Relationship between Predictors of Intercultural Communication Competence and Multicultural Identity

Abstract

Multiculturalism has always been an integral part and aspect of Malaysian culture, with its ethnic complexities. Multicultural identity is a significant predictive factor in assessing intercultural communication competence. Cultural competencies are essential in today’s businesses. This research is a systematic attempt to look into the antecedents of these constructs in Malaysian educational contexts given the growing importance of educators’ involvement in society's integration. Multicultural factors complement Intercultural communication skills, and this has an impact on the development and effectiveness of organisations/institutions as well as success and performance at work. These attributes are surprisingly underrated in their careers. The role of multicultural identity in determining intercultural communication competency is addressed using Amiot et al. (2007) and Barrett et al. (2013) indicators, respectively, using the structural equation modelling. Therefore, 350 respondents were chosen via the purposeful sampling method by employing a self-administered survey. The findings asserted the importance of cultural competency of educators, especially in settings where both students and faculty members come from different cultural backgrounds. The results supported the hypothesis that the endogenous construct of intercultural communication competence can be used to predict multicultural identity. Any multiracial organisation or institution can replicate the factors and instruments used in this study. By identifying the predicted factors, the research has significantly contributed to controlling and optimising the communication performance of ethnically diverse organisations. Keywords: Multiculturalism, identity, intercultural communication competence, ethnicity, integration.