability and the Pearson correlation analyses were also conducted to confirm the reliability of the measurement and to preliminarily understand the relationships among variables. Table 3.6 demonstrates the mean, standard deviation, correlations and reliability. First, for the reliability analysis, the accepted value of Cronbach’s alpha has to be greater than 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978). Cronbach’s alpha for the scale of political skill was 0.61; Cronbach’s alpha for the scale of cultural intelligence was 0.9 and Cronbach’s
alpha for the scale of job satisfaction was 0.71. Second, the result of the correlation analysis indicated that political skill exhibited a significant and positive substantial correlation with cultural intelligence (r = .53, p< .01). Furthermore, job satisfaction also exhibited a significant and positive substantial correlation with cultural intelligence (r = .53, p< .01).
Lastly, job satisfaction exhibited a significant and positive moderate correlation with political skill (r = .37, p< .05).
Table 3.4.
Descriptive Statistics for Pilot Study (N=30)
Item Frequency Percentage
1. Gender Female 13 43.3%
Male 17 56.7%
Total 30 100%
2. Age 21-30 years old 17 56.8%
31-40 years old 11 36.7%
41-50 years old 2 6.5%
Total 30 100%
3. Marriage Married 9 30.0%
Single 18 60.0%
Divorce /Separated /Widowed 3 10.0%
Total 30 100%
4. Country located Asia 10 33.3%
North America 6 20.0%
South America 0 0%
(continued)
Table 3.4. (continued)
Table 3.5.
Mean, Standard Deviation, Correlation and Reliability for Pilot Study (N=30)
Central America 0 0%
5. Tenure in organization Last than 1 year 1-5 years
Note. Two-tailed test. The Cronbach’s alpha estimates are in parentheses.
*p< .05. **p<.01.