Culture-general competence: Evidence from a cognitive field study of professionals who work in many cultures

Abstract

We describe a cognitive field research study of professionals with repeated and varied intercultural experiences, and a resulting model of culture-general competence. Twenty professionals with varied sojourns and considerable experience working with members of other cultures participated in 2-h long, semi-structured interviews. We elicited critical intercultural interaction incidents during the interviews, and followed with detailed questions designed to probe existing competencies hypothesized to be important in the literature. Interview transcripts were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis, as well as coding to support quantitative, frequency analyses. Results confirmed the importance of several hypothesized competencies, and suggested a reconceptualization of specific knowledge and skill elements. Several additional competencies emerged from the qualitative analysis, as well. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.