Who Benefits from an Intercultural Experience?

As society becomes more globally connected, the potential for intercultural contact within and across organizations increases. Research suggests that developing employees' cultural competencies and cultural intelligence will result in increased market share and reduce inter-group conflict. This study demonstrates the values of moving away from traditional training models focused on negotiating techniques, protocols, and business practices, and moving towards creating opportunities for leaders to participate in high contact, cross-cultural experiences. The statistical significance of the growth in cultural intelligence for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, irrespective of previous intercultural experiences, suggests that all members of an organization can develop global leadership skills and provide organizations with a global return on investment following an experiential, intercultural experience. After collecting and analyzing the results of 96 participants, representing nine nations, experiencing an intercultural experience across eight countries, it is clear that no one population realizes a statistically greater growth in cultural intelligence over another.