Cultural intelligence and job performance of academic librarians in Indonesia

Cultural intelligence studies have focused mainly on expatriates working in multi-national companies. Less attention has been paid to national companies or organizations with multi-ethnic employees. The study broadens previous research by examining cultural intelligence and its impact on job performance in the context of academic librarians. A survey research method was used and data was collected from 305 librarians working in Indonesian academic libraries. These academic librarians self-assessed themselves and answered to the questionnaire. The data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling Technique. The results suggest that, academic librarians rated quite highly on their cultural intelligence level and also job performance. The dimensions of cultural intelligence, namely, meta-cognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral were also found to be significant predictors of job performance. The findings of this study further emphasized the importance of cultural intelligence in strengthening job performance.